PatternBagsBy The Hook Desk18 Sep 2026
Mesh market bag, 38 cm wide
How do I crochet a market bag that stretches but does not sag to the ground?
- Hook
- 4.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted cotton (#4), approx. 70 g. Do not use acrylic — it stretches permanently under load.
- Gauge
- Base: 18 sc and 20 rounds = 10 cm. Mesh: 8 chain-3 spaces = 10 cm relaxed
- Finished
- 38 cm wide, 35 cm deep, 22 cm handle drop. Holds about 8 kg
Cotton, a 4 mm hook and about 70 g of yarn. The base is worked as a flat oval in joined rounds; the mesh above it is worked in a spiral so there is no seam running up the side.
Materials
- 70 g worsted cotton
- 4.0 mm hook
- Stitch marker
- Blunt tapestry needle
- Optional: 40 cm of 8 mm cotton webbing for a reinforced handle
Abbreviations
- sc = single crochet
- ch = chain
- ch-3 sp = chain-3 space
- inc = 2 sc in one stitch
- MR = magic ring
Round by round
Open any round to read what happens in it.
R1 · 8 sts
MR, 8 sc into the ring. Pull closed. Base is worked in joined rounds, not a spiral.
R2 · 16 stsinc
inc in each stitch around. Join with sl st.
R3 · 32 stsinc
(1 sc, inc) around. Join.
R4 · 64 stsinc
(3 sc, inc) around, working the last group as 2 sc, inc. Join.
R5 · 96 stsinc
(5 sc, inc) around, last group 4 sc, inc. Join. The base is now a flat oval about 38 cm around.
R6 · 96 sts
Plain round in the back loop only. This creases the base edge and makes the bag stand up.
R7 · 96 sts
Plain sc round. Continue in a spiral from here — move the marker each round.
R8 · 32 stsdec
Mesh begins: (ch 3, skip 2 sts, sc in next st) around. 32 spaces.
R9 · 32 sts
(ch 3, sc in next ch-3 sp) around. Repeat this round until the mesh measures 30 cm.
R10 · 64 stsinc
Top band: 2 sc in each ch-3 sp around, giving 64 sc. This doubling is what stops the mesh stretching at the rim.
R11 · 64 sts
Plain sc round.
R12 · 64 sts
Handle round: sc in 10 sts, ch 40, skip 22 sts, sc in 10 sts, ch 40, skip 22 sts, join with sl st. Check the handle drop is 22 cm.
R13 · 104 sts
sc in each st and each ch around both handles. This single crochet tube is the handle — do not leave it as bare chains.
R14 · 104 sts
Second sc round around the handles. Fasten off and weave in.
Finishing
- Weave the base tail into the base, not the mesh, so the load is carried by the solid fabric.
- Wet-block the empty bag flat, then hang it with 2 kg inside for 24 hours to settle the mesh.
- If you added webbing, stitch it to the inside of each handle with a 1 mm backstitch.
If it goes wrong
The bag stretches to the floor when loaded.
Either the yarn is acrylic, or the base is too small. Cotton at this gauge sags about 6 cm under 5 kg; acrylic sags 20 cm or more.
The mesh holes have closed up.
Tension is too tight on the chains. Chain at normal tension and work the sc in the space, not into the chains.
The handles cut into your hand.
One round of sc is too thin for 8 kg. Add two more sc rounds, or stitch on cotton webbing.