Market Bag Knitting Patterns

After I shared my knit market bag pattern last month it occurred to me that I hadn’t done a collection of market or string bag patterns in a long time. In fact, the most recent one I can find is this string market shopping bag pattern roundup from 2021. So it’s well past time to update our collection, wouldn’t you say?

I like both lacey, openwork mesh bags like my newish pattern, but I also like more solid bags for more substantial shopping, so this will be a mix of both.

In the mesh category, we’ve got the marked bag from DK Handgood Knits on Etsy, which is an allover openwork pattern except for the top edge and handle. It’s worked in the round and would be an easy first lace knitting project.

Or try the Rambling market bag from Little Red Window, which has a mostly solid base, top and straps but has a chevron lace pattern on the body. This one also uses larger needles than you’d expect with worsted weight yarn, which helps it go faster.

A Free Lunch by Christina Huling (via Ravelry) is similar to mine in that it has a solid base and lacey sides worked in a contrasting color. Here the strap is integrated into the body rather than being a drawstring.

And then there’s Market Share from Vickie Howell (also on Ravelry), which offers a flat-bottomed bag with allover mesh that’s super simple to knit.

If you want a more solid bag, check out Cora from Emma Munn (on Ravelry). This bag is worked in bulky yarn for extra heft and uses a slip stitch pattern on most of the body for extra durability.

Barbara Seidenfaden’s Buetti bag has a sturdy garter stitch base and a stockinette stitch body with I-cord straps. This is a great basic bag pattern you can embellish with stripes, embroidery or other colorwork designs as you like. Find it on Ravelry.

And speaking of stripes and stockinette, there’s also the Pensacola tote from Etsy seller Apple and Acorn Co. This one is all stockinette and is worked in the round, making color changes for the stripes super easy.

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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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