Disclaimer: This website contains affiliate links. When you click on an affiliate ad and make a purchase I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) and you help keep the free crochet patterns coming!

Free Crochet Pattern – Bodacious Bag

Although it’s not quite t-shirt weather, it is, indeed, spring. Soon (hopefully), we’ll be able to trade in our snow boots for sandals. So lately, instead of grabbing my warm, wooly yarn, I’ve been reaching for the cotton. Cotton yarn is so versatile, and I LOVE it for bags. I have made several backpacks with cotton yarn and they feel so nice to the touch, and can really take a beating. Not to mention all you have to do to clean it is throw it in the washer and dryer. Convenience factor baby!

This past weekend I worked with some Lily’s Sugar N’ Cream yarn in a neon palette to create a free crochet pattern to share, the “Bodacious Bag” (did I mention I’m a child of the 80’s). I think it would work great in other colors too, maybe even just black and white. It’s a great size bag, big enough to hold your all your essentials…phone, wallet, keys, makeup, but not TOO big. It’s 12″ tall and 7″ across to be precise. Smaller on the bottom with a slight taper out as you work towards the top. Just about mini backpack size.

I do recommend using cotton yarn because it’s so strong and easy to clean, however feel free to use whatever worsted weight yarn you like!

Bodacious Bag – Free Crochet Pattern

Worsted Weight Cotton, H Hook.
J Hook for drawstring.

Color A – Blue – 4oz.
Color B – Black – 2oz.
Color C – Pink – 2oz.
Color D – Green – 2oz.

Notes: Ch 1 at beginning of
rounds does not count as st.
Weave in your tails as you
go along or you will have a
mental breakdown when you
“finish” the bag, only to see
how many tails you have to
weave in. Trust me.

With Color A:
1. Ch 2
6 sc in first ch
Join to first sc w/ sl st

2. Ch 1
2 sc in same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(12 sc)

3. Ch 1
Sc in same st
2 sc in next st
* sc in next st,
2 sc in next st *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(18 sc)

4. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next st
2 sc in next st
* sc in next 2 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(24 sc)

5. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 2 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 3 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(30 sc)

6. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 3 st
2 sc in next st
* sc in next 4 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(36 sc)

7. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 4 st
2 sc in next st
* sc in next 5 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(42 sc)

8. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 5 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 6 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(48 sc)

9. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 6 st
2 sc in next st
* sc in next 7 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(54 sc)

10. Ch 1
Sc in BL of same st and
each st around.
Join to first sc w/ sl st

11. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 7 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 8 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(60 sc)

12. Ch 1
Sc in same st and each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

13. Repeat round 12

14. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 8 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 9 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(66 sc)

15. Ch 1
Sc in same st and each st around
Join to 1st sc w/ sl st

16. Ch 1
Sc in same st
Ch 1
* sk 1 st, sc in next, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

With Color B:
17. Join to next ch-1 sp
Ch 1
Sc in same ch-1 sp
Ch 1
* sk sc, sc in ch-1 sp, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

18. With Color A,
Repeat round 17

19. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

20. With Color A,
Repeat round 17

21. With Color D,
Repeat round 17

22. With Color A,
Repeat round 17

23. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 9 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 10 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to 1st sc w/ sl st
(72 sc)

With Color B:
24. Ch 1
Sc in BL of same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

25. Ch 1
Sc in same st
Ch 1
* sk 1 st, sc in next, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

26. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

27. With Color B,
Repeat round 17

28. With Color D,
Repeat round 17

29. With Color B,
Repeat round 17

30. With Color A,
Repeat round 17

31. With Color B,
Repeat round 17

32. Ch 1
Sc in same st and next 10 st
2 sc in next
* sc in next 11 st,
2 sc in next *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st
(78 sc)

With Color C:
33. Ch 1
Sc in BL of same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

34. Ch 1
Sc in same st
Ch 1
* sk 1 st, sc in next, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

35. With Color D,
Repeat round 17

36. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

37. With Color A,
Repeat round 17

38. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

39. With Color B,
Repeat round 17

40. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

41. Ch 1
Sc in same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

With Color D:
42. Ch 1
Sc in BL of same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

43. Ch 1
Sc in same st
Ch 1
* sk 1 st, sc in next, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

44. With Color A
Repeat round 17

45. With Color D
Repeat round 17

46. With Color B,
Repeat round 17

47. With color D,
Repeat round 17

48. With Color C,
Repeat round 17

49. With Color D,
Repeat round 17

50. Ch 1
Sc in same st and
each st around
Join to first sc w/ sl st

51. Ch 3 (counts as dc, ch 1)
* sk 1 st, dc in next, ch 1 *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to ch-2 w/ sl st

52. Ch 2 (counts as dc)
* Dc in next st and ch-1 sp *
Repeat from * to * around
Join to ch-2 w/ sl st

STRAP:
1. Turn bag upside down
Sl st around post of
any st from round 49 and next 4 st
Turn

2. Ch 1
Sc in same st and each st across
Turn

3 – 64. Repeat row 2 (62) times or until
desired length is reached.

Line up strap and attach to round 23 by
working through last row of strap AND
around posts of round 23.
Fasten off, weave in ends.

(make a 2nd strap if desired)

Drawstring: With J hook,
holding 2 strands together, ch 85.
Fasten off. Weave through ch spaces
of round 51.