A Sweet Story about Knitting for Babies

I don’t expect to see essays about knitting (with nary an animated gif in them!) at Buzzfeed, but this lovely story from Alanna Okun changed my mind a little bit.

Called “Babies Vary and Knitting Stretches” (a line from Elizabeth Zimmermann), it’s about knitting your first project for a baby and how that can be a reminder of the cycle of life. The author has had a couple of friends die at a young age lately and as she knit she thought about anticipating a life to come, and the life of its own this little knit item would begin once given to its little unborn recipient.

And so it was easy to forget that life can come into the world just as it leaves it. Making the sweater was a tangible reminder. Making anything feels a little like you are taking control in the chaos: This thing is yours, the way you would like it to be, and it exists where before there was nothing. With each row you knit on something meant for a baby, you start to see their outline more and more clearly, waiting to be fully formed. I liked knowing that the sweater was in my bag during the workday and by my bed when I woke up. I felt it glow; I felt it breathe.

This is a nice reminder of the value of knitting, and of knitting for small people, too. (And if you need some help coming up with projects for babies, check out my book on the subject!)

[Photo by Ilana Denis Bauer via BuzzFeed.]

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There are certain things that just make sense to knit at this time of year, and market bags are one of them. We tend to use our canvas bags more often in the summer with trips to the farmer’s market and the library, but string bags and market bags are great to use all year.

I love the Three Oranges Bag by Hana Cho, which looks just like a knit version of a plastic shopping bag, but with three cute oranges stitched on. The bag uses intarsia to make the oranges, but you could use duplicate stitch or intarsia to add a different design if you like. It calls for fingering weight yarn and you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Sharyn Anhalt’s Market Square bag (also on Ravelry) uses worsted weight yarn and a mosaic pattern to make a pretty bag you’ll want to use every time you go shopping. The bag comes in two sizes and is worked in two colors of the same yarn for a fun mixed up effect that’s almost like weaving.

Speaking of fun colors, the Market Bag from Hubbabubbie Art uses a multicolored cake yarn (specifically Lion Brand Mandala) to produce fun color changes without any extra work. This bag is worked from the bottom up with a crocheted bottom and knit mesh sides. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry.

The Pike Place Market Bag from Blue Bird Pine Shop looks like a massive bag to hold all your market goodies (that is a child holding it, but still). The bag calls for worsted weight cotton yarn and the mesh is worked on extra large needles to help it open up to hold everything you want held.

The Knit Farmer’s Market Bag form Design BCB is another good one, made mostly of mes with a little stockinette for extra stability. The base is also worked in stockinette so items you put in it will sit flat.

This mesh bag from Sheep and Stitch doesn’t have a base, and the body is worked flat before being joined in the round to make the top and handles. That makes it easy to make the bag just the size you want because you can stop knitting whenever you feel it’s big enough. The pattern includes a step-by-step video if you need extra assistance.

And the Eco Market String Bag from Mama in a Stitch has a solid knit base worked in a contrasting color from the mesh body. It’s an easy project that comes out a great size for your market needs without being too huge.

Do you have a favorite knit market bag pattern? I’d love to hear about it!

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