Knitted Basic Grocery Bag

The Knitted Basic Grocery Bag is a charming and eco-friendly accessory that adds a touch of style to your shopping routine. It is not only practical but also environmentally conscious, helping you reduce your plastic waste in a fashionable way. This versatile bag is perfect for carrying your groceries or everyday essentials, with its durable knitted construction ensuring you can rely on it for years to come. Say goodbye to flimsy plastic bags and hello to a more sustainable shopping experience with this delightful knitted accessory!

Pattern notes:

• This bag is knit with two strands of worsted weight yarn held together. I used Loops and Threads Impeccable Yarn because it’s soft, inexpensive, and has a lot of give, but any worsted weight yarn will work.
• This pattern uses multiple repeats. In the interest of keeping things simple, I’ve condensed some of those repeats. When I say (yo, k2tog) 5x, it means yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog.

Needle: US size 13 (9 mm), 16 inches.

Yarns Used: Loops and Threads Impeccable Yarn (medium (4); 100% acrylic; 277 yards/127.5 grams), 2 skeins in Aqua.

Yardage: 554 yards (506.6 m).

Gauge: 10.5 stitches in 4 inches (10 cm).

Other Notions: two stitch markers (the kind that clips, not the circular kind), T pins or other sewing pins, yarn needle to finish.

Final Measurements: 16.25 inches (41.3 cm) long, 13.25 inches (33.7 cm) wide.

Abbreviations:

• k = knit
• yo = yarn over
• k2tog = knit two together
• sm = stitch marker
• bo = bind off
• RS = right side
• WS = wrong side

Pattern:

Cast on 72 sts. Join into a round, being careful not to twist your stitches. Place marker to mark the beginning of the round.

First 30 rounds: knit all stitches.

Mesh pattern:

Round 1: *(yo, k2tog) 5x, k2, repeat from * to end.

Round 2: knit.

Round 3: *(k2tog, yo) 5x, k2, repeat from * to end.

Round 4: knit.

Repeat a total of 7 times.

Next 2 rounds: knit.

(You just ended the mesh pattern on a Round 4, which was a knit round, followed by two knit rounds, so there should be 3 knit rounds in a row.)

Garter edging:

Round 1: purl.

Round 2: knit.

Round 3: purl.

Clip your marker to the stitches at the start of the round (not the needle, or it will fall off and you will lose your place).

Bind off round: bo9, k5, bo8, k5, bo18, k5, bo8, k5, bo9.

Cut 8 inch tail, pull through last stitch.

Place all but first set of 5 stitches on stitch holders. Mark set 3 (2 over from the set on the needle) with another stitch marker.

On WS, rejoin yarn and knit the 5 stitches remaining on the needles. Knit 56 rows (or about 15 inches) from the bind off row, ending on a RS row. Pick up the second set of 5 stitches (across the 8 stitch gap) and, with WS facing out, do 3 needle bind off. Cut 8 inch tail, pull through last stitch.

On WS, pick up 3rd set of 5 stitches (marked with sm) and knit them as set 1; continue for 56 rows. Pick up set 4 and do 3 needle bind of on WS.

Cut 8 inch tail.

Lay bag flat so that sm that marks beginning of round is at one side. Line up bottom edges. Pin together.

Take each bottom corner and push the corner in toward the middle of the bag about 1-1.5 inches (2.5-3.8 cm). From the bottom it should look like you made a letter M with the cast on edge. Pin again.

Sew the bottom seam, being careful to catch all layers of the side folds. (If you only catch the very front and back pieces, the corner will pop back out and come unfolded.)