Seaside Beach Bag

Seaside Beach and Market Bag by Marly Bird

Project Overview

The Seaside Beach and Market Bag is an intermediate-level knitting project designed by Marly Bird. This versatile bag combines functionality with practical design, featuring a felted bottom that creates a sturdy foundation and mesh sides that allow sand to drain while keeping contents secure. The bag is spacious and stretches to accommodate a substantial amount of items, making it ideal for beach outings, pool trips, or market shopping.

What Is Being Made

This is a knitted tote-style bag designed for beach and market use. The construction includes a felted base for durability and strength, mesh-patterned sides for breathability and sand drainage, and a structured body capable of holding toys, snacks, and other beach essentials. The bag's expandable design allows it to stretch and accommodate varying amounts of cargo.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Felting: The bottom of the bag is felted to create a sturdy, reinforced foundation that withstands the weight of beach and market items.
• Double-stranded knitting: The base and trim are worked holding two strands of yarn together for added strength and structure.
• Single-strand knitting: The body of the bag transitions to single-strand knitting for the mesh pattern.
• Circular knitting: The project utilizes circular needles for seamless construction.
• Mesh pattern creation: The sides feature an open mesh design that functions as a sand-filtering element while maintaining item security.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The pattern employs stockinette stitch (St st) as the primary stitch foundation. The mesh sides are created using an open stitch pattern that allows sand to pass through while containing larger items. The combination of stockinette stitch in the base and body with the mesh pattern creates both structure and functionality.

Materials and Yarn

The Seaside Beach and Market Bag is constructed using two distinct yarns to achieve optimal performance:

• Cascade Yarns "220 Wool" (100% Peruvian Wool; 220 yards per 100 grams): Color 7813 (main color), 2 skeins. This wool provides durability and structure for the base and trim.
• Cascade Yarns "Ultra Pima" (100% Pima Cotton; 220 yards per 100 grams): Color 3734 (contrast color), 1 skein. This cotton yarn creates the breathable mesh body.

Needles and Notions

The project requires Size 9 (5.5 mm) needles, specifically double-pointed needles (dpns) and a 24-inch circular needle, or a size that achieves the specified gauge. Additional notions include a stitch marker for tracking rounds and a yarn needle for weaving in ends and any necessary seaming.

Gauge

The pattern specifies a gauge of 14 stitches and 18 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in stockinette stitch worked double-stranded. The designer notes that achieving exact gauge is not critically important for this project, allowing for flexibility in construction while maintaining the intended finished size and functionality.

Difficulty Level

Rated as an intermediate project, the Seaside Beach and Market Bag requires familiarity with basic knitting techniques including working with circular needles, managing multiple yarn strands, and understanding stitch patterns. The felting process and mesh pattern construction add complexity beyond beginner-level projects.