Monteagle Bag

People have needs. Everybody needs a reuseable grocery bag to tuck in their purse or stash in the car. Non-knitting friends need you to knit things for them; you need to make them happy without sacrificing very much knitting time. The answer to all of these needs is the Monteagle Bag, a quick but exquisite little piece of openwork knitting.

The Monteagle Bag takes the concept of the string bag to new heights by including a few rows of acrobatic multiple-wrap stitch patterns that look almost like macramé. These patterns, while dazzling, only last for a few rows; once you get the hang, they go quickly.

Linen yarn has a stringy quality and tensile strength that cries out to be made into a shopping bag that gets daily use, but you can make the Monteagle Bag in any sturdy yarn. We’ve seen some beauties made from short-length leftovers of linen, dishcloth cotton, bamboo, and silk yarns. Mix up yarns and colors all hippie-like, and get street cred at the food co-op.