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If you are wanting to adjust your crochet market bag handles for the 2025 Marvellous Market Bag Crochet Along, this post is for you!
This year in the Marvellous Market Bag Crochet Along I have decided to finish off each bag by working continuous handles, or handles that flow directly from the top of the bag.
At the end of each bag pattern I give an instruction to crochet a certain number of single crochet stitches before working a long chain that will form the handle of the bag.
By changing the length of this long chain you can shorten or lengthen your handles as desired.
The number of single crochet stitches I begin with before working this long chain was the number that I needed in order to have the handles line up directly across from one another. As some of you have progressed in the crochet along we’ve discovered that this is not the case for everyone!
There are many factors that may affect the position of your bag handles: The type of yarn used, whether the bag was modified at all in its height or width, even your own tension, if it differs from mine, could affect the positioning of the bag handles when worked in this way.
So, in this post I hope to give some tips on how to realign your bag handles if needed.
How to adjust your crochet market bag handles:
Step One:
If you are finding that the bag handles are not lining up, it may require that you do one of a few different things: Work a few slip stitches across to where the first single crochet should be, work more or less single crochet stitches, or fasten off completely and rejoin your yarn where required.
You can see in the bag below that the final round finishes in the middle of the bag instead of off to the side. This is because I have worked a non-crochet bottom into the pattern (Watch a video tutorial on how to add a non-crochet bottom to your bag HERE). So the start position of the handles will need to be adjusted.
To find where your bag handles should start and end, begin by laying your bag flat on a surface to find where the bag sides are:
Step Two:
Using your stitch markers, place a stitch marker on each side, then count the number of stitches that you have in-between each marker. The number should be the same on the front side as it is on the back side.
In the case of this Bingley Market Bag, there are 56 stitches in-between each stitch marker:
Step Three:
Next, we are going to place markers in the stitches to mark the start and end of the handles (where you will start your long chain and where you will work your first single crochet after the long chain and skipping the 30 stitches in-between).
In the Bingley Market Bag (And all of the Market Bags in the 2025 Marvellous Market Bag Crochet Along) there are a total of 27 single crochet stitches on the sides and 30 stitches skipped in-between on the front and back.
On the front of the bag, from the two side stitch markers count in 13 stitches toward the centre of the bag and mark the 13th stitch. Do this from both side stitch markers.
On the back side of the bag, repeat the same process until you have placed a total of 6 stitch markers.
Step Four:
Either slip stitch across to the first stitch marker or fasten off and rejoin your yarn with a slip stitch in one of the front stitch markers. Due to the distance in the photo below, I decided to fasten off and rejoin. As I am right handed, working from right to left, I joined my yarn with a slip stitch in the stitch marker on the left hand side.
Step Five:
Begin working one single crochet stitch in the first stitch and each of the next 26 stitches. This will bring you around to your first stitch marker on the bag side. Work your long chain for the bag handle, then skip the stitches between the two bag stitch markers, single crochet in the next marked stitch and in each of the next 26 stitches, work your long chain and then join with a slip stitch into the first marked stitch.
Step Six:
Continue working your bag pattern as written!
And that’s it!
If you have been struggling with your crochet market bag handles, I hope that this helps! Thank you for crocheting along!
