Hello, everyone.  Today I will be bringing you my newest pattern design, The Em Bag.  This bag is pretty simple and works up as quickly, depending on how fast you are with your single crochets.

I will be giving you directions on how to make this into a cross-body bag, because that’s my purse length preference, but feel free to make the strap as long or as short as you want!

Stitches you need to know:

Chain (ch)
Single Crochet (sc)
Single Crochet Back Loop Only (sc blo)
Slip Stitch (slst)

What you’ll need:

Yarn: Worsted Weight (4) – At least two different colors, depending on how you’d like your bag to look.  (400-450 yards total)
Hook: J Hook
Tapestry Needle

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The Pattern:

The Band:

This pattern is worked just like a bottom-up hat.
I start by making the band, and work up from there.

 

Chain 9
Row 1 – sc in first chain from the hook, sc in each remaining chain across (8), ch 1, turn
Row 2 – sc blo in each st across (8), ch 1, turn
Row 3-End – *Repeat row 2 until your band is 20″ long*
Finish: Slip Stitch the two ends together. Turn the band so that the join bump is on the inside, and continue with the body….

The Body:

Row 1 – Using a new color, ch 1, sc across the top of the band.  There should be one sc for each sc row in the band. DO NOT JOIN TO CH 1, this bag is made in a round to avoid having such a defined seam.
Rest of the body – Continue to sc in the round, changing colors when you’d like (if you’d like), until your bag reaches 7.5-8″ long (Including the band).  You can slst to join to any sc, but try to do it in a sc that is lined up with your band bump.  This insures your rows are pretty even.
To Close – Lay bag flat and sc the edges together to close the bag. Here is a tutorial for a slst closure and a sc closure.  Be sure to use the sc closure so you can attach the fringe in the closure stitches.

The Strap:

Row 1 – ch 175 (This gives me a strap length around 45″, which is perfect for me.  Make sure to measure the chain to make sure it’s the length you want). ch 1, turn
Row 2 – sc in each chain, starting with the first ch from the hook, ch 1, turn.
Row 3 – sc blo in each st across, ch 1, turn
Row 4 – sc blo in each st across, ch 1, turn
Row 5 – sc blo in each st across, ch 1, turn
Row 6 – sc blo in each st across, ch 1, turn
Attach strap to bag by sewing on with tapestry needle

Fringe:

For each set of fringe, I cut 6 lengths of yarn 7″ and pulled them through the sc stitches used to close the bottom.  Here is a tutorial on how to add fringe, in case this is your first time! I did this every 4 stitches across the bottom.  This worked for me based on the stitches I had, but everyone will have a different stitch count, so count and be sure that you can evenly space your fringe!
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And that’s it, everyone! Now you have a cute little bag to go on adventures with.  I did not add a closure (zipper, magnet, button) of any sort, but if anyone does, please let me know how it went!

If you’d like a simplified version for download or printing, please visit my Etsy listing here!

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