Web-Letter, Issue 139 – Provence Summer String Bag Many women, myself included, have a large collection of bags—bags for knitting, lunch, the beach, groceries—bags to tote just about anything you need to carry from one location to another. Lined or unlined, Kathy North's crocheted Summer String Bag in Classic Elite's Provence yarn serves many uses and will make an excellent addition to any collection of bags. Creative Director
The Story: From Kathy: Many enjoyable hours can be spent perusing stitch dictionaries. It’s entertaining to search for and discover complex-looking stitch patterns that belie their ease of execution. When I came across the bauble stitch and played with the first few rows, I found it had a simple logic and soothing rhythm. With the recent popularity of market bag styles, it seemed that this stitch pattern would be perfect applied to a “string” bag design. By working in-the-round, the project practically made itself! The mercerized cotton fairly flew through my fingers and the bag was quickly completed. When it came time to decide on a finish, slit handles were incorporated in the top border for a simple counterpoint to the showy lace section. I prefer the look of this bag in its unlined state, envisioning it for use as a beach tote or shopping bag, but a colorful fabric lining could be inserted if desired. See here for how to line a bag. Enjoy breezing through your own Summer String Bag, then tote it along on your next outing to the shore or store! See what else Kathy is up to on her website. The Yarn: Provence 100% mercerized Egyptian cotton Provence is mercerized Egyptian cotton that crochets into a strong and beautiful fabric. Egyptian cotton has two qualities that make it a great cotton yarn: a very long staple (fiber) length and a small diameter. The long staple gives the yarn strength and sheen; and the delicate diameter means that it spins into a soft, smooth yarn. Mercerizing makes a yarn that is stable, takes dye well, and is less likely to shrink. Provence comes in a whopping 56 colors—make your market bag in a bright color, a neutral, something pastel, and/or basic black. The Stitches: The stitch pattern Kathy choose to use is from the The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches, published by Random House in 2003. It is created by working a row of V-stitches, made by working a double crochet, chaining 2 stitches, then working another double crochet all in the same stitch. The following row consists of treble crochets worked in each of the ch-2 spaces created by the V-stitches. Learn more about double crochet and treble crochet.	more photos The Pattern: Here is the free downloadable Provence Summer String Bag pattern. If you have difficulty downloading or printing the PDF pattern above, try these: page 1, page 2
Download this pattern now. Find this design on Ravelry. If you do not yet have access to Ravelry, it's easy to join.
If you like the design above, you'll like this too:
	Market Bag in Allegoro. Pattern available in 9111 Farmer's Market.
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