http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ditch-the-plastic-bags-diy-knitted-shopping-bag.html
Ditch the Plastic: DIY Knitted Shopping Bag
“Hey, where’d you get that great shopping bag? Oh, it’s so cute. Can I touch it?” Did you ever carry a little puppy around? If so, strangers clamor for a touch and to ogle the precious pup. If you needed any more incentives for ditching the plastic bag (Melissa’s got a bunch of them here), this DIY knitted bag will elicit the puppy effect at the grocery store, farmers market and food coop.
Those of you who read my blog EcoNesting DIY know that knitting is my favorite DIY addiction. I have been following Mason-Dixon Knitting authors Kay Gardiner and Ann Meador Shayne since their first book came out. In an editorial review about the book at Amazon, the authors, are considered “the rock stars of the knitting community.” Kay and Ann are so witty, opinionated and chatty that I feel like I have a knitting group inside of my computer every time I click onto their blog. I highly recommend checking Mason-Dixon out. I suspect non-knitters would also find plenty of inspiration on this site.
I spoke with Kay and they have agreed to pass along the knitting pattern for a hand knitted reusable Monteagle Bag here. Kay says this pattern is one of their favorites, but they seem to coddle all their knitting patterns like puppies.
Kay and Ann encourage you to make a batch of these, which will accomplish several things:
1. You will learn some totally insane new stitch patterns.
2. You will use up some linen or cotton yarn that has been lingering in your stash.
3. You will wave goodbye to that drawer full of plastic grocery bags you didn’t much know what to do with anyway.
4. You will get to talk to people at the grocery store who envy your bag and want to know where you “bought” it (the puppy effect).
Kay says, “One ‘eco’ thing about the Monteagle Bag is that it can be made in almost any linen or cotton yarn (including the cheap-but-tough dishcloth cotton brands), and it looks great made of several leftover colors. So it’s a way of using yarn that would otherwise be wasted or (shriek!) thrown into the landfill. On our blog, we have posted links to YouTube demonstrations of the two novel stitches used in the bag, Veil stitch and a double-wrapped twisted stitch. These two stitches are new to most knitters, although they are not truly new at all.”
Want to join me in cranking out some reusable bags for groceries, laundry, gifts, the beach and maybe even to carry puppy food?
Ronnie Citron-Fink lives in New York with her husband, two children (when they come home to the nest), two dogs and a cat. Ronnie is a teacher and a writer. She has been a contributing writer for Family Fun magazine. She currently writes articles about education and home design. Her writings are in four books including Family Fun Home and Some Delights of the Hudson Valley.
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35 comments
add your comment »Actually, I'm using the old plastic grocery bags that had accumulated under my kitchen sink to knit up a mud-trap rug to use for my boots in the winter.
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why is this inappropriate?
Have made other crochet "plastic" bags, but this one looks a bit more fun. Thanks!
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Nice
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thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner,Prefabrik
mega kabin
Konteyner
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I switched from plastic to reusable canvas bags a long time ago. But back in the day when I used plastic bags I always used them a second time....as trash bags....so I never had to buy trash bags which are also plastic. Does anyone have a suggestion what I could use in place of plastic trash bags? I can't use paper bags for the trash because the apartment management where I live requires us to use bags that can be tied shut. I would appreciate any ideas.
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in Australia they are just starting to faze out the plastic shopping bag. good to see that it is happening all aroung the world. My mum remembers when they never had them to start with and always used baskets or homemade bags.
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Ive now learnt how to share link to petition ...if youre interested...http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-noncompostible-packaging-in-the-uk...many thanks for looking! Sarah
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I try to use my canvas bags (when I remember to) but whenever I use plastic bags, I take them back to my supermarket and they have a bin to recycle them.
Liane R.
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Thanks for spreading such important information and making the consumer more aware of the bag problem/solution.
Rosie
Naples, FL
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another wonderful idea for gettin rid of plastic bags....A related problem seems to me the gross amount of noncompostible packaging in the world...A lot of "recyclable" packs,(often unneeded) cannot actually BE recycled in many areas!I just started a petition about this....you readers may like to look....under environment on care2 petitionsite....Meanwhile ill tell my v keen knittinfriend about these bags!
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