Flower petal crochet bag with matching handle pattern

This one feels like a bright morning. The pink center sits like a little sun, and the white petals fan out around it in a shape that reads as a flower from across the room. There is nothing shy about this bag, and I love that about it.

Your hands stay busy with half double crochet the whole way through, which keeps the rhythm steady without getting repetitive. The petals ask for small decreases that shape each tip, so you pay closer attention there than on the plain rounds. The handle is just long, satisfying rows of hdc, good for watching a show.

Set on a counter or hung on a hook, this bag looks like a flower that decided to be useful. It softens a plain tote collection and gives a shelf of neutral bags one bright focal point. Guests notice it before they notice anything else in the room.

• Start the pink flower center with a magic ring and build it up in increasing hdc rounds.
• Shape each petal tip using the hdc and decrease sequence described for that part.
• Repeat the petal rounds four more times so five petals circle the center.
• Join the petal sides to each other with slip stitches or single crochets to form the bag shape.
• Chain a long foundation row and build the handle in straight hdc rows.
• Work the handle rows back and forth until the strap feels wide enough to hold comfortably.
• Attach the finished handle securely to the top of the bag.

Losing the petal decrease placement

Mark the start of each petal round with a stitch marker so the hdc-then-decrease pattern lands in the same spot every round. Recount before joining if the petal tip looks lopsided.

Attaching white yarn unevenly

Pull the first white hdc of each petal snug against the pink center so no gap shows at the join. A loose first stitch is the main reason petal bases look floppy.

Joining petals with mismatched tension

Use the same hook throughout the slip stitch or single crochet join between petals so the seam does not pucker. Work the join with the bag turned right side out so you can see the seam as you go.