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

Adding a bit of knitting to your fall decor is a lot of fun, whether it’s knit pumpkins or a bunch of adorable knit ghosts like these.

Knit ghosts can be super simple like this free ghost knitting pattern from Trixie Zynch on Ravelry. Using about 50 yards of worsted weight yarn, they’re worked from the bottom up and are super cute as a pair.

This fuzzy little ghost from Forest Knitting Toys is holding a pumpkin and wearing a witch hat, though of course the accessories are optional, as is the fuzzy yarn. The main yarn is chunky and the ghost measures about 10 cm/4 inches tall. It’s worked in the round.

Another fuzzy ghost in more of a Pacman style is this ghost plushie form South Stitch Girls. It’s worked in the round with bulky yarn and includes a sweet little bow you can make in whatever color you like.

The ghost doll from Edith Grace Designs has little arms and a curl at the top of its head. The body is worked flat using DK weight yarn and you could also work it in glow in the dark yarn for extra fun. The body and head are worked in one piece with the arms knit separately.

The Grim Grinning Ghosts from Susan Claudino are super cute and you can knit them in any yarn and gauge you like to make ghosts of different sizes. These are worked in the round with the body done in one piece and the arms are knit separately. The ghosts shown were knit in sock yarn, DK and worsted weight yarn. You can find the pattern on Ravelry.

Make a ghost with funny striped legs with this ghost shelf sitter design from Claire Fairall Designs. It’s worked in three colors of DK weight yarn, and the letters spelling out boo are made with strips of garter stitch sewn into shape.

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