Free Pattern- Mini tote

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”

-Helen Keller

To skip over my babblings and jump straight to the free pattern, click here.

If you’d like an ad-free copy of this pattern that includes variations for multiple sizes, or if you’d just like to support me as a designer, consider purchasing your download for a small fee from my new Ravelry store here.

Harmony Market Tote Series, No. 1: Diamond Mesh Tote

Easy, no sew, mini, all-purpose, super durable, fantastically stretchy, solid bottomed, mesh-bodied, kid friendly market tote. 

This tote is a collection of basic stitches organized in an intuitive way, the result being a functional and durable bag that’s fun and easy to make.

It is worked in rounds from the bottom up in one piece- no assembly or sewing involved, and no excessive end weaving.

Better still, you don’t need to do much stitch counting beyond the beginning couple of steps and the handle round- visual cues are abundant. For instance, the stitch increases in the base section always land in the center of the increases from the round before- easy peasy.

They are perfect for those heavy grocery items that can too easily be overloaded into larger and less capable bags, such as canned goods.  They are very durable and can hold a good deal of weight- up to 20 lbs!

                

Not that the occasion to carry 20 pounds in a little handmade bag comes along very often…

With lighter contents, the bag is petite and great for kids who like to carry their own shopping bags. It would make a great little beach bag!  Machine wash and dryable= easy maintenance.

            

And I love a good solid bottom to prevent little things from slipping through the diamond mesh.

Sooo… on to the lil tote of many adjectives!

Mini Tote

Materials

Yarn: RHSS, shown in wildflower; approx. 170 yards/100 grams

Hook:  US I9/5.50mm, or size to obtain gauge

one stitch marker (optional)

tapestry needle, to weave in your two ends 🙂

Gauge: Gauge is not critical- mine measures 6” x 3.5” after Rnd 5 is complete.

Finished Unstretched Dimensions: About 9” long and 12.5” wide, with an opening of 21” at the top. The handles are 11″ long each. This bag can stretch a lot!

*US crochet terminology used throughout- scroll to the bottom of this post for abbreviations and special stitch instructions

*stitch counts are underlined at the end of each round

*hopefully helpful hints are in italics

Ch 12

Rnd 1. Sc in 3^rd ch from hook and in next 8 chs. (sc,hdc) in last ch.  (Hdc counts as a ch 2 sp join.)           10sc, 2 ch 2 sps

Figure 1: Rnd 1 complete.

 

Rnd 2. Ch 2- does not count as st. 3 DC on the side of the hdc join.

(Do not turn, but continue to work along the bottom of the foundation chain.)

DC in 10 sts. 6 DC in the ch 2 sp.  DC in 10 sts.  3 DC on the side of the hdc join. Join with a sl st in the 1^st DC made.            32 DC

Figure 2: The first AND last 3 DC go here, on the side of the hdc join.

Figure 3: Rnd 2 complete.

           

Rnd 3.  Ch 1- counts as sc. *3 sc in next st. Sc in 12 sts. 3 sc in next st.* Sc in 2 sts.      Repeat from * to *   Sc in last st. Join with a sl st to the beg. ch 1.              40 sc

Rnd 4. Ch 3- counts as DC. DC in next st. *3 DC in next st. DC in 14 sts. 3 DC in next st.* DC in 4 sts. Repeat from * to *   DC in 2 sts. Join to 3^rd beg. ch with sl st.           48 DC

Rnd 5.  Ch 1- counts as sc.  Sc in 2 sts.  *3 sc in next st.  Sc in 16 sts. 3 sc in next st.* Sc in 6 sts. Repeat from * to *   Sc in 3 sts. Join to beg. ch 1 with a sl st.                56 sc

Figures 4 and 5: Rnd 5 complete. Gauge = 6″ x 3.5″

Rnd 6.  Ch 3- counts as DC. DC in 3 sts. *3 DC in next st. DC in 18 sts. 3 DC in next st.* DC in 8 sts.      Repeat from * to *   DC in 4 sts.  Join to 3^rd beg. ch with a sl st.                 64 DC

Rnd 7. Ch 1- counts as sc.  Sc in 4 sts.  *3 sc in next st. Sc in 20 sts. 3 sc in next st.* Sc in 10 sts.    Repeat from * to *   Sc in 5 sts. Join to beg. ch 1 with a sl st.                       72 sc

Rnd 8. Ch 3- counts as DC. DC in 5 sts. *2 DC in next st. DC in 22 sts. 2 DC in next st.* DC in 12 sts.     Repeat from * to *  DC in 6 sts. Join to 3^rd beg. ch with a sl st.                      76 DC

Rnd 9.  Ch 1- counts as sc. Sc in next st and in each st around. Join to beg. ch 1 with a sl st.                 76 sc

Rnd 10. Ch 3- counts as DC. DC in next st and each st around. Join to 3^rd beg. ch with a sl st.                76 DC

Rnd 11.  Repeat rnd 9

Rnd 12.  Repeat rnd 10

Rnd 13.  Repeat rnd 9

Rnd 14.  Ch 1, sc in same st as join. [ch 4, sk next st, sc in next st] around to the 2^nd to last st. Ch 2, sk last st, DC in the first sc of the round. The dc join counts as 2 chs and the first sc of the next rnd.         38 sc, 38 ch sps

Figure 6: Ch 2, skip the last st.

  Figure 7: DC in the first sc of the round.

                           

Rnds 15-21.  [Ch 4, sc in the next ch sp] around to the last ch sp. Ch 2, DC in the DC of the previous round.

Figures 8 and 9: At the end of each Rnd, ch 2 then DC into the DC of the previous round.

Rnd 22. Ch 3. [Sc in the next ch sp, ch 3] around. Join to the last DC of R21 with sl st.

Rnd 23. Sl st into the next ch sp. Ch 2-does not count as st. 2 DC in same sp. 2 DC in each ch sp around. Join to 1^st DC with a sl st.                      76 DC

Rnd 24. Ch 1, sc in same st as join and in each st around. Join to 1^st sc with a sl st. 76 sc

Handle Round

 

Rnd 25. Ch 1, sc in same st as join. Sc in 19 sts.

*[ch 1, turn, sc in 2 sts] 42 times, or until handle reaches desired length. If you decide to make your handle longer or shorter, just be sure to add or subtract rows evenly so you end up stitching down the correct side of your handle.

Ch 1- mark ch. Sc down the side of the handle.

Sc in 14 sts. Drop hook and line up handle.(figure 10)  Insert hook into the marked st and pull the dropped loop through. (figures 11-12)

Ch 1. [insert hook through the next st on the top of the handle and the next st of R24. YO, pull through both sts] twice. *

Ch 1. Sc in next 22 sts.

(figures 13-15) 

Repeat from * to *

Ch 1. Sc in last 2 sts. Join to 1^st sc with a sl st.

Figure 10: Line up your handle. 

  

Figures 11-12: Flip the handle forward; insert hook through marked ch and pull loop through.

Figure 13: Sl st the handle to the body.   

Figures 14-15: Ch 1, then sc as indicated. 

                 

Rnd 26. Ch 1, sc in same st as join. Sc in next 16 sts. This puts you one stitch before the handle begins.

*Sc2tog using the next st and 1^st available space on the outer edge of the handle.

Sc along the outer edge of the handle up to the last available sp.

Sc2tog using the last available space on the handle and the 1^st available sc after the handle. *

Sc in 18 sts.   Repeat from * to *

Sc in the last st.  Join with your prefered method(I like an invisible join, see remaining figures) and FO.

Sew in ends.

          

Stitches and Abbreviations

St(s) =stich(es);  sp(s) = space(s); ch(s) = chain(s); sc = single crochet; hdc =half double crochet; DC = double crochet; sl st =slip stitch; sc2tog= single crochet two together; [ ] = work directions in brackets the number of times specified; ( ) = work the directions in the parenthesis all in one st or sp; * * = set of instructions to be repeated later as specified; sk = skip; beg. = beginning; YO = yarn over

That’s all!

Thanks for taking the time to use my pattern! Enjoy your new bag!

❤

Update 6/7/19: If you’d like an ad-free copy of this pattern that includes variations for multiple sizes, or if you’d just like to support me as a designer, consider purchasing your download for a small fee from  my new Ravelry store here.

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