Happy Green Day! Simply Striped Sack Sock

What do you do with all of your plastic shopping bags? I reuse them all the time. But keeping them 'corralled' can be a bit of a challenge unless you have a container of sorts. Back in the summer of 1996, my Auntie "M" was sewing up Sack Socks for everyone in the family. They were the best idea I thought at the time.She made large ones and smaller ones to use in the car or campers while out on the road. Here are the two she made me and I've used them non-stop ever since. They live up on the pegs in my kitchen with my aprons.

Today, there are cities who are banning the use of plastic bags. While I think for the environment it's got it's merits, I really like reusing them over and over again. Face it, for now, we are a society of easy. I do have a whole collection of fabric shopping bags, that I used to use all the time when I was grocery shopping for 6. Today, they mostly carry my knitting projects or literally hang out in the hallway closet. I've slacked back to the 'easy' way.

Knowing that Earth Day was coming up, I got to thinking that it was time to come up with a new project and this seemed to just fit the bill. How about knitted sack socks to house all those wayward plastic bags! Well, thanks to Ravelry for getting lots of my yarn all organized, my daughter for additional ideas, and to the cotton companies for producing those huge skeins of cotton, I was ready to dive right in.

May I present to you.....Simply Striped Sack Socks

©Cathy Waldie, April 11, 2008
16 stitches and 20 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round

Large (pink) size used 6.2 oz/173 g of cotton, 289.9 yds/265.1 m. Small (blue) size used 4.8 oz/139 g of cotton, 233.6 yds/213.6m in length.
(US) 7 (4.5mm) 16" circular needle
(US) 6 (4.0mm) double point needles
Stitch Marker

Size large (pink version) 30" in length
Small (blue version) 20" in length

K=Knit
P=Purl
YO=Yarn Over
tog=Together
Sl=Slip
PSSO=Pass Slipped Stitch Over
KFB=Knit into the front and back of the same stitch


Knit Rolled Edge Bottom:
Using the circular needle, Cast on 90 stitches. Join stitches but do not twist, place stitch marker at beginning of round and Knit 10 rounds.

Bottom Eyelet Round:
*Yo, sl 1, K2 tog, PSSO* and repeat around. (60 sts)
Sack body:
Continue to knit each round until the sack sock reaches 17 " for the small size and 27" for the large size from the eyelet round.

Top Eyelet Rounds:Row 1: *YO, K2 tog* around
Row 2: *K1, KFB* around (90 sts)

Top Rolled Edge:
Knit 5 round and Bind off in knit.
Using two of the double point needles, make two 3 stitch I-cords, one 43" in length, a second one in 36" of length.

Thread the 36" length through the bottom eyelet row and tie in front so that there is a small opening at the bottom of the sack
.
Using the longer I-chord, thread it through the top eyelet rows with the ends hanging out at the front (to be tied later). Pull up 2 small loops in the back of the sack sock.You're going to tie these loops into a single hanging loop.

Tie one loop over the other.

Thread one loop through the other and pull 'snugly' up to take the slack out of the other one.
Wa-laaa...you can now tie the front ends into a bow to hang your Sack Sock!
To fill your sack sock, untie the top I-chord a bit, gather up your plastic bags and stuff them down into your sack sock.

Re-tie the top I-chord until you need to refill your Sack Sock after your next shopping trip and you're ready to pull out one plastic bag at a time from the bottom opening
.
Too cute, or what?

Coming up soon? Directions for a Feather and Fan bottom (seen on the blue version) and more patterns like the Orange one...which is done in Christmas Lace. Look also for hanging kitchen towels and dishcloths to match!

But for today...Happy Earth Day and my you help the planet out one "Reduce, Recycle, Reuse" idea at a time!