DIY Crochet Handbag

Have you ever gone into a store or see something on TV/ Internet and say to yourself.. I can make that!!!  Well… Thats what happened to me one day when I went shopping at Target. I was looking for a Tote to carry the yarn I’m not packing up for our move. I glance over and see this crochet handbag… Natural instinct is to immediately check this out.. kinda like quality control.. was it machine made or handmade crochet, etc hahaha I pick it up, examine it.. Wow. it wasn’t machine made.. hmmm Then I look at the price tag and gasp. Nope.. was not going to give a Big named store that amount of money.. I can make this!!

I give you.. The DIY Crochet Handbag 🙂

The Handbag at the store was a neutral colored stiff but still on the soft side,cotton material. So off I went to find yarn similar to this handbag. I found several that were close but still not the exact texture. Then a light bulb went off in my head.. off to the hardware department I went..

Waalaa.. I found it. Cotton twine. This has the same texture and thickness of the “store” handbag and bonus .. it was 2.84 a ball. I grab a couple and off I went to create the look a like.

Half way through making this handbag, I was thinking about the texture and durability of this bag, then my mind started to wander and all of a sudden I said to myself.. Tye Dye!! Wouldn’t it be cool if you could custom dye your handbag.

After I completed the pattern I went to the craft store and picked up some t-shirt tye dye.

To be perfectly honest, I have never Tye Dyed anything before and after the initial excitement of getting the dye, I started to get a little nervous. I didn’t read the directions of the dye before I purchased and when it came time to make it.. eeekkk. This particular dye was for Large projects and required some math to calculate a smaller batch of dye. I recommend if you are going to dye your handbag to read the directions of several types of dye before you purchase.

The dye I used was 1 packet per Gallon of water.. I cut that down into 3rds and still had dye left over.

I also decided to make some swatches to test dye. So glad I did. The twine doesn’t soak up the dye as I thought it would have. It was almost like water repellent at first. I lightly sprayed water on the first area I was going to dye first… This worked out much better.

I noticed you can actually get some neat effects when spray water on the already dyed area.. it make the dye move and creep up the twine. I started with the darker dye first but you can try many different techniques with your swatches before applying to your handbag.

Cautions with the dye.. this is fabric dye and it will stain anything it gets on.. use gloves and it is best to dye outside where spills will not ruin anything. It was raining here when I went to dye so I did dye inside. I have a stainless steel sink so I used a cooling rack over my sink to dye. For drying I transferred the cooling rack to a old cookie sheet pan.

 

 

For some extra fun.. I made 2 coaster size swatches and let my husband and daughter design their own. It also gave me other ideas on how I wanted my bag to look.

When dyeing don’t worry about areas that arent covered completely with dye..the dye will spread out while drying. Also, keep in mind the color will lighting a bit also. The picture above is when the swatches and bag where wet.

Drying… Again preferably allow them to dry outside. I was late getting this post out because I didn’t not think about dry time. They barely dried while in the house. It wasnt til a day later when I could put them outside for a few hours in the sun that they finally dried. I Do Not recommend putting them in the drier.. the dye will destroy your drier.

 

 

These pictures are of the swatches and bag fully dried. As you can see the dye faded a bit and also the areas that did not have dye filled in with color.

I added some twine to the edges of the coasters the family made. Took a wire brush and combed out the twine and made little Rug coaster. Have some extra fun with this project. This little side project made me think back to crafts we did in school.. was a nice little break away from the everyday schedule 🙂

Crochet Handbag Pattern

This bag is done in the round. It has repetitive rows. It has 2 “special” need to know stitches.. Which are a Cluster and a DC2TOG. Below are a couple links for reference on how to do the “special” stitches.

Cluster.. Mama in a Stitch ….The Cluster for my pattern is only 3DC’s

DC2TOG… New Stitch a Day

Cluster2TOG..

What you will Need…

2 Balls of Cotton twine .. I went to Walmart Hardware Dept to get the kind I used

Handbag Handles.. You can use any you wish for your handbag.. I purchased my Bamboo handles from Joanns.  

Fabric Dye.. Remember to read instructions so you don’t have to make large batches of dye. Also to see if you need anything to add when making dye. I needed Salt.

Dye Bottles & Disposable Gloves

Cheap Aluminum Cookie Sheet.. If you do not have one you can use for drying handbag

5mm Hook

Scissors, Stitch Marker, Tapestry Needle

Abbreviations…

Ch. = Chain

SC = Single Crochet

DC = Double Crochet

HDC = Half Double Crochet

Sl St = Slip Stitch

SK = Skip Stitch

SM = Stitch Marker

Cluster = 3DC Cluster

DC2TOG = Double Crochet 2 Stitches together

* to * = Repeat stitch or stitches between *’s

Note.. Place SM in first stitch of every round so you can keep track of your rows

PATTERN

Ch.44 +1

Round 1.) 2nd Ch from hook SC, SC across – Turn work slightly and SC in between SC and Chain row,n Turn work slightly again ( now you will be working Chain row) SC across, turn slightly and put 2SC in between the 2 rows.

Round 2.) SC around

Round 3.) Sl St into SM SC, Ch.2, DC next stitch, DC around, DC into Ch.2

Round 4.) DC , DC, Cluster, *Ch.1 – SK – Cluster*, Repeat * to * 19 more times, DC,DC,DC,DC ( around corner), Cluster, * Ch.1 – Sk – Cluster, Repeat * to * 20 more times, DC the last 4 stitches.

Round 5.) Start with Cluster, * Ch.1 – Sk – Cluster*,  Repeat * to * 19 more times, DC2TOG, DC, DC, * Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*, Repeat *to* 21 more times, DC2TOG, DC, DC

Round 6.) *Cluster – Ch.1 – SK* Repeat *to* 20 more times, Cluster in First DC, DC2TOG, * Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*, Repeat *to* 22 more times, DC2TOG

Round 7.) *Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*, Repeat *to* 20 more times, DC2TOG ( cluster & dc), *Ch.1 – Sk – Cluster*, repeat *to* 21 more times, DC2TOG ( cluster & last dc)

Round 8 – 9.) Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk  around

Round 10.) *Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*  repeat *to* 21 more times, Cluster2TOG, *cluster – Ch.1- Sk* repeat *to* 19 more times, Cluster2TOG

Round 11.) *Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk* repeat *to* 19 more times, Cluster2TOG, * Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk* repeat *to* 19 more times, Cluster2TOG

Round 12 -16.) * Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*, Repeat *to* around

Round 17.) *Cluster – Ch.1 – Sk*, repeat *to* around til you reach last Cluster, In last cluster place 2 HDC’s

Round 18.) 2HDC in each previous row cluster ( not in Ch.1 space)..

Round 19.) SC around, Sl St into first SC and Finnish off.

Attaching Handles…

Depending on the type of handle you use, there is several ways to attach your Handles. On my handbag I choice 2 different ways you could attach them.

 

 

First photo is a single sewn, center hold. Second picture I placed additional wrapping on either side. Options are limitless on how you would like to attach yours.

Attach along the whole bottom half of handle, Partial attachment, etc.. Also… Keep in mind as to whether or not you want your handle “holder” to be dye’d or Natural. If you want it to match, make sure you dye some of your extra cord.

When attaching the handle you want to use a whole cluster.. So sew from bottom of cluster, up around handle and into top of same cluster and just keep going around and across the same row of clusters,  til your happy with the hold and look.

Get creative with your bag.. this is your creation and it needs your personal touch 🙂

I hope you have fun with this DIY Handbag and Please let me know if you have any questions. Those that would like to share your finished handbag I would love to see them… You can post them here in Comments or #wulfiesessentials on instagram 🙂

THIS PATTERN WAS MADE AND DESIGNED BY WULFIESESSENTIALS©. YOU MAY MAKE AND SELL THE ITEMS MADE FROM THIS PATTERN, BUT PLEASE LINK BACK TO MY SITE. YOU MAY NOT ALTER, REPRODUCE, SELL OR DISTRIBUTE THIS PATTERN. DO NOT USE THE PHOTOS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PATTERN WITHOUT PERMISSION.

WulfiesEssentials© is neither paid or affiliated with any persons &/or Business mentioned in this post. Any “review” is solely my opinion based on use of the Item mentioned in this post.