Crochet bag of 13 granny squares with flowers (2024)

Crochet bags have always been my top pick, and when you throw granny squares into the mix, you’ve got a match made in craft heaven. This crochet bag is made of 13 granny squares, uniquely seamed to form a rounded base.

If you’re eager to learn how to crochet a granny square bag, including all the nitty-gritty on seaming and square placement, keep scrolling for the free pattern. Or, for those who prefer a more polished presentation, snag the affordable, beautifully formatted PDF version.

Why I chose granny squares?

As a mom of an 18-month-old baby girl, I have less time to crochet and concentrate on writing down the patterns. Actually, I only crochet late at night and prepare all the photos and pattern notes two days a week when she is in kindergarten.

So, the best solution for me was to crochet something small, like granny squares, which I could later turn into a beautiful pillow or crochet bag.

Also, I love that the granny squares are portable, small in size, easy to remember, and the perfect yarn stash busters. They are highly customizable in size and color combos.

What is the perfect yarn for crochet bags?

I started designing bags with T-shirt yarn years ago, and they were super sturdy, but boy, they were heavy, too. Working with T-shirt yarn was a nightmare for someone who did not use this type of yarn on a daily basis. That’s why I quickly gave up on it and started searching for replacement. Then I discovered the beauty of 100% cotton yarn.

And now I don’t have enough words for Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton yarn. This yarn holds super sturdy, it is easy to work with and with only 2 balls of yarn you can crochet a decent size bag for yourself.

Can you believe it, after I wore almost 1 kg bags made from t-shirt yarn, to have a bag which is weights only 200gr is a blessing.

So, my answer to this question is that; the best yarn for crochet bags is cotton yarn, especially for ones that you will wear through the spring/summer season.

Bag’s construction

For this bag, first we will crochet 13 granny squares, which we will later seam together. Then, we will crochet the top edging and the straps.

The beauty of the bag is that after you get familiar with the construction you can switch the granny squares and crochet entirely new bag using the same constructions for the body and for the straps. And here are some free crochet granny square patterns that you can check.

1. Classic granny square for beginners.
2. Unusual granny square
3. Sunburst granny square free pattern

Granny square tote bag pattern

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Materials:

Scissors

yarn needle

Yarn:

Lion Brand yarn 24/7 Cotton, 100% Cotton yarn, 100gr/3.5oz, 170m/186yds in colors:

• white- 20gr
• tangerine- 25gr
• lemon- 10gr
• Creamsicle- 20gr
• Sky- 130gr

Hook size

• 3 mm
• 3.5 mm

Gauge:

Blooming flower granny square:

4.15” (10.5 cm) x 4.15” (10.5 cm)

Finished size:

• Width- 28 cm ( at the widest part )
• Height- 31 cm ( from bottom to tip of the squares )
• Straps- 45 cm ( from side to side )

ABBREVIATIONS:

• ch(s)- chain(s)
• sl st- slip stitch
• st(s)- stitch(es)
• sc- single crochet
• ch-1 sp- chain-1 space
• ch-4 sp- chain-4 space
• beg- beginning
• rep- repeat
• tr- treble crochet
• ()- make all the stitches in the () into the same stitch or space
• **- repeat the stitches in the ** indicated times
• dc- double crochet
• YO- yarn over
• petal- check flower’s petal in special stitch section.

Pattern notes

• The pattern is written in US crochet terms!
• The bag is made of 13 granny squares seamed together in a unique way.
• For the squares, I used 5 shades of 24/7 cotton as 3 are for the flower’s petals, one as the center of the flower, and one as a base for the bag.
• After we finish all the 13 granny squares, we will join them using the invisible join method.
• For the top edging and the straps, we will pick up the stitches along the top edge of the bag.
• If you wish, you can adjust the length of the straps.
• We will inline the inner part of the straps by picking up stitches along the inner edge of the strap and top edging of the dip of the V to form a more secure strap.
• You can block the squares before joining them or block the entire bag at the end. I am using a steamer to block mine.
• Be sure to check out the flower granny square video tutorial on our YouTube channel, in which I show how to crochet each round.
• On page 14, you will find links to useful video tutorials on how to place your square and seam them together, how to turn the straps into a more tubular shape, and how to use the invisible seaming method.
• If you wish, use one color for all the flowers instead of 3. In this case, you will need one color for the center ( lemon ), one for the petals ( white ), and one as a base color for the bag.
• If you want to make the bag bigger, in round 6, replace the single crochet stitches with double crochet ones. And if you still don’t like the size add one more round of double crochet. At the end, you will have 7 rounds in total. But this will not change the joining or the calculations, only the bag size.

Special stitches :

Treble crochet- YO twice, insert your hook into the next st, YO, pull through ( 4 loops on the hook ), YO, pull through first 2 loops, ( 3 loops on the hook ), YO, pull through the next 2 loops, ( 2 loops on the hook ), YO, pull through the last 2 loops.

Flower’s petal – ch3, 3tr, ch3, sl st into the indicated st or space.

PRO TIP:

Cut the yarn after rounds 1 and 2 to have a nice-looking flower, then attach the new color.

After you finish the first 3 rounds, the flower can look misshaped, but in round 4, it will flatten. So don’t think there is a mistake or something wrong with your flower.

Print this pattern

Below you will find the free crochet pattern of the Crochet Dog Gnome. But I know some of you prefer a hard copy instead of using a screen.

If so the Premium PDF pattern is just for you!

You can buy the ad-free, beautifully formatted, print-friendly PDF pattern from ourEtsy shop here!

We are grateful to those of you who support our small business by buying the Premium printable PDFs. The PDF pattern includes all the instructions and photo tutorials from this post without the ads!

Granny square tutorial

I crochet 4 flowers with white petals, 4 flowers with creamsicle and 5 flower with tangerine color yarn for total of 13 granny squares.

For the detailed photo tutorial of the flower granny square check the blooming granny square pattern. I included a full video tutorial as well as the photos.

With Color A, Ch6 and sl st into the 6th ch from the hook to form a ring.

Rnd 1:* ch4, sc into the ring * rep seven more times. At the end, you should have 8 ch-4 spaces in total. Cut the yarn.

with color B

Rnd 2:Insert your hook in any of the ch-4 spaces, ( ch3, 3tr, ch3, sl. st. all into the same ch-4 sp), ch1, sl.st into the next ch-4 sp, * (ch3, 3tr, ch3, sl st all in next ch-4 sp ), ch1, sl st into the next ch-4 sp * rep 6 more times, join into the first ch-4 sp. Cut the yarn.

with color C ( mine is sky )

Rnd 3:Insert your hook into any ch1-sp from round 2 ( which is between the petals ), * ch4, skip the petal and work 1 sc into the next ch-1-sp, * rep 7 more times, join with sl st into the first ch-4 sp.

Rnd 4: ( ch3, 2 dc, ch3, 3dc all in the same ch-4 sp ), 3dc in next ch-4 sp, than, * ( 3dc, ch3, 3dc all in next ch-4 sp), 3dc in next ch-4 sp * rep 2 more times, join with sl st on 3rd ch of beg ch3.

Rnd 5:ch3, 1 dc in next 2 sts, ( 2dc, ch2, 2dc all in next corner sp ), 1 dc in next 9 sts, * ( 2dc,ch2, 2dc all in next corner sp ), 1 dc in next 9 sts * rep 1 more time, ( 2dc, ch2, 2dc all in next corner sp, 1 dc in next 6 sts, join with sl st on 3rd ch of begch3.

Rnd 6:ch1, 1 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts, * ( 1 sc, ch2, 1sc in next corner sp ), 1 sc in next 13 sts * rep 2 more times, ( 1 sc, ch2, 1sc in next corner sp ), 1 sc in next 8 sts., join with sl st on top of first stitch.

How to change a size of the bag

In the pictures the bag may look bigger, but it is actually small size. That’s why if you wish to change the size, you have some options:

First, for round 6 of the square, you can switch the single crochet stitch with double crochet stitch. In this case 2 balls of the base color will be more than enough. For reference, I used 30gr of my second ball.

Second, you can add more rounds to your squares. Instead of making the squares with 6 rounds you can make 7 or even 8. Here maybe you can need an extra ball of the base color.

PRO TIP: If you decide to change the size of the squares and the bag, don’t forget to add more stitches for the handles as well.

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Seaming the granny squares together

You should crochet 13 granny squares in total. And after you weave the ends, you can block them to define and smooth the edges.

Consult the guide in the next page to visualize the layout and folding pattern for the 13 granny squares that will come together to create your bag.

Position the 13 granny squares as shown in the provided diagram to understand the folding technique that will be used to form the bag.

After you place and arrange the squares as shown in the diagram above, we will join them by using the invisible join method.

Once the 13 squares are joined, we’ll proceed by folding the piece vertically (bringing square 10 towards square 2, and square 13 towards square 5) so that the upper corners of the squares align. Then, we’ll take the outermost squares (1 and 9) and fold them inward at a 90-degree angle, so their corners point towards the central square 4.

The resulting structure will appear as follows, with the squares arranged in this manner:

Invisible joining method

Finally, we’ll use the invisible join technique to seam together the remaining sides, ensuring the bag maintains its form: specifically, we’ll join the diagonal sides of Granny Square 1 and 9, as well as the exterior diagonal sides of Granny Squares 3/6 and 8/12.

In some of the pictures, the squares are with the right side facing, so you can see exactly how I placed the flower squares, but for the joining, we will place them with the wrong side facing us.

In this method, we will work through the back loops of the stitches.

PRO TIP:

Don’t be confused because as we are working on the wrong side of the squares, you can think that we are working through the front loops, but actually, when you turn the squares with the right side, you will see that we are working through the back loops.

Here is a short video tutorial for the joining. Check it HERE

Now take the yarn needle, insert it into the back loop of the corner chain stitch of square 1 and through the corner chain stitch of square 2.

Then, insert your hook through the back loop of the next stitch of square 2 and proceed through the back loop of the corresponding stitch of square 1.

Continue like this, working from square 1 to square 2 and then from square 2 to square 1. Repeat until you reach the corner chains of your squares. Work your needle under the back loop of the chain stitch closest to your seam on each square.

You can see the working direction in the picture below.

And this is the final look at the front side of the granny squares.

Joining the squares together

We will join the granny squares using the invisible joining method and to do so:

First, cut 3 strands of yarns:

First strand- 380 cm

Second strand- 180 cm

Third strand- 180 cm

Then, begin at the lower red point and take the first strand to connect the granny squares one by one, following the pattern outlined in the diagram (this includes seaming together 12 separate sides). After seaming around and reaching the starting point again (at the end of the 12th side), you can fasten off.

Here is the video tutorial demonstrating how to seam and fold the bag.Check it HERE.

Next, using the second strands and third one seam the side granny squares (2 sides each). Do not fasten off because we will use the strands for the last step.

Here is the bag’s look before the last step of the seaming. As I said in the pictures, the bag is with the front side facing, just for the photos. All the seaming is made with the wrong side facing me.

For the last step with the second and the third strands continue seaming the both diagonal sides of the bag. Starting from the red point.

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Download and print at home. View on your mobile device, tablet, or computer.

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Bag’s Edging and straps

For the top edging of the bag we will pick the stitches at the top edges of the granny squares. Then we will continue on the straps. And finally we will inline the inner part of the straps to strenghten them.

We will work the top edging and the straps using a 3 mm crochet.

We will work in joined rounds.

So, after you finish seaming the squares and weaving the ends, turn the bag so the right side faces you.

Rnd 1: Insert your hook into the top right corner, attach the slip knot, and draw it through. Yarn over and chain 1 to secure it. Continue with a sc in the same stitch and sc in each st all around. When you reach the end of the round, join it with a sl st to the first sc.

In the upcoming round, we will crochet the straps that will extend from the upper corners of the granny squares.

Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in same stitch, sc in each st along the edge till the top tip of the first granny square; now it is time to crochet the strap. Ch 70 for the strap. ( be careful not to twist the chain ), sc to the top tip of the second granny square. Then, make sc in each st around until the top tip of the next granny square( third one ). It is time to work the second strap: chain 70 and sc to the last top tip ( fourth square ), sc in each st till the end, join with sl st to first.

Rnd 3-4: ch1, 1 sc in same st, 1 sc in each st and each ch all around, join with sl st on top of first st.

Now fasten off.

In the next step, we will inline the inner part of the straps to strengthen them.

Inline the inner part of the straps

With the right side facing you, insert your hook in the middle stitch between the two squares.

Ch 1, sc in each st along the edge of the granny square, and sc in each st of the strap, ( work the stitches along underside of strap. Insert your hook into upside down V underneath horizontal bars).

Then sc in each st along the edge of the second granny square, join with sl st on top of first st. Fasten off. Repeat the same for the second strap.

Now we will go back to the top edge of the bag and will turn the straps in more tubular shape.

This step is optional. You can skip it if you wish. And here is a video showing how to work this step. Check it HERE.

Go back to the top edge of the bag and insert your hook into the first st of the strap. To identify the first st place your hook as shown in the picture below.

Here for the entire strap we will work through the stitches at the top of the bag and the bottom ( inner round of the bag ) Please see photo below.

Insert your hook into the back loop of the first top st and through the front loop of the corresponding bottom st and make a sl st, work one sl st till the end of the strap. Fasten off.

Repeat the same steps for the second strap as well. And weave the ends in.

Congratulations your blooming flower crochet bag is done.

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Find your next crochet bag pattern

Get ready for spring and summer with this easy and unique crochet bags. Most of them uses simple stitches and simple constructions. Which makes them perfect for all skill levels.

Find your next granny square pattern and crochet yourself a bag that matches your personal style by using the blooming flower bag’s construction.