Knit a Market Bag for Summer

I love the idea of knit market bags and string bags (and crocheted bags, for that matter) but I’m not sure I had ever really knit one before. I have knit tote bags and purses, but never a lacy bag to hold my produce.

That ends now with the introduction of my East Ave. Market Bag knitting pattern.

It’s named for one of the streets that borders the square where the farmer’s market takes place in my town (I also used to work on that street, but at the newspaper, not the farmers market).

This easy to knit bag is worked from the bottom up, using cotton yarn, starting at the center of the base. You start with double pointed needles and increase regularly until you move to a circular needle.

Once the base is worked you change to a larger circular needle (which is good for the lace knitting as it tends to open up the eyelets a bit more) and work a simple four round repeat to your desired length for your bag.

Mine is 8 inches/20cm tall, and the base is about the same width across.

When I say this lace is easy, I mean it: two rows are just knit and the other rows alternate yarn overs and decreases (either knit 2 together or slip slip knit). This could easily be a first lace project if you’re wanting to learn the basics.

The strap is I-cord, and it’s woven into the top round of eyelets to make a drawstring. You can make your cord as long as you want depending if you want to hold the bag in your hand or sling it over your shoulder.

This bag and strap will stretch quite a bit when you put stuff in your bag, so it holds more than it might look like. I’m excited to try it out at the farmers market soon!

You can find this free pattern over at Our Daily Craft.

Bags to Knit for Your Travels

Free Knitting Patterns for String Bags

Free Knitting Pattern – Cabled Bag

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If you’re looking for a sweater knitting pattern that uses up some of your stash and allows you to make just the sweater you want, the Marlina Rib by Shay Johson might be just the thing.

It’s worked with two strands of fingering weight yarn held together to make a DK weight gauge, so you can use the same two yarns throughout or change one or both regularly for an even more colorful look.

The pattern has options to make it either a crewneck or a henley style with buttons, tapered or relaxed sleeves, and a straight hemline or a split hem with buttons (which sounds so cute if you do the henley with split hem and match the buttons on both parts).

It’s also knit from the top down so you can make the body and the sleeves as long as you want. There are 10 sizes available in the pattern, with a chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 81.5 to 172.5 cm. It’s meant to be worn with 4-6 inches/10-15 cm of positive ease at the chest.

The pattern page on Ravelry includes tons of measurements and yardage estimates so you can make sure you’ll get a good fit for your body before you even buy the pattern. Shay also shows a few variations of the sweater so you can see how different options look before you decide how you want to put them together.

The stitch pattern is 1×2 ribbing, which is really easy to do and gives a look almost like fisherman’s rib that’s relaxed and easy to wear.

This sweater looks like a great option for people who are somewhat new to sweater knitting or those who love to have lots of customization options (because it’s like getting multiple sweater patterns in one!).

Check out all the details and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself at Ravelry.

[Photo: Shay Johnson]

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