Knit a Market Bag for Earth Day

Earth Day is an important time to remind us all to think about the little things we can do every day to lighten our load on the planet. One thing I have been really focused on this year is using less plastic, especially water bottles and shopping bags. Looking for more patterns? Check these market bag patterns out on Etsy.

It’s great when craftiness and sustainability collide, as they do when you make your own bags to take shopping.

Knit Picks has a great free pattern for a knit market bag, the Montavilla Market Tote. It’s actually a great stash buster, too, because it uses three colors of yarn as written, and you can change yarns as often as you like for a really stripy, scrappy bag.

It is worked from a firm, stable bottom to a lace pattern worked in the round with color changes every round. Then the handles are worked in the same yarn as the base, or do them in a fourth color if you like.

To keep with the eco-friendly nature of the project, use scraps or yarn you already have in your stash. If you need to buy something to make the project, choose organic cotton yarn if you can (conventionally grown cotton tends to be really high on the use of pesticides). 100 % cotton yarn

What do you do to make your knitting more earth friendly? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Knit Picks.]

This free pattern uses cotton yarn. Check out Lion brands new Re-Up Yarn

Lion Brand’s new recycled cotton, gives knitters and crocheters another reason to love working with cotton. It’s eco-friendly! It takes, on average, 20,000 liters of water to make 1 kilogram of cotton. By using one 70 gram ball of Re-Up you are saving 1,400 liters of water. So try Re-Up for your next cotton project: you’re going to love how it feels to work with and how it feels to help save the planet while doing the craft you love. You can learn more about it here on this video below.

https://youtu.be/SP1e_baGcJs

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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