Gift bags that keep on giving Jen Spears I like giving gift bags with my gifts. The amount of paper waste in gift giving bothers me, and for the same $3.99 the giftee gets a bonus they can use as a lunch bag, for shopping, storing, vacation, kid stuff in the car, you name it. I like this particular yarn for bags because it is a thick yarn that doesn’t split while working. I use the ‘ridge’ loop of the chain in round one because I think it holds the bottom of the bag together better. Sturdy and tight construction means there’s no need for additional lining… and I’m all for that. I Love This Yarn worsted, 5 oz skein (available at Hobby Lobby) H/I hook, or whatever you need for a firm but comfortable fabric chain 26 Round 1: sc in the 'ridge' loop of second chain from hook and each remaining chain. (25 sc at this point) Turn and sc in the back loop of each chain. Place stitch marker on first sc. 50 sc total Round 2: 3sc in first sc, *sc to next corner, 3 sc in corner sc*, repeat from * to * to marker. Round 3: *sc to corner, 3 sc in corner sc*, repeat from * to * to marker. Round 4 - 6: repeat round 3 Round 7: In back loops only - sc to the 3sc corner of previous row. Dec sc over those three stitches (insert hook in next sc, pull up a loop - 3 times yo and pull through all loops), *sc to next corner, dec sc over 3 stitches* repeat from * to * to marker Rounds 8 - 30: sc evenly around Round 31 (handles): remove marker. lay bag flat out so bottom is even. Working in the round has probably skewed your top corners from your original mark, but that's ok! Place your marker where the top corners are now in order for bag to lay flatly. sc to marker if needed. sc for 11 stitches, ch 12, sk 14 and insert hook in stitch 15. sc for 22 stitches, sk 14 and insert hook in stitch 15. sc to marker. Round 32: sc to chain. 12 sc over chain, sc around to next handle. 12 sc over chain. sc to marker Rounds 33 - 36 sc evenly around. fasten off.
This pattern can be easily resized. Chain 16 or 21 and reduce height rounds accordingly. Or, chain 31, 36, 41 and make a tote! My experience is that anything larger than 30 may be too heavy to stand up on its own. It will still work great as a bag, but you may not get that ‘gift bag’ look.