# Blue Forget-Me-Not Mesh Bag Free Crochet Pattern
I have a soft spot for market bags that don’t look like market bags, and this one is my new favorite. A breezy cornflower-blue mesh tote dotted with the sweetest little forget-me-not flowers — five sky-blue petals around a sunny yellow center — is the kind of thing that makes a grocery run feel like a garden stroll.
The construction is wonderfully simple: an oval base worked in rounds, a tall open mesh body that stretches to hold everything, a sturdy solid top band, and two comfortable handles. Then you scatter the little flowers around the top band and suddenly it’s not a bag, it’s a statement. This works up fast in cotton, so let’s make one for you and one for your best friend.
What You’ll Need
- DK weight (category 3) cotton yarn: approximately 250 yards cornflower blue (main color)
- Small amounts of DK cotton in sky blue, white, and yellow for the flowers
- US G-6 / 4.0 mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle, scissors, stitch markers
Gauge:
- 16 dc x 8 rows = 4 inches in double crochet. The mesh is forgiving, but a quick swatch keeps the bag from turning out purse-sized or beach-blanket-sized
Finished size:
- Approximately 12 inches wide and 13 inches tall (not including handles), with an 8-inch handle drop
- The mesh stretches generously when loaded
The Pattern
Special Stitches
Mesh stitch: Double crochet in the next stitch, chain 2, skip 2 stitches. Each mesh repeat uses 4 stitches.
Forget-me-not flower: With sky blue, make a magic ring. [Chain 2, 2 dc, chain 2, slip stitch into ring] 5 times for 5 petals. Fasten off. Center: With yellow, magic ring, 6 sc, join. Sew the center onto the middle of the petals. Make 7 flowers.
Base
With cornflower blue, chain 26.
Round 1: Sc in 2nd chain from hook and next 23 chains, 3 sc in last chain; rotate to work along the opposite side: sc in next 23 chains, 2 sc in the first chain. Join with a slip stitch. (52 sc)
Round 2: Chain 1, sc in first stitch, 2 sc in next, sc in next 23, 2 sc in next 3 stitches, sc in next 23, 2 sc in next 2 stitches. Join. (60 sc)
Rounds 3–7: Chain 1, sc in each stitch around, increasing 8 stitches evenly spaced each round. Join. (68, 76, 84, 92, 96 sc)
Your base should now be a flat oval about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide. (96 stitches — divisible by 4, which the mesh needs.)
Mesh Body
Round 8: Chain 3 (counts as dc), [chain 2, skip 2 stitches, dc in next stitch] 23 times, chain 2, skip 2, join with a slip stitch to the top of the beginning chain-3. (24 dc, 24 chain-2 spaces)
Rounds 9–22: Slip stitch into the first chain-2 space, chain 3 (counts as dc), [chain 2, dc in next chain-2 space] 23 times, chain 2, join to the top of the beginning chain-3. (24 mesh spaces each round)
Work 14 mesh rounds total. The body should measure about 10 inches from the base.
Top Band
Round 23: Chain 1, sc in each dc and 2 sc in each chain-2 space around. Join. (96 sc)
Rounds 24–25: Chain 1, sc in each stitch around. Join. (96 sc)
Handles (make 2)
With right side facing, join yarn at the top band: count 16 stitches for the handle base, skip 32 stitches, and join at the 33rd stitch with a slip stitch (this marks the other side of the handle opening).
**Handle
Row 1:** Chain 55, skip the 32 stitches, slip stitch into the marked stitch. (55-chain handle loop)
**Handle
Rows 2–4:** Chain 1, turn. Sc in each chain across. Turn. (55 sc)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Whipstitch the handle ends to the inside of the top band for extra strength. Repeat on the opposite side, centering the second handle.
Flowers and Finishing
Sew the 7 forget-me-not flowers evenly around the top band, alternating a couple of plain white ones in if you like — I made 5 blue and 2 white. Weave in every end (cotton bags get tossed around, so weave generously). Give the bag a light steam to even out the mesh.
Sophie’s Tips
- Cotton only for this one — acrylic mesh stretches out of shape and never quite comes back.
- If your handles feel flimsy, work one more row of single crochet on each; sturdy handles are worth the extra ten minutes.
- This bag folds down to nothing, so it lives in my purse as my emergency shopping bag. Make two.
Happy market days, friend — may your bag always be full of good things.
