How to Make a Knitting Machine Tote Bag: A Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you’ve been knitting on a machine for a while, you already know the particular joy of watching fabric emerge row by row with a satisfying rhythm. But if you’ve ever lugged your supplies to a class, a craft fair, or a friend’s house, you also know the quiet frustration of bags that don’t quite fit, don’t organize well, or simply weren’t made with a knitter in mind. That’s exactly why making your own knitting machine tote bag is such a rewarding project. It’s practical, it’s customizable, and it gives you one more reason to sit down at your machine.

This tutorial walks you through the entire process of creating a sturdy, roomy, and beautifully finished tote bag using your knitting machine. Whether you’re using a standard punch card machine like a Silver Reed or Brother, or a newer electronic model, the techniques here will translate. By the end, you’ll have a bag that holds your yarn, tools, pattern notes, and accessories in a way that actually makes sense for how knitters work.

Let’s get started.

What You’ll Need Before You Begin

Getting your materials together before you sit down to knit saves a lot of interruptions. For this project, you’ll want to gather the following.

For the yarn, a worsted-weight or bulky cotton or cotton-blend yarn works exceptionally well for tote bags because it holds its shape, washes well, and doesn’t stretch out of proportion under the weight of supplies. You’ll need approximately 400 to 600 yards depending on the final dimensions you choose. A neutral or semi-solid colorway often makes the bag look polished and versatile, but this is entirely up to you.

For the lining fabric, you’ll want about half a yard of a medium-weight quilting cotton or canvas. This is the interior of your bag, and it dramatically increases the bag’s durability and gives it a finished, professional look.

Your notions list includes a sewing machine or needle and thread for the lining, two to three yards of nylon or cotton webbing for the handles, a magnetic snap closure or zipper if you’d like a closure, a large tapestry needle for seaming, rust-proof pins, scissors, a tape measure, and an iron with a pressing cloth.

For your knitting machine setup, you’ll need your machine in good working order with the tension adjusted appropriately for your chosen yarn. Run a small swatch first, especially if you haven’t used this yarn in your machine before. Blocking supplies such as a flat surface, t-pins, and a spray bottle will also come in handy once the panels are knitted.

Understanding the Construction

Before you knit a single stitch, it helps to understand how the bag comes together. This tote is made from three main knitted components: a front panel, a back panel, and a base strip. The base strip runs along the bottom of the bag and up both sides, connecting the two larger panels to create the bag’s structure and depth. This method gives the bag a clean, rectangular shape and avoids the awkward bunching that can happen when you simply seam two flat panels together.

The lining is sewn separately and then slip-stitched inside, which means your knitted exterior is never stressed by the weight of the lining itself. The handles are attached through both the knitted fabric and the lining for maximum strength.

A finished bag measuring approximately 14 inches wide, 13 inches tall, and 4 inches deep is a practical all-purpose size. It fits a standard skein of yarn, a project in progress, small tools, and a notebook without being so large that it becomes unwieldy. The measurements below reflect this size, but you can scale up or down as needed.

Step One: Swatch and Calculate Your Gauge

This step is not optional, and experienced knitters know better than to skip it. A gauge swatch for a bag matters even more than it does for a garment, because you’re not worried about fit but you are very much concerned with structure. A tote bag needs fabric dense enough to hold its shape under weight. If your fabric is too loose, the bag will stretch and sag.

Cast on 30 stitches and knit at least 40 rows in your chosen stitch pattern. Plain stockinette works beautifully and is the easiest to maintain on a machine, but a simple two-row tuck stitch or a lace pattern can add texture without sacrificing integrity. Once you’ve knitted your swatch, bind off, remove it from the machine, and wash and dry it exactly as you plan to care for the finished bag. Blocking it to a flat surface before measuring gives you the most accurate results.

Measure your stitch gauge (stitches per inch) and your row gauge (rows per inch) in the center of the swatch, away from the edges. Write these numbers down. You’ll use them throughout the project.

For this tutorial, we’ll work with a sample gauge of 5 stitches per inch and 7 rows per inch. Substitute your own numbers as needed.

Step Two: Knit the Front and Back Panels

Each panel should measure 14 inches wide and 13 inches tall in the finished knitted fabric.

At 5 stitches per inch, 14 inches requires 70 stitches. Cast on 70 needles using your preferred cast-on method. A e-wrap cast-on works fine for this purpose, but a crochet cast-on gives you a slightly firmer lower edge if you’d like more definition.

At 7 rows per inch, 13 inches requires 91 rows. Knit 91 rows at a consistent tension. If your machine tends to drop stitches with this particular yarn, check in every 15 to 20 rows and repair any issues before they ladder too far down.

When you reach row 91, bind off using a transfer-and-bind method or a latch tool bind-off. Both methods produce a neat, stable edge. If you prefer a more elastic edge, a three-needle bind-off done while the stitches are still on the needle produces excellent results on many standard-bed machines.

Knit two identical panels and label them so you don’t mix them up later.

Step Three: Knit the Base Strip

The base strip runs across the bottom of the bag (14 inches) and up both sides (13 inches on each side), giving you a total length of 40 inches. The width of this strip determines the depth of your bag, so for a 4-inch depth, your strip should be 4 inches wide.

At 5 stitches per inch, the strip requires 20 stitches. At 7 rows per inch, 40 inches requires 280 rows.

Cast on 20 stitches and knit 280 rows. This is a straightforward piece, but because it’s long and narrow, keep an eye on your tension throughout. Bind off when complete.

Step Four: Block All Pieces

Blocking is the secret ingredient that separates a finished-looking project from one that looks homemade in the less-flattering sense of the word. Wet-blocking is ideal for cotton yarns.

Fill a basin with cool water and submerge all three panels until they’re saturated, which typically takes about ten minutes. Gently squeeze out the excess water without wringing, then roll each panel in a clean towel to remove most of the moisture. Lay each piece flat on a blocking board or a clean, dry surface covered with towels. Use t-pins to stretch each panel to its target measurements: the front and back panels to 14 by 13 inches, and the base strip to 4 inches wide and 40 inches long. Let everything dry completely before moving to the seaming stage. This usually takes overnight.

Step Five: Seam the Knitted Panels Together

Once your pieces are dry, it’s time to construct the exterior shell of the bag.

Thread your tapestry needle with a length of your project yarn or a coordinating thread. Mattress stitch produces the most invisible seam on stockinette fabric and is the preferred method here.

Begin by pinning the base strip to one long edge of the front panel, right sides facing each other. The strip should align evenly along the bottom edge of the panel, then turn the corner and continue up both side edges. If you’re working with 91 rows on the side panels and 70 stitches along the bottom, the corner turn will require a small amount of easing. Take it slowly, pinning every inch or so.

Seam the strip to the front panel using mattress stitch, working one stitch in from the edge on both pieces. Then bring the back panel in and seam it to the other long edge of the base strip in the same manner. When you’re finished, you should have a U-shaped structure that, when the top edges are brought together, forms the body of the bag.

Weave in all ends securely and trim. Turn the bag right side out and gently ease the corners into shape with your fingers.

Step Six: Cut and Sew the Lining

The lining gives your bag its structure and makes it a pleasure to use. Cut the following pieces from your lining fabric.

Cut two rectangles measuring 15 inches wide by 14 inches tall for the lining front and back. Cut one strip measuring 5 inches wide by 41 inches long for the lining base strip. The extra inch on each measurement gives you a half-inch seam allowance on all sides.

If you’d like interior pockets, now is the time to add them. A simple slip pocket is easy to construct: cut a rectangle of lining fabric measuring 10 inches wide by 8 inches tall, fold it in half with the short ends together (so it becomes 10 by 4 inches), and stitch around three sides leaving the top open. Fold under the raw edges on the remaining side and topstitch it to one of the lining panels before assembling.

Using a sewing machine or careful hand sewing, construct the lining in the same manner as the exterior shell, stitching the lining base strip to the lining front and back with right sides together. Leave about a 5-inch opening along one side seam for turning if you plan to slip the lining in from the inside, though for this project you’ll be inserting it from the top after the handles are attached.

Press all seams flat with a warm iron and press the top edge of the lining down by half an inch to create a clean, finished edge.

Step Seven: Attach the Handles

Cut two pieces of webbing, each measuring 28 inches long. This gives comfortable shoulder clearance and is long enough to carry in the hand as well. If you prefer longer shoulder straps, 34 to 36 inches gives you a crossbody-style length.

Position each handle on the exterior of the bag, centering them on the front and back panels. Each strap should be placed approximately 3.5 inches in from each side edge, with the ends extending about 1.5 inches below the top edge of the bag. The 1.5-inch tail will be sandwiched between the knitted exterior and the lining, which is what holds them in place. Pin the handles securely.

Before inserting the lining, machine-stitch each handle end to the top edge of the bag using a box stitch: stitch a small rectangle, then stitch an X inside it. This creates a very secure anchor point that won’t pull through even with heavy loads.

Step Eight: Insert the Lining and Finish the Bag

With your handles in place, slip the lining inside the bag with wrong sides together. The lining’s pressed-down top edge should sit just below the top edge of the knitting. Pin the lining into place all the way around the top opening.

Using a tapestry needle and a length of yarn or a coordinating thread, slip-stitch the top folded edge of the lining to the inside of the knitted bag. Work slowly and take small, even stitches. The goal is to catch just enough of the knitted fabric to hold the lining without letting the stitches show on the exterior.

If you’d like to add a magnetic snap closure, attach the snap hardware to the lining before inserting it, following the instructions that come with the hardware. Interface the area behind the snap with a small square of fusible interfacing to prevent the snaps from eventually pulling through.

Once the lining is sewn in, press the top edge gently using a pressing cloth to protect the knitted fabric. Do not use direct heat on wool yarns.

Step Nine: Optional Embellishments and Finishing Touches

Your bag is now fully functional, but a few finishing details can take it from practical to genuinely beautiful.

A crocheted or knitted I-cord trim along the top edge adds a polished finish and slightly reinforces the opening. Simply work a three-stitch I-cord to the length of the bag’s perimeter and whipstitch it along the top edge with the tapestry needle.

Leather handle tabs, available at most craft stores, can be threaded over the webbing before attaching the handles to give the bag a more structured, artisan look. Even simple ones dramatically elevate the appearance of the finished piece.

A small knitted or crocheted flower, a vintage button, or a patch made from a contrasting yarn can personalize the bag and make it recognizably yours at a glance, which is genuinely useful when you’re attending a knit night or a workshop where other people have similar bags.

Caring for Your Knitting Machine Tote Bag

Cotton knitted bags are wonderfully easy to maintain. Turn the bag inside out, zip or close any interior pockets, and machine wash on a gentle cycle with cool water. Reshape while damp, particularly at the base and corners, and lay flat to dry. Avoid putting a heavy knitted cotton bag in the dryer on high heat, as this can shrink the knitted shell relative to the lining and cause puckering.

With proper care, a bag like this will last for years. Many knitters find that theirs become something of a signature piece, a go-to companion for every fiber-related adventure they undertake.

A Few Tips for Adapting This Pattern

If you’d like a smaller bag for carrying a single project, scale the front and back panels down to 11 inches wide by 10 inches tall. The base strip can be reduced to 3 inches wide, giving you a slightly slimmer profile that’s still very practical.

For a more structured bag that stands upright on its own, insert a piece of plastic canvas or a sturdy foam pad cut to the size of the base into the bottom before closing the lining. This simple addition transforms the bag from a soft tote into something that behaves much more like a structured handbag.

If you’d like to incorporate colorwork, the large flat panels of this design are excellent canvases. A simple Fair Isle border near the top or along the base strip adds personality without significantly complicating the construction. Just remember that colorwork tends to run slightly tighter than plain stockinette, so adjust your tension accordingly and re-swatch before committing to the full panels.

Final Thoughts

Making a knitting machine tote bag is one of those projects that rewards you twice: once with the satisfaction of the making, and then again every single time you use it. There’s something genuinely lovely about arriving at a knitting group or a craft fair with a bag you made yourself, especially when it’s thoughtfully designed to carry the very tools of its own creation.

The combination of machine knitting and hand sewing in this project is also a good reminder that these two skills complement each other beautifully. Your machine gives you the knitted fabric efficiently and evenly. Your hand finishing gives the bag its character, structure, and longevity. Together, they produce something more than either could alone.

Take your time with each step, and don’t rush the blocking or the finishing. Those are the moments that really determine the quality of the final piece. Once you’ve made one of these bags, you’ll find that you’re already thinking about variations: different stitch patterns, new color combinations, a version with an inside zippered compartment, a gift version for a knitting friend. That’s the best sign of a good pattern. It doesn’t just give you one finished object. It gives you a method you’ll return to again and again.