The Starlight Bag – A New FREE Crochet Tote Bag Pattern

Are you looking for a stylish and functional tote bag to carry all your essentials this summer? Look no further than the Starlight Bag – the latest addition to the world of crochet bags! This new and exciting pattern is not only beautiful, but also completely FREE. Made with an aran weight cotton yarn, the Starlight Bag is perfect for summer days out. So grab your crochet hook and get ready to create a stunning and practical accessory that will turn heads wherever you go!

Tools and Materials

Yarn

I used Yarn and Colors Epic yarn in these colors:

• Cream (002) – 4 balls; and
• Dark Blue (059) – 4 balls.

Yarn and Colors Epic is a 100% cotton aran weight yarn. It comes in 50g (1.8 oz) balls with each ball containing 75m (82yds) of yarn.

Navy and cream is a classic color combination for summer, and will go with almost any outfit, but you could of course choose whichever colors you like.

Alternative Yarns

You could use any aran weight yarn to make this bag. I recommend using a cotton yarn because:

• It doesn’t stretch;
• It isn’t fuzzy;
• It looks great.

You could also use a slightly thinner (e.g. DK) or thicker (e.g. chunky/bulky) yarn. If you follow the instructions below exactly then this would of course result in a smaller or larger bag. However, you can easily adjust the size to your preference by working more or fewer rounds after you have made the initial pair of squares (i.e. at step 2).

Hook

I used a 5 mm (H-8) crochet hook with the above yarn.

If you opt for a thicker or thinner yarn then you should adjust your hook size accordingly.

Crochet Techniques

The bag starts off by crocheting a pair of Starlight Squares. These are made using the tapestry crochet technique. If you’ve not tried this before, have a read of my Step-by-Step Guide to Tapestry Crochet or watch my Tapestry Crochet Video Tutorial.

I also have a blog post explaining how to make a tapestry crochet square which you can read here.

Further explanations and video tutorials are provided in the Starlight Square pattern (see below).

Crochet Terms

The crochet terminology used below is US crochet terminology. To convert to UK crochet terms, simply replace hdc with htr, and replace sc with dc.

Abbreviation	Meaning
BLO	back loop only
ch	chain
hdc	half double crochet
sc	single crochet
sl st	slip stitch

Pattern Instructions

1. Making the Squares

First, you will need to make a pair of solid granny squares following my Starlight Square pattern. This is a FREE pattern available exclusively to my email list subscribers. To get the pattern for the Starlight Square (along with another free pattern for a gorgeous scarf), simply sign up to my email list here:

In the Starlight Square pattern, five different colors are used. These are labelled C1-C5 in the pattern. To make the two-color version I have used for this bag, use the following colors for each of C1-C5 in the pattern:

• C1 = Cream
• C2 = Dark Blue
• C3 = Cream
• C4 = Dark Blue
• C5 = Cream

Alternative Square Patterns

As an alternative to the Starlight Square, you could use another solid granny square pattern to make a pair of squares. I have a few different designs, including the Midnight Diamond Blanket, Gunther Blanket, and Winter Star Blanket, all of which could be used and would work really well.

The Starlight Square has 7 rounds. However, the Midnight Diamond square has 9 rounds, and the Gunther and Winter Star squares each have 6 rounds. As such, if you simply continue exactly as set out below, you will end up with a slightly larger or smaller bag, depending on the number of rounds in the square you have chosen. Alternatively, you could crochet more or fewer rounds in step 2 below until you reach your preferred size.

2. Enlarging the Squares

Next, you need to enlarge the squares slightly, by adding a few rounds of half double crochet (hdc) stitches to each square as follows:

• Round 1: Join the Cream yarn to any corner, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), (1 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in same corner space; hdc around the square making (2 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Do not cut the yarn but leave it here to pick up again when you start Round 3.
• Round 2: Join the Dark Blue yarn to the same corner space, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 1 ch, 1 hdc in same corner space; hdc around the square making (1 hdc, 1 ch, 1 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Do not cut the yarn but leave it here to pick up again when you start Round 4.
• Round 3: Pick up the Cream yarn and sl st into the corner space, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), (1 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in same corner space; hdc around the square making (2 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Do not cut the yarn but leave it here to pick up again when you start Round 5.
• Round 4: Pick up the Dark Blue yarn and sl st into the corner space, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 1 ch, 1 hdc in same corner space; hdc around the square making (1 hdc, 1 ch, 1 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Do not cut the yarn but leave it here to pick up again when you start Round 6.
• Round 5: Pick up the Cream yarn and sl st into the corner space, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), (1 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in same corner space; hdc around the square making (2 hdc, 1 ch, 2 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Fasten off the Cream yarn.
• Round 6: Pick up the Dark Blue yarn and sl st into the corner space, ch 2 (counts as 1 hdc), 1 ch, 1 hdc in same corner space; hdc around the square making (1 hdc, 1 ch, 1 hdc) in each corner space; sl st to top of beginning ch 2 to join. Fasten off the Dark Blue yarn at the end of the first square. At the end of the second square, do not fasten off but continue with the Dark Blue yarn to assemble the bag as set out below.

Take care to note the difference in the number of hdc stitches worked into the corner spaces in odd and even rounds.

3. Assembling the Bag

Making the Ends and Base

Next you will make the two thin ends and the base of your bag by working some rows of sc back and forth around three edges of one of your squares as follows:

• Row 1: Continuing with the Dark Blue yarn on your hook, 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), then scBLO around three sides of the square, making 1 sc in each corner space. Turn.
• Rows 2-6: 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), sc to end of row. Turn.

Do not fasten off at the end of Row 6.

Joining to the Other Square

Continuing with the Dark Blue yarn, sl st through the sc stitches of Row 6 and the hdc stitches and chain spaces of three sides of the other square to join them. Make sure that the other square has its right side facing outwards.

Still, do not fasten off.

Forming the Top Edge

• Round 1: Continuing with the Dark Blue yarn, 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), then sc around the top edge of the bag making:
  • 1 sc in each hdc from the top edges of the squares; and
  • 1 sc in the side of each sc from the ends of the bag.
• Sl st to beginning sc to join.
• Rounds 2-3: 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), sc around, sl st to beginning sc to join. Fasten off.

4. Adding the Handles

Make two handles, one for each side of the bag, following these steps:

• Row 1: Join the Cream yarn to the top right corner of one side, 2 ch (does not count as a stitch), 4 hdc. Turn.
• Rows 2-42: 2 ch (does not count as a stitch), 4 hdc. Turn.

Join the handle to the top left corner of the same side by making 4 sl st through the hdc of Row 42 of the handle and the sc of Round 3 of the top edge. Take care not to twist the strap when you join it.

5. Adding the Final Edging

• Round 1: Join the Cream yarn to any unworked sc from Round 3 of the top edge, 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), sc around the top edge and side(s) of a handle(s) making 3 sc into the sides of each adjacent pair of hdc from the handles, sl st to beginning sc to join. Fasten off.

Repeat Round 1 twice more so that you have worked all of the unworked sc from Round 3 of the top edge and both sides of each handle.

• Round 2: Join the Dark Blue yarn to any unworked sc from Round 1 of the final edging, 1 ch (does not count as a stitch), sc around the top edge and sides of the handles, sl st to beginning sc to join. Fasten off.

Repeat Round 2 twice more so that you have worked all of the unworked sc from Round 1 of the final edging and both sides of each handle.

6. Finishing

This step is easy: just weave in your ends and enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this pattern but if you have any questions, please leave a comment below or get in touch by email.

Starlight Bag Video Chat!

If you’d like to have a watch of me chatting about this new bag, check out my podcast on my YouTube channel where you can hear all about it. Just click on the image below to watch. Enjoy!