Mish Mesh

This pattern is available at Ravelry under this link.

This bag was born when I wanted some type of mesh bag, but couldn’t find one that worked for me. I made the Saturday Market Bag, but found it way too flimsy and well, big-holed for the kind of things I tend to carry around (which includes but are not limited to knitting needles, small balls of yarn, bus passes, pens, important pattern notes written on post its, half eaten granola bars and so on). I really liked Knitty’s Itsy Bitsy and Kitchen Sink, but one was too small and one was too big and oh my is my name Goldilocks? So, a hybrid of the two were created, and due to the state of the inside of my bags I named it MeshMash (aren’t I clever?).

Size
Um. Medium. Ish.

Material
- Sirdar Spree (60% cotton/40% acrylic, 149 yards/136 m), in the color Riviera (92). Two skeins. It’s a slightly bulky cotton blend. I’m sure you can come up with some nice substitute. I just happened to have been gifted a few skeins.
- needles, 5 mm/US#8, circular.

Gauge
24 sts and 24 rows in seed stitch should equal a 4×4 inch/10 cm square. If you’re lucky.

Stitch pattern
Seed stitch, which I’m sure you know by know (Row 1: k1, p1, repeat to end, row 2: p1, k1, repeat to end… work these two rows until I say stop) and the mesh pattern I stole from the Itsy Bitsy/Kitchen Sink pattern. It goes as follows:
Round 1: [YO, insert tip of right needle through first st as if to purl, pick up front loop of second st and k (this will pull the second st through the first st), slide both loops off left needle] to last stitch.
Round 2: K all sts.

Directions, bottom
CO 56 sts.
Row 1: seed st to end.
Row 2: inc 1, seed st to last st, inc 1. (58 sts)
Row 3: seed st to end.
Row 4: inc 1, seed st to last st, inc 1. (60 sts)
Rows 5-16: seed st all the way.
Row 17: k2tog, seed st to last st, k2tog. (58 sts)
Row 18: seed st.
Row 19: k2tog, seed st to last 2 sts, k2tog. (56 sts)

Directions, sides
You now have a rectangle with 56 live stitches on one of the long sides. Pick up 16 sts from one of the short sides , follow up with 56 sts on the long side and another 16 on the last short side, 144 sts total. You will now join the stitches and start working in the round.

Row 1: Seed st to last st, where you will realize that when stitch 1 and 144 are both knit you will get 2 knit sts next to each other and thus break your seed stitch pattern. So, to remedy this, simply inc 1 in whatever way you prefer (kfb is my friend).
Row 2-4: Seed st all the way!

This is where the real fun starts!

Row 5: Seed st x 3, mesh x 10, seed st x 6, mesh x 50, seed st x 6, mesh x 10, seed st x 6, mesh x 50, dec 1 (choose k or p depending on what works with your pattern), seed st x 2. (144 sts)
Row 6: Seed st x 3, k 10, seed st x 6, k 50, seed st x 6, k 10, seed st x 6, k 50, seed st x 3.
Row 7: Seed st x 3, mesh x 10, seed st x 6, mesh x 50, seed st x 6, mesh x 10, seed st x 6, mesh x 50, seed st x 3.
Row 8: Seed st x 3, k 10, seed st x 6, k 50, seed st x 6, k 10, seed st x 6, k 50, seed st x 3.
Repeat rows 7-8 15 more times.

Now it’s time to end the mesh on the long sides of the bag, but it will continue up into the straps, so just follow my lead. I’m not smoking anything suspicious, I promise!

Row 9: seed st x 3, mesh x 10, seed st x 62, mesh x 10, seed st x 56, inc 1, seed st to end. (145 sts)
Row 10: seed st x 3, k 10, seed st x 62, mesh x 10, seed st x 60.
Row 11: seed st x 3, mesh x 10, seed st x 62, mesh x 10, seed st x 60.
Row 12: seed st x 3, k 10, seed st x 62, k 10, seed st x 60.
Repeat rows 11-12 once more.

Row 13: seed st x 3, mesh x 10, seed st x 62, mesh x 10, seed st x 60.
Row 14: seed st x 3, k 10, seed st x 6, BO 50, seed st x 6, k 10, seed x 6, BO 51, seed st x 3. (44 sts)

You now have two sections of 22 sts each left. Put one of them on a holder and get ready to make the first half of your strap with the other one!

Directions, straps
While most of the bag is worked in the round this part is (obviously) done straight.
Row 1: seed st x 6, mesh x 10, seed st x 6.
Row 2: seed st x 6, p 10, seed st x 6.
Repeat rows 1-2 twice more.

Row 3: ssk, seed st x 4, p2tog, mesh x 6, k2tog, seed x 4, p2tog. (18 sts)
Row 4: seed st x 6, p 6, seed st x 6.
Row 5: seed st x 6, mesh x 6, seed st x 6.
Row 6: seed st x 6, p 6, seed st x 6.
Repeat rows 5-6 once more.

Row 7: p2tog, seed x 4, ssk, mesh x 2, p2tog, seed x 4, k2tog. (14 sts.)
Row 8: seed st x 6, p 2, seed st x 6.
Row 9: seed st x 6, mesh x 2, seed st x 6.
Row 10: seed st x 6, p 2, seed st x 6.
Repeat rows 9-10 once more.

Row 11: ssk, seed x 3, k2tog, p2tog, seed x 3, p2tog. (10)
Continue to work in seed st until the strap portion of this piece measure half the desired length of the strap. I worked roughly 16 inches of solid seed stitch before putting my stitches on a holder and repeating with the other side.

Finishing
If you’re fancy and can figure out how to graft seed stitch that is the best way to do it. I, however, turned the strap inside out and closed it up with three needle bind off. It works just as well.