Born to shop bag!

Knitted tote bags are popular, but this design from Helen Ardley takes things a step further. Looking at the bag, you may think this is an entrelac pattern, but it's actually done using simple cables. If you've got some basic experience of cables and are able to alternate between two yarn colours on some rows, you should have no trouble with this. “I wanted to get a woven effect, and I also wanted the colours to change without producing a straight line, so this cable pattern is perfect,” says Helen. The bag is worked on 8mm needles in chunky Largo yarn, so knits up quickly. “I love the way this yarn hasn't got a lot of twist,” Helen says. If you look closely, there are lots of colours within the yarn, so your bag will be interesting from far away and close up.