Striped Crochet Tote Bag With Clean Color Changes

Stripes are the simplest colorwork in crochet: finish a round, pick up a new color, carry on. What separates a crisp stripe from a messy one is the handful of stitches where one round ends and the next begins. This tote is worked in joined rounds so each stripe closes into a level ring, and the pattern spends its effort on that join.

The shape is deliberately plain: a flat tote with no base shaping, 80 stitches around from the first round to the top band, so all your attention can go to the color changes.

Materials and gauge

• Worsted (#4) cotton yarn in three colors: teal (A), about 120 yd (110 m); cream (B), about 75 yd (69 m); mustard (C), about 75 yd (69 m)
• US H-8 (5 mm) crochet hook
• 4 locking stitch markers
• Yarn needle and scissors

Gauge: 14 single crochet (sc) and 16 rounds = 4 in (10 cm), which is firmer than the yarn label suggests. Stripes show every uneven stitch, so a tight, even fabric matters here for looks as well as strength.

Finished size: about 11.5 in wide and 13 in tall (29 x 33 cm), with a handle drop of roughly 8 in (20 cm). For other dimensions, see the tote bag size guide.

Planning the stripes

Stripe widths are counted in rounds, so convert with your gauge: at 16 rounds to 4 in (10 cm), 4 rounds make 1 in (2.5 cm). This tote uses six stripes of 8 rounds, each 2 in (5 cm) tall, plus a 4-round top band.

To design your own sequence, keep the total at 48 rounds before the band and divide it however you like: twelve 4-round stripes, or a mix of wide and narrow such as 10, 2, 10, 2. Putting the darkest color at the bottom hides scuffs.

Carry the yarn or cut it?

• Carry when stripes are 1 or 2 rounds tall. Leave the unused color hanging at the join on the inside and pick it up when it is needed again. Keep the carried strand relaxed; pulled tight, it puckers the seam.
• Cut when stripes are 3 rounds or taller, as they are here. A long strand running up the inside catches on keys and fingers. Cut the old color with a 6 in (15 cm) tail and weave it in later.

Cutting means two tails per stripe, 14 in all for this tote. Weave each one into stitches of its own color so nothing shows through; the guide to finishing a crochet bag shows how to anchor cotton ends so they stay hidden.

The pattern

Abbreviations: chain (ch), single crochet (sc), slip stitch (sl st), stitch (st). The ch 1 at the start of each round does not count as a stitch. The joining sl st is never worked into.

• Foundation: With A, ch 41.
• Rnd 1: Sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and in each of the next 39 ch (40 sc). Do not turn. Rotate the work and sc in the unused loop of each of the 40 ch along the other side. Join with a sl st in the first sc. (80 sc)
• Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in the same st as the join and in each st around. Join with a sl st in the first sc. (80 sc)
• Rnds 3 to 48: Repeat Rnd 2, changing color at the end of Rnds 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 as shown in the table. (80 sc)

Working down both sides of the chain closes the bottom, so the tote is seamless. Count to 80 on the first round of each stripe.

A clean color change at the join

1. Work the last sc of the round completely in the old color.
2. Insert the hook in the first sc of the round to join. Drop the old color, yarn over with the new color and pull it through the stitch and the loop on the hook. The sl st is now in the new color.
3. Ch 1 with the new color and sc in the same stitch as the join.
4. Tug both tails gently to snug up the join, then keep going. Cut the old color once the round is under way.

Hiding the jog

The small step where each stripe meets itself is called the jog. Changing color in the sl st removes most of it. Two further points help:

• Never work a stitch into the sl st or the ch 1. Doing so adds a stitch per round and widens the seam.
• When weaving in a tail, run it sideways along its own stripe and pull the corner of the jog level before securing it.

Top band and handles

Because the seam slants, place the handles from the folds, not from the seam. Lay the tote flat with the ends of the foundation chain at the side folds. On each face, count 12 stitches in from each fold and put a marker in the next stitch. Each face now has two markers with 16 stitches from one to the other, counting both marked stitches. If the seam has drifted in between a pair of markers, shift all four markers along by the same few stitches until it sits outside them.

• Rnd 49: With A, repeat Rnd 2. (80 sc)
• Rnd 50: Ch 1, sc in each st up to the first marker, [ch 60, skip the 16 sts from that marker through the next marker, sc in each st up to the following marker] 2 times, ending the second repeat by working sc in each remaining st to the end of the round. Join. (48 sc and 2 ch-60 handles)
• Rnd 51: Ch 1, sc in each sc and in each ch around. Join. (168 sc)
• Rnd 52: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join. (168 sc)

Fasten off and weave in all the ends. If you like the look and want a roomier summer version with open sides, the crochet beach bag takes stripes well too, and the classic tote pattern shows how to add a flat rectangular base.