This purse has served me well for many months and has convinced me of the durability of hemp (this one in a wool blend) over cotton and even cotton/acrylic mixes. I've had to do a few minor repairs on the ribbed opening which gets so much wear and the need for the latest mending, plus wanting something 'fresh', got me deciding to make a replacement.
It is more or less the same design but the yarn is dictating the density. This is the linen found at a church sale which, when I googled the words on the label (not in English) resulted in an email from a woman who said it was linen and from a company in Finland in the Sixties. Wow! I continue to think gladly of whoever had this in his/her stash for half a century.
It's used doubled here and has bits of flax which shed as I knit. But the fibre is gentle and I am not worried about a piece getting under my skin, literally, as I have in the palm of my hand from knitting with rope; it is not visible but makes itself known periodically.
The pattern is a woven stitch: on an even number of stitches R1 Go behind first stitch and knit into the back of the second stitch and then knit into the front of the first stitch and then slip them both off needle.
Continue across row. R2 P1 Purl into front of second stitch and then purl into front of the first stitch and then slip them both off needle. Continue across row to last stitch. P1 Repeat these two rows.
Plastic needles work best as they have more give to them than metal. It is easier than it sounds and is Slow Knitting*, in this instance also evoking the use of the fingers of the non-dominant hand to pull out and extend the stitches for easier passage of the working needle.
The woven stitch doesn't seem to stand out as much in the linen on this density – will have to see how it looks when stretched with purse items. I am curious to see how long the linen lasts compared to the hemp.
*Slow Knitting: This is knitting for the process more than the product and has different aspects. I am fascinated by the whole adventure and more so as I explore it further. I've stated in the past "a knitter knits each and every stitch in a pair or socks or a sweater or an afghan"; with Slow Knitting I am understanding this on a deeper level as I tend to pay more and more attention to "each and every stitch".
And for brevity I say "knitting" but I find the same applies to crocheting. Also with sewing and quilting but in a different way. The reality of energy and our ability to use it makes more sense.