GRANNY SQUARE BOTTOM HANDBAG -FREE TUTORIAL WITH LINING

When I think of a bag, I usually think of totes coz they can carry a part of your closet easily. I’m sure many of you will agree to this. So for me it HAS to be a tote. And this beauty here is a classic example of my choice

.In my earlier post I had mentioned how I had no time to write a pattern for this gorgeous bag. So here I am. Let’s get started

 MATERIALS REQUIRED

I used 100% spun acrylic yarn

Crochet hook size 3.5mm

Some spare cloth for lining

Needle and thread to sew the lining

So for this you need a granny square, solid or otherwise. Now the size of your bag will depend on this square as it will be the base of the bag .I did a total of 14 rows and mine came out a decent size. Next, count the stitches across on one side of the square and divide it into half.  Mark the mid stitch with a stitch marker. Next, you have to skip two stitches from this marker. So if u have a granny square of 46 stitches, you will count till you reach the center i.e. till u have 23 stitches on the “left” and “right” of that side. Now skip 2 st to your left starting from the mid, and skip 2 st to your right starting from the mid.it should look like this.

Mark these 2 st with a stitch marker. Now you should have a total of 5 skipped st.If you are using a solid granny square , you wont have much difficulty in counting and dividing the stitches. Do this for the rest of the three sides.These skipped stitches will give a "dip" to the bag.
Moving on,start by making 2 dc chain 2 and 2 dc in the corner of the square .this will form a corner.
dc in each st  across till you reach the marker .Skip the 5 st and dc in the sixth st

Continue with dc across till you reach the corner. 2dc chain 2 and 2dc in the corner

Continue with the same pattern till u reach the beginning of the round. slip st till you reach the centre of the corner.

 ROUND 2 :Chain 3 ,1dc chain 2,2dc in the corner of the previous round
continue doing dc across till you reach the skipped st from the previous round. Now from here onwards we will skip 4 st i.e. 2 st from the mid right and 2 st from the mid left

dc in the fifth st. continue working in this pattern all the way around.

You will now notice that your bag has started dipping a bit.this is what we want.
Logic? skip st in the center and it dips.2dc chain 2 and 2dc in the corner will give  it a rise.

continue with the same pattern all the way around for your project
this is how your bag will look after a few rounds

FOR THE LINING
draw the shape of the bag on a piece of cloth and cut it

cut pockets as well

next  sew  pockets on the right side of lining
now sew the lining together with right sides facing down

 This is the left side of the lining .The pockets are sewn on the right side
Pin the lining as shown

sew it with  whip stitch
For the handles you can go here 
So that's it !!! I hope I have made it very easy to understand

  I've accessorized it with a flower which doubles up as a button

 For a basic button pattern you can go here
Happy crocheting