The scarlet purse crocheted with yarn and abaca twine.
This purse is my first experiment with the use of abaca fiber (a banana-type of plant fiber) with yarn (Familia Crochet and Knitting Acrylic Yarn). Earlier I have made a doily using abaca twine and, although it was a bit tough to work with, the material is strong and holds well after washing. I notice that abaca actually becomes a bit softer after washing (it is quite stiff while wet).
The top of the purse is folded over to close it.
The purse holds coins, bills and other small things rather well with the top section folded over. I decided not to use any strings, buttons or other means of enclosure for the work.
The top section of the purse showing crocheted abaca.
I started at the bottom making a round block using abaca. Then I continued with the scarlet color yarn. After a few rounds, I decided to insert a few crochet shells with the abaca twine. With several rounds of these “insertions”, I completed the body of the purse with the yarn.
The base of the purse.
For the upper part of the purse, I decided to use abaca twine again: several rounds of sc and dc and finally, finishing off the edges with the shell stitch.
The back section of the purse.
For decoration, I used beads around the abaca crocheted shells on the body of the purse. Below is the beadwork shown in detail.
Detail of the beadwork around the crocheted abaca shells.
Later, I hope to do more work with the abaca fiber. Working with it with the crochet hook can be quite difficult, but it is very strong and beautiful material to work with.
Abaca fiber, known worldwide as Manila hemp, is obtained from the leafsheath of the abaca, Musa textilis Nee and is considered as the strongest among natural fibers. The length of the fiber varies from three to nine feet or more, depending on the height of the plant and the age of the leafsheath. The color of the fiber ranges from ivory white to light and dark brown.
The Abaca plant is indigenous to the Philippines whose warm, wet climate and volcanic soils are particularly suited to its cultivation. It is similar to banana in appearance except that the leaves are upright, pointed, narrower and more tapering. When Magellan and his companions arrived in Cebu in 1521, they noted that the natives were wearing clothes made from the fiber of the abaca plant, noting further that the weaving of the fiber was already widespread in the island.
More information about abaca from the Department of Agriculture.