Simple Market Bag free crochet pattern

I ventured out to the Walmart a few weeks ago to wander around. The craft section looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Understandable. There were a handful of skeins of yarn, but mostly thick, wooly, wintery ones. 

Tucked in the back of a lower shelf sat hidden 3 bright yellow balls of sunshine! I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but I needed a little crafty pick-me-up and these did the trick!

happy yellow color

When I got home, I thought, "hmmmm, I should make a mesh-like tote bag to take to the store when I only need a few things. That way I won't have to touch the cart cooties!" 

A quick PINTEREST search came up with a few patterns, but on closer inspection, they were complicated. I needed easy. So I made my own pattern. Here it is! 

Let me know if you make one or if you see any mistakes. I just kinda winged it and wasn't fussy about gauge, size, numbers, etc. 

It's a great size (12" x 16") and should work well at the store tomorrow.

*Affiliate links* the links below are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you purchase an item through them at no additional cost to you. 

vintage daisy button

Simple Market Bag

By Ann Dreyer Designs

Materials:

• Yarn: 3 skeins of Peaches & Cream cotton in Sunshine (it would also be super soft in Lion Brand Yarn's 24/7 cotton)

• Hook: size H (I'm loving my new Clover Soft Touch hooks!)

• Needle and embroidery floss or thread to sew on handles
• 2 decorative buttons

Notes:

• Pattern is in US terms.

• Bag is worked bottom up.

• I recently learned how to make a foundation cord from THIS video from Outstanding Crochet. It’s so easy and is a great strong, hole-free way to begin the bottom of this bag as well. My market bag begins with a foundation cord and then single crochets are worked across 1 edge, then the piece is rotated 180 degrees (not turned like in normal row crochet) and single crochets are worked across 2nd edge.

• Handle is worked separately and then sewn on with embroidery floss.

• Bag is worked in rounds and handle is worked in rows.

mesh detail

Stitches:

• SC = single crochet

• SL ST = slip stitch

• Ch = chain

• BLO = back loop only

• DC = double crochet 

For bag (measures approx. 12" wide by 16" tall):

Make a foundation cord of 40 chains (see video linked above).

Round 1 - SC across, 3 SC in last stitch, rotate 180 degrees and SC across, 3 SC in last stitch, SL ST to 1st SC, Ch. 1.

Round 2 - SC around in BLO, SL ST to 1st SC, Ch. 1.

Rounds 3-5 - repeat round 2. At the end of round 5, Ch. 3.

Start of “mesh”:

Round 6 - [skip 1, DC in next stitch, Ch. 1] repeat around ending with SL ST in top of 2nd chain of Ch. 3, Ch. 3. 

Rounds 7-24 - [DC in next Ch. 1 space, Ch. 1] repeat around ending with SL ST in top of 2nd chain of Ch. 3, Ch. 3 (on round 24, only Ch. 1). (In the pic below, the arrow shows where I put the DC after the first Ch. 3.)

place DC IN chain 1 space

Top border:

Round 25 - SC in each DC and Ch. 1 around, SL ST to Ch. 1, Ch. 1.

Rounds 26-29 - SC around in BLO, SL ST to Ch. 1, Ch. 1.

Finish off. Weave in ends.

Handle (measures approx. 30" long):

Make a foundation cord of 105 chains (feel free to adjust number to make handle longer or shorter).

Rows 1-4 - SC in BLO across, Ch. 1, turn.

Finish off. Weave in ends.

Attach handle:

With coordinating embroidery floss or sewing thread, sew handle to bag. Add embellishments. Enjoy!

finished bag

I hope you liked this pattern and found it simple and fun. Click on an image to Pin for later! Thanks!

:) Ann

Journaling Bible Sweater free crochet pattern for book cover

About a month ago, my daughter demanded that I open the little packs of yarn I had been hoarding in my stash for years. I like sets and collections of things kept in tidy order. She likes to throw things around the house. 

Needless to say, I gave in and she loved holding and throwing and retrieving the tiny balls of yarn. After I collected them all back and stored them away safely, I began to think of projects I could make with them. Maybe a set of Christmas ornaments? Colorful crocheted flowers for a spring wreath? A neat scarf? 

On one of her retrievals, she brought back 4 or 5 colors that went beautifully together and I knew I had to make something with stripes in those colors. That night I began to make a little cozy sweater for my journaling Bible. I had made one years ago for my study Bible out of Lion Brand's discontinued Microspun yarn, but it didn't fit my ESV journaling Bible.

It took me a few days to finish it and when I did I posted it to the Illustrated Faith Bible Journaling Community on Facebook (click HERE to join) and it kinda became a hit! I think the pictures have over 1,100 likes and so many wonderful comments. Wow!

I would absolutely love to make these and sell them, however, I just haven't worked out a time-sensitive way to do that. There are sooooo many journaling Bibles on the market now and they are all different sizes, so each cover or sweater would have to be a custom order and as a full-time mom, I just can't work that into my schedule right now. Perhaps in the future.

Until then, I thought I would share the super simple pattern if you were inclined to make one for yourself.

So here we go... 

This post contains affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you purchase anything through the links I share. This is at no additional cost to you. Please see my Privacy Policy for more details. 

Notes:

• These instructions are in U.S. terms. 
• This is my first time blogging a crochet pattern. Be kind as I'm sure I've probably made some mistakes. I've tried to be as clear as possible.
• I did find my original version was a little too loose and stretchy. After some of my initial pictures, I removed a row and made the "pockets" deeper. These changes are reflected in the pattern below.
• This pattern assumes you know the basics of crochet. If you don't, it is a super easy hobby and there are lots of great beginner tutorials on YouTube. For this pattern, you will need to know how to make a chain stitch and a half double crochet, as well as a single crochet for the joining at the end.
• The pattern is written to fit the ESV double column journaling Bible by Crossway. Instructions in purple and in parentheses are to customize it to fit your Bible.

Supplies:

• 1 pack of Lion Brand Bon Bons (Note: there are 8 balls in each pack. I used 7 balls, BUT I chose 5 colors from the Nature pack and 2 plus a little more purple from the Beach pack. You can pick as few or as many colors/packs as you would like. The packs I used are 100% cotton while the others are acrylic and will produce a different feel and may stretch a little more.)
• Size F/3.75mm crochet hook like Clover Soft touch HERE or Lion Brand HERE
• Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• Scissors
• Your Bible

Pattern:
Chain 86 (or length = width of front cover + width of spine + width of back cover + 7" for the 2 "pockets").
Row 1: half double crochet (HDC) in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across to end. Chain 1. Turn.
Row 2. HDC in each stitch across.
Repeat row 2 for a total of 27 rows (or for how many rows to = the height of your Bible when fabric slightly stretched). My stripe color sequence is below.

Finishing:
Weave in all ends! Yuck!
To make "pockets" or sleeves in which to insert the cover:
This is a difficult explanation to type, but it is super easy to do! Sorry the pics are dark... dreary rain today!

With wrong side facing you, count and mark 16 stitches from each end (or approximately 3.5") and fold in both ends. 

With right side facing you and on the top edge of your rectangle, insert hook in the back loop of the 17th stitch and the 16th stitch (or where you marked 3.5") and pull up a loop of edging color (I used pink). Chain 1. Single crochet (SC) in the back loops of stitches across. Don't forget to SC the last 16 stitches together (pic below). 

Rotate work and repeat on bottom edge. 

Weave in ends and try your new sweater on!!!

** You can also simply whip stitch the tops and bottom of pockets in coordinating color if you don't want to SC across.

Color sequence:
Foundation chain and first 3 rows: purple
1 row = light purple
2 rows = pink
1 row = beige
3 rows = blue
1 row = brown
3 rows = green
1 row = purple
3 rows = light purple
1 row = pink
2 rows = beige
1 row = blue
2 rows = brown
1 row = green
2 rows = purple

leftover yarn

finished #biblesweater

For years, I have had a stretchy fabric book cover on my Bible just to protect it and make it cute (before painting the covers became a thing). I found that keeping that cover on under my new sweater allows it to sit smoothly if that makes sense. It doesn't stretch weird or slide around. And the pink cover gives me an extra pocket to store photos or whatever.

before

with pink stretchy cover

with new sweater

inside front cover

I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know if you have any questions. And if you make one and share it on social media, tag me or use the hashtag #BibleSweater 

Keep creating,
Ann :) 

"Crocheting for Calm" series - Crocheted Cat Blankets

Hello! This is the first post in my "Crocheting for Calm" series. I hope you enjoy!

To help myself relax in the evenings, I've been forcing myself to stop all work by a particular time and to purposefully sit and do something fun. This plus wanting to de-stash some of my yarn (gotta make room so I can buy more!) has me making little blankets with the intention of donating them to a local cat shelter. 

They work up in just an evening or two since they are only 20-22 inches square (a great size for a snuggly kitty waiting for a new home). Here are some of my first batch...

...blanket #1 with shell edging...

Blanket #1 I did in double crochet (US) with a varigated yarn. I finished it off with a single crochet border in blue, then a basic shell stitch (5 dc in one sc) in pink.

...blanket #2 with bobble border and blanket #3 closed ripple...

Blanket #2 is worked in a double crochet throughout. The border has one row of single crochet in pink, then a row of 5 single crochets and a bobble repeated around in blue, and finished with another row of single crochets in pink.

Blanket #3 is done in what is referred to as a "closed ripple" stitch. It's been a long time since I attempted a ripple and I like how quick this tiny blanket worked up. Once I got the rhythm of the stitch down, it was pretty easy. 

....blanket #4 crab stitch border...

Blanket #4 I did in half double crochets with a few bobble rows here and there, but the fun part was the "crab stitch" edging which is where you're basically single crocheting from left to right (backwards!). Just another fun technique that I learned from Donna Kooler's "Encyclopedia of Crochet" book. This was my first attempt at the crab stitch and her explanation was perfect.

Of course, as I was working on these, our kitties had to test them out. Fluffy Orange Cat preferred to lay on one and have another one on top of him. Now to wash them up and get them over to the shelter!

I have made several more and will post pics soon so check back often!

Also, check out my Etsy shop for some non-cat crochet accessories (women's necklaces, rings, etc.)!

Grace and peace,
:) Ann