Market Bag

I wanted to create a market bag for a friend who really enjoys farmers' markets. I like some of the patterns I saw, but wanted to create one from scratch. What you'll see here is what I did, obviously you can change it to suit your needs.

Yarn:
Lily Sugar 'n' Cream

Needles:
US#9 set of 5 double-pointed needles, US#9 and US#10 circular needles.

Gauge:
Approximately 18st over 4 inches on US#9 in stockinette

BASE:
On three US#9 DPN, cast on 9 stitches (3 per needle).

Row 1: Knit around.
Row 2: (KFB, KFB, K1) three times (15 stitches)
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: *K1 (KFB) three times, K1, repeat from * to end of round (24 sts)
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: *K1 (KFB) six times K1, repeat from * to end of round (42 sts)
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: K1, KFB, K to last three st on needle, KFB, K2, repeat for next two needles (48 sts)
Row 9: Knit
Row 10: Repeat Row 8 (54 st)
Rows 11- 18: Repeat rows 7 and 8 until there are 78 stitches on the needles.
Row 19: Knit
Row 20: Purl

BODY:
Switch to US#10 circular needle.

Row 1 of body: Knit
Row 2: YO, K2, to the end.
Row 3: Knit

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for approximately 11 inches (or to desired length).

TOP:

Row 1 of top: Knit
Switch to four, US#9 DPN
Needle 1: 19 sts
Needle 2: 20 sts.
Needle 3: 19 sts.
Needle 4: 20 sts.

Decrease row: (K8, K2tog, K9, K2tog, K16, K2tog) twice. There should now be 18 sts on each of the four DPNs

Next two rows: Knit
Next row: Purl
Next four rows: Knit

STRAPS:

Row 1 of straps: K12, P9, K6, P9, K12, P9, K6, P9
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: Repeat row 1
Row 4: BO12, K9 and hold on first DPN, BO6, K9 and hold on second DPN, BO12, K9 and hold on third DPN, BO6, K9 on fourth DPN.

Starting with the 9 stitches on the fourth DPN, knit every row until desired length of strap (the straps on the original are about 20 inches long). Once the first strap is to desired length, use a three-needle bind off to knit the 9 stitches on the DPN number four to the 9 stitches on DPN number one. Break yarn and weave in end.

Join the yarn and knit the second strap starting with the stiches on DPN number two. Knit to desired length and use a three-needle bind off to join the strap to the nine stitches on DPN number three. Break yarn and weave in end.

FINISHING:

There may be some places where the stiches seem loose around the top. If this is the case for you, use duplicate stitches to reinforce any "weak" areas on the bag.

The bag itself is very stretchy. I was able to roll up a beach towel and put it in the bag. You'll notice the bag will become very long when heavy objects are placed in it. This may be a reason to make your straps shorter than the ones I created. You may want the body of your bag to also be shorter.