We use reusable cloth bags for our grocery shopping, but I found that I was still using the clear plastic bags to put my produce in. This felt like I was defeating the whole purpose. So I wanted to make something that was lightweight but durable (though I still take the veggies out when they are weighed), and equally as important; washable.

I based the design on several patterns, and started, ripped apart, and then restarted the bag until I was happy with the result. Even after the first bag I changed the design slightly for the second, and plan to do so again for the third. The finished product is very stretchy, has two smaller handles instead of one large one, and can be folded very neatly so it can fit inside my purse.

I used a set of 5 3.25 mm double pointed needles, and size 10 cotton crochet thread. Each bag, depending on your desired size, uses about 3/4 of a ball. However, one can change the size of the bad simply by using larger needles (I have made a bag with 4.5 mm ones - which made for a much looser stitch), or the wieght of the cotton. This same pattern could be used to make larger grocery bags as well simply by adjusting guage.