Market Day Bag: A Free Crochet Market Bag Pattern

What you'll make: a free crochet market bag pattern

The Market Day Bag is a stretchy mesh bag for the market that folds into a pocket. It has a solid round base, an open net body and two sturdy handles. Cotton makes it strong and washable.

It is a free pattern for personal use. Everything you need is on this page: the materials, the size, every round and the finishing. The bag is a crochet mesh bag, so most of it is one simple round repeated. The open loops let it stretch a lot when it is full, which makes it a handy crochet produce bag for fruit.

Is it right for an advanced beginner?

Yes, if you can already make a chain, a slip stitch, a single crochet and a double crochet. Those are the only stitches in the bag.

The new parts are small. You work in the round with the right side always facing, so you never turn. You increase a flat base, you make chain loops, and you work two handles into the top band. Each one is a short step, and you do it round by round.

Materials, size and gauge

Here is what you need for this cotton market bag. The bag is about 13 in (33 cm) tall before stretching, and the base is about 9 in (23 cm) across. The handles come on top of that height.

Gauge is 14 dc and 7 rounds = 4 in (10 cm) in double crochet. Gauge is not critical. The mesh stretches a lot when the bag is full.

• Yarn: worsted-weight (#4) cotton, about 220 yds (200 m).
• Hook: US H-8 (5 mm).
• Notions: stitch marker, tapestry needle.

Abbreviations, US terms

The pattern uses US crochet terms. These are all the abbreviations you need.

• ch: chain
• sl st: slip stitch
• sc: single crochet
• dc: double crochet
• st(s): stitch(es)
• loop: a ch-5 space
• rep: repeat
• *: repeat the instructions after the * as directed

How the base, mesh and band fit together

This crochet tote bag pattern is worked in one piece from the bottom up, in three parts.

The solid base is rounds 1 to 8. It starts with 12 dc in a ring and grows by 12 stitches every round, up to 96 dc. The mesh is rounds 9 to 25. Each loop is a ch-5 that skips 3 stitches, so the 96 stitches of the base become 24 loops. The top band is rounds 26 to 31. It turns every loop back into 4 sc, which brings you back to 96 stitches, and the handles are worked into the band in round 29.

Work every round with the right side facing and do not turn.

The pattern: base

Make a magic ring (or ch 4 and join with a sl st to form a ring).

In the base, the ch-3 at the start of a round counts as 1 dc, and the dc in the same stitch makes that round's first increase.

• Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc), 11 dc in the ring. Join with a sl st to the top of the ch-3. (12 dc)
• Round 2: Ch 3, dc in the same st, 2 dc in each st around. Join. (24 dc)
• Round 3: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last st, dc in it. Join. (36 dc)
• Round 4: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last 2 sts, dc in each of them. Join. (48 dc)
• Round 5: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next 3 sts, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last 3 sts, dc in each of them. Join. (60 dc)
• Round 6: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next 4 sts, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last 4 sts, dc in each of them. Join. (72 dc)
• Round 7: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next 5 sts, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last 5 sts, dc in each of them. Join. (84 dc)
• Round 8: Ch 3, dc in the same st, *dc in the next 6 sts, 2 dc in the next st; rep from * to the last 6 sts, dc in each of them. Join. (96 dc)

The pattern: mesh

In the mesh, the sl sts at the start of each round move you to the middle of the first loop, so the rounds don't slant.

• Round 9: Ch 1, sc in the same st, *ch 5, skip the next 3 sts, sc in the next st; rep from * 22 more times, ch 5, skip the last 3 sts. Join to the first sc. (24 loops)
• Round 10: Sl st in the next 3 ch, ch 1, sc in the same loop, *ch 5, sc in the next loop; rep from * 22 more times, ch 5. Join to the first sc. (24 loops)
• Rounds 11–25: Work 15 more repeats of the last round.

The pattern: top band, handles and finishing

Round 29 makes the two handles. Each one is a ch-40, and you skip 24 stitches under it.

• Round 26: Ch 1, 4 sc in each ch-5 loop around. Join to the first sc. (96 sc)
• Rounds 27–28: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join. (96 sc)
• Round 29: Ch 1, sc in the first 12 sts, ch 40, skip the next 24 sts, sc in the next 24 sts, ch 40, skip the next 24 sts, sc in the last 12 sts. Join. (2 handles)
• Rounds 30–31: Ch 1, sc in each sc and each ch around. Join. (128 sc)
• Finishing: Fasten off and weave in the ends.
• Finishing: Wash or steam the bag, then hang it to dry with something light inside so the mesh opens evenly.

Tips: counting chain loops and keeping the base flat

Count your stitches at the end of every base round: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, then 96. The count goes up by 12 each time, so a wrong number tells you straight away that an increase is missing or doubled. A stitch marker in the first stitch of the round helps you see where it starts.

In the mesh, count your loops against the pattern: every mesh round has 24. Each loop is a ch-5 space. At the start of rounds 10 to 25, the 3 sl sts take you to the middle of the first loop. If you skip them, the rounds slant.

The care facts are short. The bag is cotton, so it is strong and washable. After washing or steaming it, hang it to dry with something light inside so the mesh opens evenly.

Following the pattern in Row & Round

Open the PDF in Row & Round and a highlighter bar sits on your row. Tap +1 and the count and the bar move together. Undo is always one tap away, and your place is saved on every tap.

Rounds 11 to 25 are the same round again and again, so this is where a counter helps. In Row & Round you can link a pattern row to a repeat so it goes back to 1 each time the repeat goes up. You can also set an alert for a round, such as the one where you start the handles. That keeps this free crochet market bag pattern easy to follow without losing your place.