Cabled Ladders Shopping Bag by Cat Bordhi

Cabled Ladders Shopping Bag

Knitting
February 2014
DK (11 wpi) ?
24 stitches = 4 inches
in stockinette stitch
US 5 - 3.75 mm
450 - 700 yards (411 - 640 m)
Petite, small (medium, large)
English

This friendly and practical bag is cushy, as well as strong and expandable. Mine is the large size, and is always ready to carry purchases of any shape—it will hold the equivalent of a full bag of groceries. The handles are a continuation of four wide cable columns that grow from the base of the bag, and very secure. In between the strong columns are sections of narrow cables alternating with stretchy ladder rungs (dropped stitch columns). I knit my bag in a sturdy and springy sport weight wool and love the result. If you prefer to knit your bag with inelastic fibers like cotton or linen, work at a slightly larger gauge (for ease of knitting), which will also make the bag a bit bigger.

Sample shown in Cozy Fierce and Dirty Orange, with contrasting skein of Sapphire.