15 rounds · filed under dense · 8 of them
Bags · added 25 Oct 2026
Pastel pink daisy tote bag in firm single crochet
Single crochet builds a firm, upright fabric for this daisy tote bag, worked flat then in the round.
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 4.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
- Rounds
- 10
About this pattern
Under your hand this bag is dense and a little stiff, the kind of fabric that doesn't fold so much as it holds a shape. Single crochet packs the stitches tight row after row, with no gaps to let the cotton drape, so the body reads more like woven canvas than knit fabric. Run a finger over it and you feel ridges, not loops - that's the single crochet fabric doing its job, building a wall rather than a drape.
The shape comes from a rectangle base folded up into a straight-sided box, 128 stitches around and 56 rounds tall, with a plastic canvas or cardboard insert slipped in to back up what the stitches are already doing. Once the daisies are pinned and sewn across the front and back grids and the handles are seamed on, set it down on a table - it should stay standing on its own, ready to carry a day's worth of things without buckling at the sides.
The swatch in numbers
- Rounds
- 10
- Parts
- 7
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 4-6 hours
- Hook
- 4.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
The yarn and the hook
Yarn
- Pink (main color): approximately 400 yards / 366 meters for the body, base, and handles
White
- approximately 85 yards / 78 meters for the daisy petals
Yellow
- approximately 25 yards / 23 meters for the daisy centers
- You’ll want worsted weight or aran weight cotton yarn for this project. Cotton holds its shape much better than acrylic for bags, and it gives you that crisp stitch definition you can see in the finished tote.
Recommended yarn options
- Lily Sugar’n Cream (100% cotton, worsted weight) gives crisp stitch definition and holds shape well
- Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran offers a wide pastel range with a smooth, even texture
- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 has a soft hand with a lovely matte finish
Tools
- 4.0 mm crochet hook (US G/6), or whatever size gives you a firm fabric
- Yarn needle or tapestry needle
- Stitch marker
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
Optional
- piece of plastic canvas or cardboard for a base insert
Stitches, spelled out
ch chain; sc single crochet (UK: dc). Insert hook, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops.Dense; hdc half double crochet (UK: htr)Dense; dc double crochet (UK: tr). Yarn over, insert hook, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through remaining two loops.Drape; sl st slip stitch. Insert hook, yarn over, pull through stitch and loop on hook in one motion.; st(s) stitch(es); inc increase, which means working 2 single crochet stitches into one stitch; rnd round; rep repeat; MR magic ringDense; UK crocheters The most important swap is that every "sc" in this pattern is your double crochet (dc).; Petal (sl st, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st) all worked into the same stitch. Each petal sits on one center stitch of the daisy..
Tension and hand-feel
Once the body reaches its full 56 rounds, it should stand about 12 inches (30 cm) tall without stretching - if the fabric feels floppy rather than firm at that point, a smaller hook will tighten the single crochet back up.
The Base
The base is worked flat in joined rows with pink yarn. This firm rectangle becomes the bottom of the bag.
Foundation: With pink, chain 51.
The Body
Center (Yellow)
The Handles
Make 2 firm rolled straps with pink yarn.
Foundation: Chain 6.
Petals (White)
Top Edge
Setting Up the Round
You’ll now work around the entire outer edge of the base. Work across the 50 stitches of the last row, down the 14 row-ends of the short side, across the 50 starting-chain stitches, and up the other 14 row-ends. Place 1 single crochet in each stitch or row-end.
This gives you 128 stitches total for the body.
How the texture is built
- The base is worked flat in turned rows rather than in the round because a rectangle needs straight edges to pick up stitches from cleanly - Round 1 of the body then works around all four sides of that rectangle (50 stitches along the top, 14 down the side, 50 along the bottom, 14 up the other side) to land on 128 stitches with no shaping at all.
- Round 2 of the body onward, every round repeats the same 128 single crochet with no increases or decreases, which is what keeps the sides perfectly straight up to Round 56 rather than curving in or flaring out.
- The body is worked in a continuous spiral rather than joined rounds, so there is no seam line climbing up the side of the bag - the stitch marker exists only to track where one round ends and the next begins, not to mark a structural join.
Putting the pieces together
If you swap the yarn
| mercerized cotton, worsted weight | Gives a slightly firmer, shinier single crochet fabric than standard cotton; keep the same 4.0 mm hook, since the smoother fiber can make the body feel a touch stiffer at the same stitch count. |
|---|---|
| cotton-acrylic blend, worsted weight | Softens the hand and adds a little drape to the body panel, which means the bag holds its shape less crisply on its own - the plastic canvas or cardboard base insert becomes more important here. |
| cotton, aran weight | Builds a thicker fabric faster with fewer rounds needed for the same height; size up to a hook in the 4.5-5.0 mm range to keep the single crochet from packing too tight to work. |
Colorways
- Classic pastel daisy Pink main color for the base, body, and handles; white for the petals; yellow for the centers, placed across the front and back grids as given.
- Inverted bloom A deeper pink for the base and handles with a paler pink body, keeping white petals but swapping the yellow centers for a soft cream so the flowers sit quieter against the lighter fabric.
Washing and blocking
Hand wash the finished tote in cool water, since the cotton named in the materials list holds color and shape far better than it holds up to a hot machine cycle.
Lay the bag flat to dry with the base insert still in place - cotton holds water longer than synthetic fibers, and air drying flat keeps the straight sides from pulling out of shape.
Store the tote flat or standing on its base rather than folded, so the firm single crochet fabric doesn't crease along a fold line that's hard to block back out.
When it does not look right
- The bag leans or tips instead of standing upright.
- The cardboard or plastic canvas base insert is missing or cut too small for the 11 x 3 inch base; cut a piece to match the base measurement and slip it in before assembly.
- The daisies sit unevenly across the front or back panel.
- Centers were sewn down without pinning the full grid first; pin all flowers at the stitch and round positions given, step back to check spacing, and only then stitch the petals and centers down.
Questions people ask
Why is the base worked flat instead of in the round?
The rectangle needs four straight edges and square corners to pick up 128 stitches evenly for the body. Working it flat in turned rows gives those crisp edges; working it in the round would round off the corners the body needs to sit square.
Does the body need shaping as it gets taller?
No. Every round from Round 2 through Round 56 repeats the same 128 single crochet with no increases or decreases, so the sides stay straight up to the full 12 inch height.
What does the base insert actually do?
The plastic canvas or cardboard sits inside the bottom of the bag, backing up the firm single crochet fabric so the tote stands on its own rather than slumping. Cut it to match the base measurement of about 11 x 3 inches.
How much yarn does the daisy trim use compared to the bag itself?
The pink body, base, and handles take about 400 yards, while the petals use about 85 yards and the centers about 25 yards. The daisies are a small fraction of the total yarn, so running short on white or yellow is less likely than running short on pink.
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