Inkle straps and finishing up the grey wool

 I received a banjolele or banjo-uke for a fun Christmas pressie.    I know a lot of people don't use a strap for a regular uke, but I was finding the bracket hooks kept pushing uncomfortably on my arm.   So I had a strip of inkle woven strap that I'd made for a mandolin strap, but never finished.  I turned it into a very effective banjolele strap.  However, Kevin, naughty cat that he is, decided to muck it up a bit and I had to wash it.  It came out fine, besides needing a good pressing.  However, it shrunk up a bit and the strap is just a tad too small width wise now.

While I was deciding whether to re-weave it or not, I remembered that I still had to make the strap for the Hedeby bag that I'd made last fall.  I had used a makeshift strap from a piece of tablet weaving, which was white and green, totally the wrong colours and way to thin.  It looked ugly and was uncomfortable to wear.   I realized that if I didn't just make the darned strap now, time would get away from me and it might never get finished.

I used 4/8 cotton because I had it on hand.  Since this strap would likely touch my neck, I didn't want to use wool.  The wool that I'd spun up, which would be comfortable to wear on tender skin areas, wasn't nearly strong enough for a strap, nor for inkle weaving.   The wool that I have, which was suitable, is to rough for me to want to wear in an area which might rub.     I wanted to use a tan, like the bag I'd woven, but
I didn't have any in the right weight and I really wanted to use what I had on hand.   Instead I used a natural cotton and a dark, denim blue.   I warped up the inkleloom yesterday and finished just after supper today, with a strip of tape just under 3 yards long - 105 inches in total.    I could have gotten a few more inches woven, but a warp thread broke and really, it wasn't worth fixing it for another 2 inches of tape length.  I attached the tape to the wooden bag handles, by threading it through the appropriate holes and tying an overhand knot.

It looks a tad short, but it isn't.  The handles rest nicely on my hip and when it's open, I can reach in and touch the bottom of the bag.  I absolutely hate it when I make my bag strap too long and I can't reach in without lifting it up.   The best is that it is very comfortable to wear too.

The grey superwash, spun and plied.  It's a lovely worsted weight.  The colour is a rich, charcoal colour, which will be very useful.  I've no idea what I'll use it for though, so it's into the storage bin with it.