Knitting Pattern Farmers Market Tote
Hi friends! Who uses super bulky yarn in the summer time, raise your hand. 😉 While I enjoy using lighter yarns in the warm months, my all time favorite yarn is super bulky. This means it gets put to use year round. If you follow my blog at all, you know I’m all about simple construction methods and easy stitches for my knit and crochet projects. This fun farmers market bag is no exception as it’s worked in the round with basic knit stitches and then seamed closed at the bottom. You won’t find any complicated increasing or decreasing. 😉
Today’s project uses the beautiful All Things You Yarn in the natural Mushroom and Barley colors which gives it an earthy, toned down look that I love. It was a thrill to be able to design this bag a few months ago for Darice’s blog Live.Craft.Love (it’s a really cool blog to browse by the way)! The bag is SO simple to make as it’s worked in the round with very basic knit stitches. Ever since making the crocheted Manhattan Market Tote, I had wanted to make a similar knit version and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.
This knitting project is just as beautiful as it is functional you guys! The trendy, chunky yarn makes it a perfect cold weather bag, yet the open mesh near the top makes it just right for the spring and summer months. Because it’s made with a super bulky yarn, the bag works up fairly quickly and the varied stitches gives it a beautiful texture. The natural tones are sure to match any wardrobe. Enjoy!
I apparently have a thing for using chunky yarns for bag making – lol! Remember these…
and this…..
You may purchase the ad-free printable PDF pattern from Etsy HERE or scroll down for the free pattern!
You will need:
2 skeins of All Things You Yarn Super Bulky 6 Yarn in Mushroom (90 Yards per skein) (Pattern uses nearly entire two skeins)
1 skein of All Things You Yarn Super Bulky 6 Yarn in Barley (90 yards per skein)
US Size 13, 9.0 mm 16” inch circular knitting needles
Scissors
Tapestry needle
Measurements:
Bag measures 17” inches tall and 14” inches wide
Gauge is not important for this pattern
Notes:
Pattern is worked in the round from the bottom up. You will be knitting the stockinette stitch, the seed stitch and a simple mesh stitch as well. Finally you will seam the bottom closed and attach the handle!
Abbreviations and Skills:
k-knit
p-purl
yo – yarn over
k2tog – knit together
Pattern:
Bottom Section:
CO 63 Stitches with Barley, join to knit in the round
Round 1: *K1, p1; repeat from * around
Round 2: *P1, k1; repeat from * around
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for approximately 3” inches
Main Section:
Change color to Mushroom
Round 1: Knit around (creating stockinette stitch)
Repeat round 1, knitting each round until you have a total of 7” inches of stockinette stitch
(At this point, you will have 3” inches of seed stitch and 7” inches of stockinette stitch for a total of 10” inches)
Upper Seed Stitch Section:
Change to color Barley in 1st stitch
Round 1: *K1, p1; repeat from * around
Round 2: *P1, k1; repeat from * around
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for approximately 2” inches.
Upper Mesh Section
Change color to Mushroom
Round 1: Knit each stitch around
Round 2: K1, *yo, k2tog*, repeat from * to * around
Round 3: Knit each stitch around
Round 4: K2, *yo, k2tog*, repeat from * to * around to last stitch, k1.
Repeat rounds 1 – 4 for approximately 3” inches
Final Seed Stitch Section:
Change color to Barley
Round 1: K1, p1 around
Round 2: P1, k1 around
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for approximately 2” inches
Shoulder Strap
Change color to Mushroom
Round 1: K around
Round 2: Cast off 56 stitches, leaving 7 stitches on your needle
Now you will work in rows creating the seed stitch.
Row 1 *K1, p1; repeat from * across
Row 2 *P1, k1; repeat from * across
Repeat rows 1 & 2 until the handle is approximately 19” inches long.
Cast off handle and whip stitch end of handle to opposite side of bag.
With your tapestry needle and a length of yarn, whip stitch the bottom of the bag closed. Tie off and weave in ends.
Above: Attaching one side of the handle to the bag with a simple whip stitch.
That’s all there is to it! I hope that you enjoy your new Farmers Market Tote!
-Jessica
Could you please make this tote pattern in crochet as well? Thanks!
I’m so happy that you like it! I will keep a crochet version in mind. Thanks for the suggestion! You might like my Manhattan Market tote as it’s quite similar!
Olá! Amei seu blog, seu trabalho é incrível assim como suas fotos! Acompanharei tudo de perto!
Um abraço aqui do Brasil! <3
Hi Camila!
Thank you for taking the time to write all the way from Brazil! Hugs from here in Colorado.
Hi Jessica,
I love your patterns and have made several since finding your blog! I just finished the farmers market tote and noticed that when I got to the strap I was getting a rib stitch so I needed to just do the K1,P1 on every row to get the seed stitch. When knitting in the round it did need to be opposite. I love this pattern and will most likely make it again!
Thank you,
Rebecca
Love your ideas. Can’t wait to try this. So glad you have
“knitting patterns” as i can’t crochet. Thank you
Hi Elaine! I’m so glad that you enjoy the knitting patterns. 🙂
Hi!
Was wondering if you would happen to know how many stitches to cast on and yardage I would need to make this bag in worsted weight? Thanks!
Hi!
I love this pattern and can’t wait to try it! I can’t find this yarn anywhere online, what’s the specs on this yarn or what would be a good substitute?
Any super bulky yarn will work – Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick is very similar!
Hi jessica
Would you be able to tell me whats the equivalent in grams for the skeins needed ? Sorry I’m still learning and I’m not sure how to work this out
Thank a lot for sharing this beautiful patterns with us
Hi Jessica,. Thank you for your patterns. You make such beautiful projects! I am a beginner knitter, learning from videos and blogs. I have knit many hats and a few scarves, but nothing else. I saw this beautiful bag and decided to try. It came out so nice, I was so excited to have achieved it. But when I put even a light object it stretches out the handle and bag, elongatng the bag too much, rendering it unusable. I used a Michael’s brand chunky yarn. What did I do wrong. I was hoping to make more for gifts. Thank you again, so much!
Hi Ive! Congrats on learning to knit! The handle does stretch but I’m sorry that it was so much that you can’t use it! I’m not sure that you could have done anything different except possibly make the handle shorter to account for the stretch. I don’t put a lot of heavy items in mine so I can’t say that it’s done the same. The only other idea is to use store bought handles rather than the knit. Or even line the bag and the handle with fabric. Just some thoughts and thanks for reaching out so others can keep this in mind!
Hi Jessica!
I love this bag and have made several, but would like to k not one in a light (3) yarn for summer. I am still relatively New at knitting and I have a question. How would I adjust the pattern and needles to use this lighter yarn? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Kind regards
Shelley
Hi! You’d have to adjust quite a bit for it to not turn out too small, Shelley. You’d definitely want to match the needle size to whatever yarn you choose. If it’s a lighter yarn, you’d need to add stitches to make it larger in order to make up for the size you’ll lose.
Could I use 2 strands of cotton yarn instead of the yarn you used? I would want to make it out of yarn that could be washed easily. Thanks so much for your beautiful patterns!!
I’d say yes! Maybe 2 to 3 strands. 🙂
Hi Jessica,
i really like your knitting pattern. easy to understand even for new knitter like me.
i want to try this bag, but i only have worsted yarn and 5mm needle. how many cast on do i need for making this bag with size like your bag. thank you
regards from indonesia 🙂
Hi Jessica, love your work ❤️ Please help, I’ve exhausted YouTube for examples I’m knitting in the round for the first time and making the farmers market tote. I’m stuck! I’ve knitted the moss stitch and the the first row of plain stitch but can’t figure out how to change over and purl row 2 in the round. Appreciate any assistance you could provide, tia !
Huge fan!!!!
Sue from South Africa
Hi Sue! I may not be understanding your question, but I’m happy to help! When you purl, it’s exactly the same as purling when you knit flat. So purl just as you would if you were knitting flat. I hope this helps!
I love this pattern! Thank you so much for sharing, the possibilities for personalizing it are endless. I spotted a market tote pattern on Pinterest, searched and found many, actually; but they were so involved and over-complicated. When I found your pattern I stopped searching. Thank you for demystifying this very useful knitting project and for sharing it freely.
Nevermind! I should have looked it up first before asking you in a post. I read that it’s different in a round. Wish me luck! 🙂
Hi. I love the look of this tote and am excited to knit it. Thank you so much for posting it. I’m a newbie so bare with me. It says in the main section to “knit around and to repeat round 1, knitting each round until you have 7” of stockinette stitch.” I read that knitting each row is garter stitch and knit 1 row and purl 1 row is stockinette stitch. Is it different in a round? Thank you