Don't Leaf Home Without It Tote

Don't Leaf Home Without It Market Tote by Sunshine Stewart

Project Overview

The Don't Leaf Home Without It Market Tote is an elegant, reusable shopping bag designed to reduce plastic waste while adding style to your weekly errands or leisure activities. This versatile tote works equally well for grocery shopping, glamping trips to the shower block, or a day at the beach. The pattern is worked in the round from the bottom up, offering flexibility in sizing and construction options.

What Is Being Made

A structured market tote bag featuring a spacious main body with your choice of two different strap or handle options. The bag is designed to be robust and durable, capable of handling heavy groceries without difficulty. The pattern accommodates three distinct sizing options—large, medium, and small—achieved by adjusting yarn weight rather than pattern modifications.

Sizing and Yarn Weight Options

• Large size: Worked in worsted weight yarn for a sturdy, heavy-duty bag
• Medium size: Worked in DK weight yarn for a mid-range capacity tote
• Small size: Worked in 4ply yarn for a compact, lightweight version

Knitting Techniques and Construction

This intermediate-level pattern employs circular knitting worked in the round from the bottom up, a technique that creates seamless fabric and is ideal for constructing bags with clean, continuous stitch patterns. The bottom-up construction method allows you to easily adjust the bag's depth before completing the top edge and attaching handles.

The pattern includes stitch work that creates a decorative pattern at a gauge of 5.8 stitches per inch. The design features a choice of two different strap or handle styles, allowing knitters to customize the finished look and functionality of their tote.

Stitches Used

While specific stitch abbreviations are not detailed in the pattern excerpt, the tote is constructed using standard knitting stitches worked in the round. The pattern is worked "in pattern," indicating a repeating stitch or colorwork design that creates visual interest throughout the bag's body.

Materials Required

• Needles: Double-pointed needles in an appropriate size to achieve your gauge, plus 16-inch circular needles sized to match
• Notions: Stitch marker, crochet hook or tapestry needle for weaving in ends
• Yarn: Approximately 250g or less of cotton yarn in your choice of color and weight

Materials Details

The pattern calls for cotton yarn, a natural fiber choice that offers breathability, durability, and easy care—ideal qualities for a bag that will hold groceries and beach supplies. The large size pictured in the pattern uses 250g (410 yards) of Rowan Cotton Jeans in worsted weight, combined with Jute and Sierra yarns for added texture and structure. This yarn combination was knitted to a gauge of 5.8 stitches per inch using 4mm (US 6) needles.

Difficulty Level

Rated as intermediate, this pattern is suitable for knitters with foundational skills in circular knitting and basic stitch techniques. The bottom-up construction and in-the-round working method require comfort with circular needle techniques and stitch marker management.

Pattern Format

This is a downloadable PDF pattern, providing instant access to written instructions that you can print or view digitally while working on your project.