FREE Crochet Sunflower Tote Bag Pattern

Looking for a cute tote bag to crochet this summer? Well, I've designed the perfect crochet tote bag for you! You can use it as a beach bag, market bag or to carry around your WIPs and the best thing is your could finish up this project in a day!

Reusable tote bags are the perfect summer crochet projects and they make great gifts too! If you're crocheting this sunflower tote bag as a gift, you're welcome to download these FREE Printable "Handmade With Love" Gift Tags

I chose to use 100% cotton yarn for this project to avoid too much stretch. I love this color combination of black, orange & yellow! You could choose whatever color combination you like, of course.

I've included a few Frequently Asked Questions that concern tote bag crochet patterns, but if you have any other questions, please get in touch and I'll be happy to answer them for you.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the Start Crochet links. Please see my disclosure for more details.

How To Crochet A Tote Bag

What You’ll Learn

• How to crochet a flat circle using the half double crochet (hdc) stitch
• How to crochet a circle in the round (joining rounds with sl st)
• How to increase in each round to ensure your circle lays flat
• How to crochet into the back loop only (blo) to create a ridge around the bottom of your crochet tote bag 
• How to increase your hdc rows to create the start of your tote bag strap
• How to decrease your hdc rows for the end of your tote bag strap
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about crochet tote bags

Materials Needed

• 3.5 - 4 skeins of cotton/Linen yarn ( CotLin) in black (1.5 skeins), orange (1 skein) & yellow (1 skein)
  You could use a substitute like Lang Handarbeitsgarn (50g, 84m), KnitPicks Dishie or Lilly's Sugar & Cream as well.
• Crochet hook that fits your yarn. I used a US size I/9, 5.5 mm hook for this project.
• A tapestry needle
•  A pair of scissors

Abbreviations Used In Pattern

Skill Level

Beginner

Finished Size

Width: 11.8”/30cm
Full length: 26”/66cm
Depth: 9.4”/24cm

Gauge

13 sts + 10 rows = 4”/10cm in hdc 

Notes

• This crochet tote bag is worked from the bottom up in joined rounds.
• The straps are worked in turned rows.
• Numbers at the end of each round in parentheses ( ) = total number of stitches for that round or row.
• If you are new to reading crochet patterns, you might find these tips helpful.
• You can make the pattern larger or smaller by changing the type of yarn and/or hook, or by adding more rounds for the base of the tote bag (Note that you will have to increase with each round). For the number of increased stitches with each round you can check out this post on how to crochet a flat circle.
• If you'd like more instructions for the stitches used in this pattern, you can refer to Annie's Catalogue Tutorials.
• Please note that this bag will stretch with use. Mine stretched about 3 inches after a couple of trips to the beach 🙂
• Ensure that you end up with the same number of stitches after each round.
• You will notice that your tote bag will have a slanted seam. This is because of the natural tendency for hdc stitches to slant with every round. If this is something that bothers you, there is a way around it, but will create a little bump in your seam. I personally prefer to have a slanted seam. It's barely noticeable when the bag is in use. Here's a video explaining how to make a straight seam in hdc.

• I use US crochet terms. Here's a US/UK Conversion Chart

Instructions For Crochet Sunflower Tote Bag

Tote Bag Base

Note: If you want your tote bag to have a tighter stitch for the bottom, you can substitute the hdc stitches of the base with sc stitches. For the correct increase formula, you can have a look at this post.

The tote bag you see in the photos here has a hdc base:

With black yarn, 10 hdc into a MC. Join with a sl st. (10)

Round 1: ch1, 2 hdc into each st around. Join with a sl st. (20)

Round 2: ch1, 2 hdc into first st, 1 hdc in next st. Join with a sl st. (30)

Round 3: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 2 stitches, Join with a sl st. (40)

Round 4: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 3 stitches, Join with a sl st.  (50)

Round 5: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 4 stitches, Join with a sl st.  (60)

Round 6: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 5 stitches, Join with a sl st.  (70)

Round 7: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 6 stitches, Join with a sl st.  (80)

Round 8: ch1, 2 hdc into first stitch, 1 hdc in next 7 stitches, Join with a sl st.  (90)
Note: If you want to have a larger base, continue to increase until you reach your desired diameter.

Round 9: ch1, 1 hdc in blo around (90) - this creates a decorative ridge to separate the base from the sides of the tote bag.

Tote Bag Sides

Rounds 10 to 20: Continue with black yarn, ch1, hdc into each st around. Join with a sl st. (90)

Round 21: Change to orange yarn, ch 1, hdc into each st around. Join with a sl st. (90)

Round 22 to 30: ch1, hdc into each st around. Join with a sl st. (90)

Round 31: Change to yellow yarn, ch1, hdc into each st around. Join with a sl st. (90)

Round 32 to 40: ch1, hdc into each stitch around. Join with a sl st. (90)

Tote Bag Strap

Straps are worked in turned rows.

Row 1: At the end of round 40, ch1, then hdc into the next 20 stitches, turn. (20)

Start to decrease every row from now on till you reach 8 hdc stitches.

Row 2: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 16 stitches, hdc decrease in last 2 stitches, turn. (18)

Row 3: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 14 stitches, decrease in last 2 stitches, turn. (16)

Row 4: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 12 stitches, decrease in last 2 stitches, turn (14)

Row 5: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 10 stitches, decrease in last 2 stitches, turn (12)

Row 6: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 8 stitches, decrease in last 2 stitches, turn (10)

Row 7: ch1, hdc decrease in first st, hdc in next 6 stitches, decrease in last 2 stitches, turn (8)

Rows 8-20: ch1, hdc in each st across. (8) 

Note: if you want a longer or shorter strap, increase or decrease the number of rows here.

Row 21: ch1, hdc increase in first st (or 2 hdc in first st), hdc in next 6 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn (10)

Row 22: ch1, 2 hdc in first st, hdc in next 8 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn. (12)

Row 23: ch1, 2 hdc in first st, hdc in next 10 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn. (14)

Row 24: ch1, 2 hdc in first st, hdc in next 12 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn. (16)

Row 25: ch1, 2 hdc in first st, hdc in next 14 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn. (18)

Row 26: ch1, 2 hdc in first st, hdc in next 16 stitches, 2 hdc in last st, turn. (20)

Attach Strap To Bag Body

Fold your tote bag in half to ensure you are attaching your strap exactly opposite the beginning side of your strap.

Either stitch the end of your strap to the body of your tote bag with a darning needle using the whip stitch, or slip stitch your strap to the body of your bag.

Leave a 4 inch tail, cut your yellow yarn, fasten off, & weave in ends.

Add Embellishments

Now you can add embellishments to your bag, you could add this lovely sunflower appliqué to give it a pinch of summer. You will find the pattern for the crochet sunflower here.

Handmade With Love Gift Tag PDF Printable (FREE)

Are you crocheting this sunflower tote bag to give away as a gift? Well I've designed some printable gift tags you're welcome to download for FREE.

Frequently Asked Questions About Crochet Tote Bags:

I'll answer some of the questions people ask most about crocheting Tote Bags like:

Which yarn is best for a crochet bag?

For crochet bags, cotton or cotton blend yarns are most commonly used for summer, especially if you're not going to line the bag.

You could also use acrylic yarns or wool, but I highly recommend cotton yarns for these reasons:

• Minimal stretch
• Holds its shape
• Good quality
• Sturdy & durable
• Colorfast
• No pilling
• Machine washable
• Eco-friendly (100% biodegradable)
• Widely available
• Beautiful choice of colors

How much yarn does it take to crochet a tote bag?

That all depends on the size of your crochet tote bag. Normally, I'd say for a medium sized bag, you would use about 164 yards (150 m) to 350 yards (320 m) of yarn. 

For the Sunflower Tote Bag in this post I used about 328 yards (300m) of yarn.

I hope you enjoyed this sunflower tote bag crochet pattern. All you need to do now is get your hook & yarn and get started 🙂

Let me know if you have any questions and...

Happy crocheting!