I was recently surprised to learn that those ubiquitous accessories of consumer culture, polyethylene plastic shopping bags, have been banned in multiple countries (unfortunately not the US or Canada). They’ve been banned for good reason, as not only are they cluttering up both cities and countryside, choking animals and contaminating soil as they photodegrade into small toxic bits, but they’re also largely implicated in the formation of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I see no reason for plastic shopping bags to continue to exist, as the reusable alternatives are both inexpensive and convenient. Now, as for my part in all this:
This is my version of the Saturday Market Bag. It’s knit from organic cotton and stretches to hold a rather large amount of stuff, yet it squashes down to a small and portable size. I modified the original pattern by using a toe-up sock cast-on so as to knit it in the round (I hate seaming, and a seamless bag is a stronger construction anyway), and grafted the handles to the edge of the bag using Kitchener stitch. This is a great summer project and I’ve already started making a couple more using up some cotton yarn in my stash.