Crochet tote bags are simply fabulous. They come in different styles, shapes, patterns, and colors, but the best thing about them is their functionality.
You can carry everything you need to take with you for the day in a fantastic bag you made yourself!
And if you are new to crocheting, tote bags are lovely projects to practice crochet stitches and how to read and follow a pattern.
How to Crochet a Tote Bag
So, you want to crochet a tote bag? You’re in the right place! Before we begin, here are answers to some of the most common questions about crochet tote bags to get you started.
How Are Tote Bags Constructed?
Many crocheted tote bags are worked from the bottom up. You start with a chain or a magic loop and increase stitches to make a circle or oval shape to make the base of the bag.
Stitches are then worked without increases to form the sides of the bag. The strap or handle is often worked as part of the bag, or it can be stitched separately and sewn on.
Bags can also be made with a flat rectangular bottom, or the sides can be worked and then a long rectangle stitched to make the bottom, sides, and strap all in one piece.
What Materials Do I Need to Crochet a Tote Bag?
Most crochet tote bags only need a few supplies. You will need the following:
- Yarn: more on that below!
- Crochet hook: sized appropriately for the weight of yarn you are using or what the pattern calls for
- Stitch marker: handy if you are working on a project in the round and want to know where the end of the round is
- Scissors: for trimming yarn
- Yarn needle: for weaving in ends and sewing pieces of the bag together if needed
- Notions: zippers, buttons, stitch markers, clasps, bag handles, liners, and bottoms (if needed)
What are the Best Yarns to Use for Tote Bags?
Tote bags can get a lot of wear and tear, depending on how you use them. Choosing the best yarn will help the bag to last a long time. When choosing the suitable yarn to use, it’s important to consider a few things.
Most of these factors come down to how the yarn will work as a bag, how durable the finished bag will be, and how long it will keep looking good.
Yarns that are strong, easy to wash, colorfast, and resistant to pilling make great choices for bags. You also want to pick something in a color you love that fits your budget!
If you plan to use multiple colors in your, make a swatch with all of them and wash them to ensure the colors don’t bleed.
There are pros and cons to different fibers, but this general information can help you decide if you aren’t sure what material to use for your crochet tote bag.
Cotton Yarn
Cotton yarns are the go-to for many crochet bag projects. Cotton is inexpensive, durable, and stretches but not excessively. Worsted weight cotton yarn is a great option you will find used in many of the projects below.
Organic cotton yarns are environmentally friendly and can be found in a range of colors. Conventional cotton yarns come in a great range of colors and can be found at most yarn and craft stores.
Cotton yarn can be a little stiff and hard on the hands, and it’s not the easiest yarn for beginners, but it is a great choice for bags that work hard and last a long time.
Acrylic
Another popular yarn used for tote bags is acrylic yarn. They’re also inexpensive and come in a huge range of colors. They tend to be colorfast, which is great if you want to use several colors in your project.
Some acrylic yarns are softer than others, but they’re all pretty strong, and they are machine washable. They can be a little easier to work with for beginners and generally have good stretch and memory (meaning they bounce back after being stretched).
Wool
We all know wool is great for scarves and sweaters, but it’s also a good choice for bags. Wool is strong and often soft, and it is generally easy to work with. It has great stretch and memory, but can be more expensive than other yarns.
Unless the wool yarn is superwash, you cannot wash projects made with wool in the washing machine. But if your wool bag comes out bigger than expected, you can felt it, which fuses the fibers together, making the fabric more solid and super strong (though with less stretch and stitch definition).
Now that you know the best materials to use when crocheting a tote bag you can begin planning your tote bag project using the following free patterns!
You’ll find bags with relatively solid fabric for carrying lots of groceries or library books, lacier bags for the beach, bags made with granny squares, and big, quick-to-stitch bags made with bulky and super bulky yarns. Let’s dive into all these great crochet tote bag patterns!
Crochet Tote Bags with Solid Fabric
While these crochet tote bag patterns might not be completely solid in their stitching, they don’t have the big mesh and openwork designs you find in some totes that are made to be market or beach bags. If you need a bag that’s a bit more sturdy or can hold small things without lining, these are the patterns for you.
Camellia Tote Bag
Designer: All About Ami
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton
This big bag has an oval base that is worked flat in continuous rounds, then the stitches are divided to make the panels for the body. You’ll enjoy crocheting this one as you can use your favorite crochet stitch in the middle accent panel in the center of this pattern, or just work it as written.
Easy Market Tote Bag
Designer: For the Frills
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton
Looking for a spacious market bag? This tote bag pattern is the answer! You can create one to use as a purse and another for your groceries or market use. It’s an all-in-one practical tote bag.
On the Bias Tote Bag
Designer: A Crocheted Simplicity
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton DK
We love a summer tote, and this one is perfect to use as a beach bag for your summer getaways and holidays. It’s worked flat, folded, and seamed, and you can make it in a solid color or add stripes if you like.
Crochet Cotton Candy Tote Bag
Designer: Znooi Craft Corner
Yarn weight: (3) DK
Suggested yarn: Bernat Softee Cotton
This colorful bag can be worked with a solid color and a multicolored yarn, or use your yarns scraps (or even two solid colors) to make the pattern. It looks complicated but the texture is made by working spike stitches.
Largo Tote Bag
Designer: Salty Pearl Crochet
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lily Sugar‘n Cream
This free crochet tote bag pattern is spacious and features a rectangular bottom and stripes of playful colors and textures. Carry your latest project and beach gear, or use it as a market bag.
Color Block Tote Bag
Designer: The Loophole Fox
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Sirdar Hayfield Bonus
This great color block design is perfect for using your leftovers from other projects. Use as many or as few colors as you like. This pattern is great for advanced beginners and uses a double crochet cluster stitch for the texture.
Jackfield Tiled Tote Bag
Designer: CatWhiskers Crochet, via Ravelry
Yarn weight: (3) DK
Suggested yarn: Premier Yarns Premier Anti-Pilling Everyday DK
This bag has a gorgeous mandala pattern on the side. You can use the pattern shown or any tile crochet pattern you like. This colorful bag is the perfect tote for gray winter days!
Chevron Bobble Tote Bag
Designer: A Crocheted Simplicity
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Knit Picks Simply Wool Aran
We love a unique tote bag. The Chevron Bobble tote bag stands out thanks to its fun texture of chevrons made with bobbles. This bag is on the smaller side so it’s great to use as a handbag.
Market Tote Bag
Designer: Cream of the Crop Crochet
Yarn weight: (3) DK
Suggested yarn: Cascade Ultra Pima
This easy tote bag is perfect for beginners, as it uses single crochet throughout. Pick your favorite colors to make the stripes. You can leave it with just the handle or crochet a strap, too.
Lacy Crochet Tote Bag Patterns
If you’re looking for a classic mesh market bag or a tote bag to use at the beach, these tote bag patterns featuring more open stitches are a great place to start. Have fun playing with colors and textures on these crochet market bag patterns.
Ocean Breeze Tote Bag
Designer: Loops and Love Crochet
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Caron Cotton Cakes
The Ocean Breeze Tote is a perfect roomy crochet tote bag worked in super simple stitches. The yarn used makes the color changes effortless, but you could also work this one in a solid color, or change colors each time you hit a different part of the pattern.
Harvest Market Tote Bag
Designer: Make & Do Crew
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton
This is one of my absolute favorite market bag patterns. With sturdy handles and an expandable mesh pattern, this free tote bag pattern is one of the easiest and most fun you can make.
Crochet Summer Tote Bag
Designer: Passionate Crafter
Yarn weight: (2) Fine
Suggested yarn: LB Collection® Mako Cotton Yarn
This tote bag pattern is a perfect crochet project to make for summer. The bag is modern and stylish, making it great for summer trips. You could also line the bag to make it more of an everyday bag.
The Callie Carry-All Tote Bag
Designer: Skeins and Stitches
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Furls Wonder
The bag is made almost entirely of single crochet and half double crochet stitches to create a fun texture. It’s the perfect bag for taking a towel and a book to the beach or the pool. It’s also great for toting snacks or library books.
Perfect Day Market Tote Bag
Designer: Moogly
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lily Sugar‘n Cream
This is a big, big market bag – but the clever thing about this free crochet bag pattern is that you can make it any size! You can continue crocheting the same stitch until you reach your desired length.
Granny Square Bags
There’s nothing more classic than a granny square, but these free crochet patterns give grannies a modern look and feel. They’re a great way to use up leftovers from other projects, and maybe hold your new project when you’re done!
Sunflower Granny Square Tote Bag
Designer: Craft by Cat
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Caron Simply Soft
This sunflower granny square tote bag is absolutely gorgeous! It reminds me of summer days and sunflower fields. The granny squares are arranged and stitched together to form this wonderful tote bag.
Magnolia Granny Square Tote Bag
Designer: Mama in a Stitch
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton
This is a vintage-style granny square tote bag that you will enjoy crocheting. It is made of cotton yarn, so it’s washable, and you can use it as your everyday bag or a farmer’s market bag.
Summer Retro Tote Bag
Designer: A Crocheted Simplicity
Yarn weight: (4) Worsted
Suggested yarn: Lily Sugar‘n Cream
Summer retro style meets function and versatility in this fun crochet hexagon tote bag crochet pattern. This cute tote bag brings back that retro summer vibe that you’ll enjoy.
Granny Square Tote Bag
Designer: Hopelessly Devoted Crochet
Yarn weight: (3) DK
Suggested yarn: Sirdar Hayfield Bonus
If you want a simple and uncomplicated granny square tote bag pattern, this one is for you. It can be worked in cotton or acrylic yarn, and if you line it you can use it as your everyday bag.
Crochet Tote Bag Patterns Made with Bulky or Super Bulky Yarn
Big yarn makes for faster crocheting, but it can also give you a bigger and sturdier bag to hold all your essentials. This section is for you if you need a new bag for your library books or if you’re one of those people who likes to or needs to carry lots of stuff around each day.
Crochet Tote Bag in Two Sizes
Designer: Crochet Dreamz
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Bernat Maker Home Dec
This crochet tote bag doesn’t come in one but two sizes! One is a large beach bag size, while the smaller version is great for an everyday bag. Make either or both to carry everything you need to tote!
Beginner Crochet Tote Bag
Designer: Make & Do Crew
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Rewind
This crochet tote bag is made from a rectangle that is folded to create this fantastic tote. It’s quick and easy to stitch and a great bag for all sorts of uses.
Market Tote Bag
Designer: Yarn and Chai
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Bernat Maker Home Dec
This is a great bag for those new to making bags because it’s worked in a continuous round all the way to the straps (make sure you have a stitch marker handy for this one!). It’s cute with a contrasting top, or work it all in one color.
Crochet Diamond Tote Bag
Designer: Loops and Love Crochet
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Bernat Maker Home Dec
This tote bag pattern uses tapestry crochet to make the diamond pattern in the middle portion. There are video tutorials to help if you’ve never used this technique before. The pattern also comes in two sizes if you’re looking for purse patterns.
Lucy Tote Bag
Designer: Evelyn and Peter Crochet
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Rewind
This tote bag is quick to stitch thanks to the use of bulky yarn and simple stitches (it’s mostly single crochet which also makes it sturdy and durable). Use your extra yarn to make an adorable tassel.
Huntington Carryall Tote Bag
Designer: Two of Wands
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Hue + Me
This is the tote of your dreams! Carry all of your essentials with this sophisticated hobo-style bag. Sport it as an oversized purse, a carry-on for your distant travels, or a weekend bag for your next road trip.
Marlowe Tote Bag
Designer: Meghan Makes Do
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Rewind
This fun and functional design works up quickly and is perfect for toting around all your summer essentials. If you love having one bag that can carry all your things, this is the best tote bag pattern you’ll make.
Cove Crochet Tote Bag
Designer: Originally Lovely
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Rewind
This is a fun and stylish tote bag designed to be functional. It uses mainly half double crochet so it’s an easy beginner-level pattern that you’ll surely enjoy making.
Audrey Crochet Tote Bag
Designer: Make & Do Crew
Yarn weight: (6) Super bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Feels Like Butta
This tote bag is simple yet chic. The stripes are a classic look for summer or any time of year. This is a great casual bag for window shopping or taking your picnic supplies to the park.
Free Market Tote Bag
Designer: Daisy Cottage Designs
Yarn weight: (5) Bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Rewind
This sweet little pattern works up in a couple of hours since it’s worked in double crochet with chain stitches. It’s a great bag to stitch up as a gift and fill with goodies for the birthday girl (or anyone else!).
Sturdy Market Tote
Designer: Delia Creates
Yarn weight: (6) Super bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Wool–Ease Thick & Quick
Are you looking for a sturdy market bag tote? If yes, then this one is a winner! This big bag is built to hold all your grocery store purchases, and you can make it with two strands of yarn held together to make it even sturdier if you like.
Kensington Tote Bag
Designer: TL Yarn Crafts
Yarn weight: (6) Super bulky
Suggested yarn: Lion Brand Feels Like Butta
This pattern uses a pretty, bulky yarn so you can finish one in no time. It’s worked in Tunisian crochet, which is so fun and gives the bag a knit look. There’s a video tutorial if you need it, too.
Want to Design Your Own Tote Bags with Fun Stitches?
Tote bags are a great way to play with different crochet stitches. You can easily make a base with a solid stitch and make the sides of the bag whatever stitch you like.
If you want to get inspired by new-to-you crochet stitches, check out our Ultimate Crochet Stitch Library. It includes 45 stitches you can learn with video tutorials. Add them to your next bag project or anything else you want.
Are You a New Crocheter Who Needs Extra Help with the Basics?
If anything in these patterns confused you or you want to make sure your finished bag looks just like the one in the picture, you need our Crochet Fundamentals workshop.
This collection of videos is full of great advice, techniques, and tutorials to make you more confident and boost your skills quickly.
