Crochet bag

I’ve finally finished making a granny square bag that has been in my head for ages.

I followed the instructions for this octagon granny square, which was really easy to follow with useful photos to show exactly what the instructions meant. I’d definitely use more patterns by this designer.

Once I’d made two squares and discovered they were miraculously the same size, I double crocheted them together and made a long handle so it can go cross body.

Because of the holes in the crochet I needed to line it and here’s where things went pear shaped! I Measured it, and measured it again, and laid the cotton squares (using up the last main bits of the butterfly batik 🙁) against the bag, and it looked OK. I didn’t want them too big as I wanted them to sit inside the bag neatly, but somehow they ended up with about a 2cm gap all round the edge. I was so frustrated and still don’t really know how it happened… I even thought I’d given a bit of a seam allowance.

But I fixed it a bit by crocheting together the gaps at the top either side of the lining so it doesn’t look bad…. It’s just not how I intended it!

16 thoughts on “Crochet bag”

  1. Very nice! I’ve never tried to line a crocheted bag, but I would imagine the it might stretch a bit depending on the stitch, so I can see how it my be a problem. I think you dealt with it well, the bag looks great!

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    1. Thank you. I don’t think it has stretched, as the measurements are the same after lining it. I rhino the lesson for next time is to make the lining bigger than I think I need…. It really won’t matter if it doesn’t lie exactly flat

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      1. Maybe you just didn’t add enough extra for seam allowances? I have done that when trying to make my own patters…misjudged how much I would need.

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  3. I think your bag looks lovely Julia. I can’t see what’s amiss at all.
    I have a question, if you don’t mind.
    I have commissioned a local friend to crochet a laptop bag for me. I know I will need to add a liner with relatively sturdy fabric. Do you have any advice for measuring the material and sewing it in place? This kind of project is definitely outside my wheel house.

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    1. Immediate obvious advice is don’t cut the lining fabric too small! I wanted to make the lining fit exactly in the bag, so I maybe underestimated how much fabric I needed
      Especially as I forgot I needed to turn over a top seam so it would look neat. I think if I did this again I would cut the fabric bigger than I think I need it (maybe measuring the outside of the bag and adding a 2cm to the widths and 3cm to the height to take account of the top hem , as it doesn’t have to lie exactly flat. I basically then made a pocket by joining the lining together on 3 sides, with the top hems already turned over. Then I used the sewing machine to sew the top seams to the inside of the bag. I sewed onto the edge where I had done single crochet, so the crochet was denser than anywhere else, as I figured that would have the best chance of holding. In fairness I just guessed what I was doing, so it might be that you can find some tutorials out there… But that could be tricky for a bespoke bag. I hope you can figure out a way to make it work for your laptop bag.

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      1. Me too! Thanks for your advice Julia.
        If I get it figured out, I will make a post on my blog.
        I was also hoping to cut out some birds patterns I have in my quilting resources and sew them on the outside. I might be getting a little ambitious with that, though.
        I appreciate that you share your ‘mistakes’ as well as your lovely successes. It’s so hard sometimes, as an artist, to think about all of the struggle that goes into art or a craft when someone else is sharing their work. We shouldn’t compare ourselves anyway, but it’s so easy to think everyone else makes perfect work every time.
        I really appreciate your honesty and helpfulness; and honestly, would have had no idea you had ‘messed up’.
        It’s a shame we’re across the Atlantic from one another. I would love to see your work first hand.

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      2. Oh thank you. I love the idea of you sewing birds onto the outside of your laptop bag. You should definitely go for it 😊.
        You’re so kind. I totally don’t consider myself an artist… Not least because I rarely come up with my own ideas and mainly just use other people’s patterns. I just like doing any crafts I can get my hands on!

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      3. Art is as much about making you feel good as it is about creating. Keep it up Julia!

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    1. Thank you. I’d make some changes for next time, but when I considered unpicking all the sewing and starting the lining again I decided it wasn’t worth it and could ruin the bag completely, so made do with how it was. It definitely looked more intentional once i’d closed the holes at the top corners of the bag!

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