Crochet tote bag pattern: three pieces, 97 rounds, counts on every one
This is a free crochet tote bag pattern. The finished bag is ~24 cm across the base, 10 cm deep and 25 cm tall, with the handles arching about 6 cm above the rim, worked on a 5.0 mm hook in two colours over about seven hours. Rounds 2 to 6 put all eight of their increases at the two rounded ends of the oval, four at each end, so the base grows longer rather than rounder; round 7 goes through back loops only to stand the sides up, and from there the count sits at 100 for thirty-eight rounds without moving. All 97 rounds are written out below across three pieces, each one carrying the stitch count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 97 rounds was checked against the round before it by machine — the counts, the increases and the decreases all add up. What nobody can promise you yet is how it sits in the hand.How we check
6 of 8 checks ran on 2026-09-04
- 1 format and stitch chainscripts/validate.py — 113 patterns, all counts chain.
- 2 catalogue auditscripts/audit-patterns.py — 113 audited, 0 errors, 66 warnings.
- 3 geometrygeometry-check.py — 113 checked, 0 errors, 4 warnings.
- 5 not a duplicate113 distinct display names across 113 patterns
- 6c target on the recordseo.headKeyword, confidence and demand present and cross-checked by scripts/validate.py
- 8 page readinessscripts/check-completeness.py --gate — 0 required fields missing, 114 editorial flags, 0 unearned claims.
Not yet checked
- 4 render matches the pattern — no image has been compared against its own prompt, so a render showing a piece the rounds do not make would not be caught here. Nothing has counted how many do.
- 6a recognisability — provenance.recognisability is empty in every pattern, so there is no feature list to check the parts against.
Why it is rated Easy
Easy: the count stops changing at round 7 and never moves again — thirty-eight rounds of 100 single crochet, with the only shaping at the two ends of the base.
Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.
00
00What you need before you start
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What you need before you start
Yarn — two colours, all weight 4
2 x 100 g balls (about 190 m used)Aran-weight cotton, the firmer the better
1 x 100 g ball (about 55 m used)Aran-weight cotton, same brand as the natural so the two sit at the same thickness
Tools
4 you probably own, 1 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Measuring tape
You need to buy
Four locking stitch markers in a contrast colour — they hold the four points on the rim where the handles start and rejoin
Optional
Lining fabric and stiff interfacing, about 40 x 60 cm — a crocheted tote stretches under weight without it
A row counter for the thirty-eight straight rounds
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Worked firmly. Gauge is not critical to the look, but a loose hand gives a wider, softer bag that will want lining, and the handles stretch further under anything you put in it.
Finished size
~24 cm across the base, 10 cm deep and 25 cm tall, with the handles arching about 6 cm above the rim
Aran cotton is what keeps the wall standing. Acrylic of the same weight works but sags under a load, and a lighter yarn on this hook gives an open fabric that will want a lining.
How to make the tote bag, piece by piece
Switching rewrites every round:US60 sc around a foundation chain of 30UK60 dc around a foundation chain of 30Work a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01The base and body
A flat oval first, then one round through the back loops to turn the…45 RNDS
starts in natural· picked up· Piece 1 of 3
First six rounds[60] [68] [76] [84] [92] [100]
The oval base
RND 1–61[60]
2[68]
3[76]
4[84]
5[92]
6[100]
Back loops only, turning the sides up
RND 7–77[100]
Straight up the wall
RND 8–398[100]
9[100]
10[100]
11[100]
12[100]
13[100]
14[100]
15[100]
16[100]
17[100]
18[100]
19[100]
20[100]
21[100]
22[100]
23[100]
24[100]
25[100]
26[100]
27[100]
28[100]
29[100]
30[100]
31[100]
32[100]
33[100]
34[100]
35[100]
36[100]
37[100]
38[100]
39[100]
The navy band
RND 40–4540[100]
41[100]
42[100]
43[100]
44[100]
45[100]
US termsscsingle crochetincincreasechchainBLOback loop onlyst(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneDo not fasten off yet. Mark stitch 1, stitch 11, stitch 51 and stitch 61 on the rim while you can still find them — that is where the two handles begin and end.
2
02The handles
Eight stitches picked up from the rim, worked as a narrow tube for…26 RNDS
starts in navy· picked up· Piece 2 of 3
First six rounds[8] [8] [8] [8] [8] [8]
1[8]
2[8]
3[8]
4[8]
5[8]
6[8]
7[8]
8[8]
9[8]
10[8]
11[8]
12[8]
13[8]
14[8]
15[8]
16[8]
17[8]
18[8]
19[8]
20[8]
21[8]
22[8]
23[8]
24[8]
25[8]
26[8]
US termsscsingle crochetincincreasechchainBLOback loop onlyst(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneFlatten the last round of the tube against the rim and work it down through both layers, ten stitches from where the handle started. Weave the tail down inside the handle so it takes some of the weight.
3
03Right handle
— the same 26 rounds again, worked from piece 0226 RNDS
starts in navy· picked up· Piece 3 of 3· mirrors the handles
First six rounds[8] [8] [8] [8] [8] [8]
1[8]
2[8]
3[8]
4[8]
5[8]
6[8]
7[8]
8[8]
9[8]
10[8]
11[8]
12[8]
13[8]
14[8]
15[8]
16[8]
17[8]
18[8]
19[8]
20[8]
21[8]
22[8]
23[8]
24[8]
25[8]
26[8]
US termsscsingle crochetincincreasechchainBLOback loop onlyst(s)stitch, or stitches
You are here
Three pieces from two lists. One list — the handles — is written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.97 ROUNDS IN ALL
Eight notes on the tote bag
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Worked in a continuous spiral throughout. Mark the first stitch of every round — a hundred-stitch round is easy to lose count of.
03Round 1 is worked around a foundation chain of 30: 29 sc along one side, 3 sc into the end chain, 29 sc back along the other side, 2 sc into the last. That comes to 60 stitches, and the app counts the round as 60 sc.
04Rounds 2 to 6 add 8 stitches each, worked as 4 increases at each rounded end with plain sc down the two long sides. Spreading them evenly instead would ruffle the base.
05Round 7 is worked in back loops only. It is still 100 single crochet — nothing about the count changes — but the free front loops leave a crisp fold line that stands the sides up.
06The handles are worked outward from the rim and rejoined to it, so each one finishes as a closed loop rather than a standing stub. Nothing on this bag is sewn on.
07Mark the rim before the handles: stitch 1, stitch 11, stitch 51 and stitch 61. The first handle grows from stitch 1 and comes back down at stitch 11; the second grows from stitch 51 and comes back down at stitch 61, directly opposite.
08Yarn amounts are a suggestion for aran cotton at this gauge, not a measured figure.
Four questions this pattern answers
Not questions anybody asked. Each one is written from this pattern's own record, and every answer is read off the fields it names.
How many pieces make up the tote bag?
How much yarn will the tote bag take?
What hook will the tote bag need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the tote bag take to crochet?
A round that will not add up?
Tell us the piece and the round number — the stepper already knows where you are.There is nowhere to send one yet.
Put the laptop down mid-round
The iPhone app keeps your place — piece of 3, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
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