I’m thrilled to share this simple but beautiful crochet bag pattern by Cathy from City Farmhouse Studio today! This Journey Bag is a perfect project for self-striping yarn. It uses simple stitches to highlight the yarn. It’s great for beginners or more advanced crocheters looking for a relaxing project. And, it makes a great project bag!

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation (at no added cost to you) if you make a purchase using these links. Yarn for the sample was generously provided by Red Heart. Photos in this post are © Cathy Black (City Farmhouse Studio) and are used with permission.

About Cathy Black

Cathy Black started City Farmhouse Studio in 2017 when she began sharing her contemporary knitting and crochet design patterns.  A graduate of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, her background in design for the corporate world has led her to create patterns that are inspired by everyday life and its needs.  What began as a way to stay creative on her own designs and interests while working as a corporate automotive designer has led Cathy to a path of creating patterns full of textures, colors, and possibilities with yarn.  Cathy lives in Michigan with her husband, 4 kids, and her design critic – Darla, the cat.

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Journey Bag

Crochet Pattern by City Farmhouse Studio

HI!  I’m Cathy from City Farmhouse Studio. I am so excited to share with you the pattern for my crochet Journey Bag.  The design for this came about from two ideas.  The first being that as a crafter I have so many bags that I keep my projects in: one for knitting, one for crochet, and one for spinning.  I have multiple WIPs of each which means even more bags.  So, I love bags and can never have enough.  I wanted to make another one!  

The second came from the yarn – Red Heart Colorscape in the blue Mykonos colorway.  Living in Michigan we are going through our snow covered everything so all you see is white, grey and brown.  It is an unusual day where we get a sky that looks blue and not grey.  So, seeing the bright blues and blue-greens of the Colorscape yarn just took me on a mental journey (pun intended) to somewhere warm and sunny – like Mykonos, Greece!  

With the yarn being self-striping, I designed this bag to have a simple stitch pattern so that the colors really are the featured element.  By making two panels going in different directions you get an easy stand out graphic that is effortless to make.  

This pattern is all single crochets to make rectangles.  No increases or decreases, so it is perfect for that mindless crafting where you want your hands busy but not having to keep count of your stitches or rows.  This also makes a great beginner project for someone who is beginning to crochet, or those more advanced that just need a break from that difficult, mind-numbing project.

The finished bag size is 13 inches wide x 14 inches tall, not including the straps.  Perfect for an everyday bag or taking yarn projects on trips.  I keep envisioning myself sitting on a beach, toes in the sand, and a cold fruity drink with an umbrella beside me while I’m working on a yarn project.  Well, I guess if I can’t take a real trip it might as well be a great imaginary one!

I hope you enjoy this bag as much as I do, and I hope that whatever journey you take this bag on is as great as the one you imagined while making it. 

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Materials

• Red Heart Colorscape – Mykonos – 3 skeins
• Hook size H/8/5.00mm
• Yarn needle

Gauge:4” x 4” = 16 sc stitches x 20 rows

Bag Size: 13″ (33 cm) wide x 14″ (35.5 cm) tall, not including the straps

Notes from Underground Crafter

• This pattern uses U.S. crochet abbreviations. You can find a complete list here.
• You can find more information about wet blocking in this post.
• You can find a photo tutorial for joining with a whip stitch seam here.

Pattern Instructions

Panel A – Vertical Stripe

• Chain 54.
• Row 1:  Turn.  Sc in second chain from hook.  Sc in each chain.  (53sc)
• Row 2: Chain 1, turn.  Sc in each stitch.  (53sc) 
• Repeat Row 2 for a total of 80 rows.

Panel B – Horizontal Stripe

• Chain 45.
• Row 1:  Turn.  Sc in second chain from hook.  Sc in each chain.  (44sc)
• Row 2: Chain 1, turn.  Sc in each stitch.  (44sc) 
• Repeat Row 2 for a total of 65 rows.

Straps (Make 2)

• Chain 81.
• Row 1:  Turn.  Sc in second chain from hook.  Sc in each chain.  (80sc)
• Row 2: Chain 1, turn.  Sc in each stitch.  (80sc) 
• Repeat Row 2 for a total of 5 rows.

Assembly

• Wet block all pieces to dimensions (see Notes from Underground Crafter).
  • Panel A:  13.5” (34.5 cm) x 16” (40.5 cm)
  • Panel B: 10.5” (26.5 cm) x 13.5” (34.5 cm)
  • Straps:  22” (56 cm) x 1” (2.5 cm)
• Sew top edge of Panel A to side edge of Panel B.
• Sew bottom edge of Panel A to side edge of Panel B.
• Sc 110 stitches evenly around each opening. 
• Fold so that the seams line up, one on the front side and one on the back side.  Sew one end closed for bottom. 
• Lay the bag flat.  Position each end of the strap on the bag so that it is centered with 23 stitches between each end of the same strap.  There should be 22 stitches between the two different straps.  Have the strap ends go down onto the side of the bag 2 stitches for more strength and stability.  Sew or whip stitch (see Notes from Underground Crafter) each strap end in place.

© 2019 by Cathy Black (City Farmhouse Studio) and published with permission by Underground Crafter. This pattern is for personal use only. You may use the pattern to make unlimited items for yourself, for charity, or to give as gifts. You may sell items you personally make by hand from this pattern. Do not violate Cathy’s copyright by distributing this pattern or the photos in any form, including but not limited to scanning, photocopying, emailing, or posting on a website or internet discussion group. if you want to share the pattern, point your friends to this link: https://undergroundcrafter.com/2019/03/04/crochet-pattern-journey-bag-by-city-farmhouse-studio/. Thanks for supporting indie designers!

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Buy the ad-free PDF of this pattern here on Etsy!