Free Reusable Crocheted Grocery Bag Pattern

ECO FRIENDLY SHOPPING BAG

Materials:
• Around 150 Yards of Lily Sugar'n Cream Yarn
• Size H or J Crochet Hook (Go with the J or larger if you crochet tightly)

Gauge:
The gauge of this pattern is not important because it will stretch.

Construction:
This bag is crocheted in the round from the top down. It might be helpful to use a paperclip or a stitch marker to define the start of the round.
Instructions:
CH- Chain
SL- Slip Stitch
SC- Single Crochet
DC- Double Crochet

Top & Handles:
1. CH 86.
2. SL 1 to join chain into a circle being careful not to twist the foundation row. SC the next 86 ST (row 1). SC two more rounds.
3. The next row you will be separating the handles from the body of the bag. SC 13, CH 11 (Skip 17 to create first handle), SC 26, CH 11 (Skip 17 to create second handle), SC 13.
4. SC 74 (one round)

Body
1. CH 4, {Skip 1, DC 1, CH 1} ←Repeat the bracketed stitches until you reach the end of the round.
2. DC into the opening created by the chain stitch openings of the previous round. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat the bracketed stitches for three more rounds.
3. (CH 2, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
4. {CH 2, DC 1} ←Repeat for four more rounds.
5. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
6. {CH 1, DC 1} ← Repeat for one round.
7. Bag Bottom: At the end of the previous round, lay the bag flat so that the handles are lying on top of one another. While holding the front and the back of the bag together, SC through both sides to close up the bottom of the bag, and tie a knot at the end.
8. Weave in ends.

Use of Pattern:
If you would like to post about this pattern on your website or blog, please include a link to this entry. Copyright 2008 Cassiemarie - All Rights Reserved. You may use this pattern to crochet items for personal use or charity. You may not sell the pattern itself or any items made using this pattern under any circumstances, neither individually nor in any compilation of patterns. You may not copy this pattern and post it elsewhere, not on a web page, nor message board, nor via e-mail, nor via any other electronic means. If you make modifications to the pattern, please only post the modifications you made, not the entire modified pattern. Thanks! :)
Fun Facts:
--Every year, each person in this country uses about 1,000 plastic bags.
--Using reusable bags will lower your carbon footprint and also save about 1,000 bags over the lifetime of the bag.

Good News!

Here is a sneak peek of what I've been working on recently. It is a group of interiors on 6"x6" hardwood panels. I've been using water-soluble oil paints in effort to nix the migraines I've been getting from paint thinner, and I really love them.
I found out this week that I got a Teaching Assistantship for next year as well, and I am VERY excited. I'll be teaching a foundations drawing class all by my lonesome. I really love NIU's MFA program because with my TA I'll be the teacher of record, so it will count as the precious 2 years of teaching experience that is necessary to score almost any university teaching position. I've been on cloud nine all week!
In other news, I'm completely ready for spring. Winter is starting to wear on me, and I'll be happy when I can feel the warmth of the sun again!
Speaking of winter, I went with the hubby's family to see Wicked in Chicago last weekend. It was a good show, and we stayed at an amazing hotel, but I think it could have been a little nicer outside- haha.Nothing like a good windy-ass sleet storm to get you in the mood to go walking around downtown!
Lastly, in lieu of nice weather, I've been doing some preliminary planning for the trip I want to take this summer. Nate and I, and possibly some others, are going to take a train up to Glacier National Park and camp/hike/paint for a week and a half. We are fairly set as far as camping gear goes, but we needed a nice backpack for Nate. Anyways, we were at the thrift store the other day, and *poof* right in front of me is this never-been-used $100 backpack with a $4.50 price tag on it.
I might have done a happy dance, or two.

Hello Semester, Goodbye Social Life

I am aware a large amount of time has elapsed since my last post, but I've been a little overwhelmed by school and travels these last few weeks. I've got four paintings in the Watercolor '08 show at the Norris Gallery in St. Charles right now until mid April. Framing those pieces caused an entirely unnecessary amount of stress. The long and short of the story is that I ordered frames online, they were craptastic, I had to quick go to the craft store and pick up mediocre frames, and re-mat each piece. Not the most fun thing to do on an already stressful weekend. Anyways, they look fine, and I got four pieces in, so not too bad of an end result.
Other than that, Nate and I went to the Dells for a couple of days over our short lived spring break, and that was pretty fun.
Also, I read a great book over break for my Eco Art Class- it can be found here on the class's blog. There are some other book reviews from my classmates on there as well, so if you are looking for an eco-friendly book to read, look no further.
Last but not least, here are some of the new yarns in my Etsy shop.They are all 100% Merino, and very squishy.