If I could only keep one handmade accessory, it would be a good crochet handbag — the kind you pick up by its handles on your way out the door, roomy enough for the essentials but polished enough to finish an outfit. A handbag you crocheted yourself, in exactly your colours, gets carried for years and collects compliments everywhere it goes.
So here are twenty of my favourite handbag designs, every one genuinely free and every one a proper hand-carried style: wooden ring handles, crocheted-in handles, short straps, clutches with wristlets. There is Celtic weave texture, Tunisian colour play, two felted purses, a crescent of charted lace, an ombré bag you can finish three ways — and one delightful outlier crocheted from recycled grocery bags. Yarn, sizes and honest little details are noted for each one.
1. Celtic Weave Texture and Round Wooden Handles
We are starting with a little showpiece: the Naomi Bag from The Crochet Village, built around the Celtic weave stitch — interlacing front-post and back-post trebles that look wonderfully complicated and feel deeply satisfying once the rhythm clicks. The construction is cleverer than it looks: you crochet one long rectangle, working the first and last rows directly around two round wooden handles, then line it and sew up the sides, so the handles are part of the bag from the very first stitch. It takes about 310 yards of worsted cotton on a 4 mm hook and finishes at a neat 9 inches wide by 6 inches high. An easy lining tutorial is included (she recycled satin from an old dress, which I adore). In her gold sample, it looks straight out of a boutique window.
Pattern: Naomi Bag by The Crochet Village — Get the free pattern
2. The Slouchy Everyday Handbag in Soft DK Cotton
Michelle Ferguson's Hattie Handbag is the one I picture as a true daily driver: worked from the bottom up in joined rounds, with the stitch combinations changing as you climb — plain doubles, a round of puffs, a round of clustered shells — so the texture keeps shifting like a sampler. It is an easy-level pattern in DK cotton blend, roughly 340 yards on a 5.5 mm hook, finishing about 13½ inches long and 20 inches around, with one wide handle crocheted separately and sewn firmly across the top. The shape has a gentle, boho slouch rather than stiff structure, lovely with floaty dresses. One honest note: the exact yarn Michelle used has been discontinued, but she lists three easy cotton DK substitutes right in the pattern.
Pattern: Hattie Handbag by Michelle Ferguson at Two Brothers Blankets — Get the free pattern
3. Diagonal Dip Stitches in Three Seaside Colours
Tamara Kelly designed the Manchester Handbag for a trip to the Knit and Crochet Show in Manchester, New Hampshire, and it has that fresh, seaside-weekend feel. The body is half double crochet crossed with front-post doubles that dip diagonally into earlier rounds, giving a woven, almost knitted texture in three colours of worsted cotton — her sample uses stormy grey-blue, sail white and a cheerful orange. It is a thrifty little make at just 180 yards total on a 5.5 mm hook, finishing 11 inches wide and 7 inches tall underneath the handles, which are simply chain spaces worked into the final rounds and reinforced with extra rows. Colour changes are carried up the inside, so there are hardly any ends to weave. Tamara also published a matching sunglasses case — together they make a gorgeous gift set.
Pattern: Manchester Handbag by Tamara Kelly at Moogly — Get the free pattern
4. Ombré Post Stitches, Finished Three Ways
The Chroma Crochet Bag is the most choose-your-own-adventure handbag on this list, and I love it for that. The body is one easy four-row repeat of overlapping post stitches, worked through five colours of worsted yarn — about 300 yards in total on a 4 mm hook — so the stripes melt into each other in a soft ombré. Then comes the fun part: Tamara gives you three complete finishing options for the same body. Leave it plain and you have a sleek clutch; work the chain-gap rounds and you get crocheted handles; or make little flaps and thread them over purchased wooden or plastic handles for the most polished look of all. Add more stripe repeats if you would like a taller bag. One pattern, three different handbags.
Pattern: Chroma Crochet Bag by Tamara Kelly at Moogly — Get the free pattern
5. Griddle-Stitch Stripes Under Statement Wooden Handles
Marly Bird designed this Chic little number backwards, the way many of us secretly shop: she fell for a pair of bold carved wooden handles first, then created a handbag worthy of them. The body is pure comfort crochet — griddle stitch, which simply alternates single and double crochet round by round into a dense, nubby, knit-look fabric — striped in four colours of her Chic Sheep yarn, and a brilliant scrap-buster, as she says herself. Beginner-friendly, it works up on a 5 mm hook and finishes a generous 12 inches tall by 15 inches wide. Crocheted tabs wrap around the handles, making them the star of the bag. The original carved handles are no longer sold, but Marly links several similar wooden styles — and choosing them is half the fun.
Pattern: Chic Crochet Handbag with Wooden Handles by Marly Bird — Get the free pattern
6. Granny Squares With Puckered, Nostalgic Texture
If plain granny squares feel a little flat to you, Marly's Granny Square Pucker Purse is the remix you have been waiting for. Each of the eight squares uses long double crochets dropped into the row below, pulling the colours into each other for a puckered, quilted texture — and the squares are seamed together on the outside on purpose, so the ridges become part of the design. Two panels of four squares form the front and back, joined by a long single-crochet strip that becomes the sides and bottom, making a roomy purse about 11 inches across with real depth. You will need purchased purse handles, plus fabric and plastic canvas if you follow her lining method. Her sample is a joyful rainbow — a tribute to the scrap blankets on her childhood couch — and the pattern is beginner-friendly.
Pattern: Granny Square Pucker Purse by Marly Bird — Get the free pattern
7. A Crescent of Charted Lace in Cotton-Linen
Garden Paths, DROPS 211-25, might be the most elegant shape in this whole collection: two half-circle panels of charted openwork, sewn together along their curved edge so the bag falls into a soft crescent, then finished with a deep treble-crochet rim. Work it in DROPS Bomull-Lin, a cotton-linen blend, or their Paris cotton, on a 5 mm hook; the half circles measure about 35 centimetres across and the finished bag stands roughly 30 centimetres tall. The strap is a simple band of double crochet, about 40 centimetres as written and easy to adjust to your taste. This one is for chart lovers — the lace is given in diagrams A.1 to A.3. In undyed beige linen it looks like a designer piece; in black it would go straight to dinner.
Pattern: Garden Paths (DROPS 211-25) by DROPS Design — Get the free pattern
8. Tunisian Knit Stitch in Slow-Changing Colour
Tunisian crocheters, your handbag is here. Kim Guzman's Color Wheel Bag builds each face from Tunisian knit stitch wedges — short rows that fan out into a full circle — so a slow-changing yarn like Noro Taiyo paints sweeping arcs of colour across the front and back all by itself. Two skeins is all it takes, worked with a 14-inch Tunisian hook, and the bag finishes about 13½ inches across and 8 inches high, with shaped gussets at the sides, a buttoned closing tab and two neat 5-inch purchased purse handles. Kim suggests slipping pieces of plastic canvas inside to help the bag keep its sculpted shape — a professional trick worth stealing for other bags too. The pieces are small and the seaming is straightforward. If you have been waiting for a Tunisian project that is not a scarf, this is a beauty.
Pattern: Color Wheel Bag by Kim Guzman at CrochetKim — Get the free pattern
9. Self-Striping Pink With Crocheted-In Handles
Kathy Lashley's Honeysuckle Bag is summer in crochet form. You start with a flat single-crochet base, pick up stitches all the way around it, then climb the sides in alternating rounds of single and treble crochet — a subtle woven texture that lets a self-striping yarn do all the colour work. Her sample fades through shades of pink I Love This Cotton, about 225 to 275 yards on an H hook. The finished bag is 13½ inches long and 11 inches high before the handles, and the handles are my favourite practical detail: chain-50 loops crocheted straight into the top rounds, so there is nothing to sew on and nothing to pull off, and you can chain more or fewer stitches to set the drop where you like it. Kathy designed it to match her Honeysuckle hat, and the pair together is pure garden-party.
Pattern: Honeysuckle Bag by Kathy Lashley at ELK Studio — Get the free pattern
10. A Tiny Felted Purse With a Layered Flower
Kara Gunza's Pretty Little Felted Purse is the smallest bag in this collection and possibly the sweetest: a simple rounded purse crocheted in two colours of pure wool worsted — Cascade 220 in her sample, and it must be non-superwash so it will felt — then popped into the wash and felted down to a dense, sturdy little handbag of about 8 inches high and 5¾ inches wide. The handles are chain arches worked into the final rounds and covered with single crochet, so they felt into smooth, strong loops, and Kara includes her layered flower pattern, built up in three sizes of petals, to sew on after felting. Because felting makes the fabric so solid, no lining is needed at all. In charcoal with a cream flower, it is absolutely grown-up enough for your own evenings out.
Pattern: Pretty Little Felted Purse by Kara Gunza at Petals to Picots — Get the free pattern
11. Seed Stitch and Puffs on Metal Purse Rings
The Puffy Seed Stitch Purse from CrochetN'Crafts is texture done properly: rounds of classic seed stitch — a single and a double in the same stitch, skip one — broken up by bands of fat little puff stitches, so the whole bag feels quilted and substantial. It is an intermediate pattern using about 200 grams of worsted yarn (hers is Patons Canadiana) on a 5 mm hook, finishing around 8½ inches high by 10½ inches wide when laid flat. The detail that makes it look shop-bought is the handle: a strap crocheted in continuous rounds and joined to two metal purse rings, which are stitched to the sides of the bag for that structured boutique swing. There is a zipper to sew in at the top, and a linked tutorial for lining it if you want the full finish.
Pattern: Puffy Seed Stitch Purse by CrochetN’Crafts — Get the free pattern
12. Bobbles, a Flap and a Buttonhole
Bethany Sypolt's Pretty Little Purse is built the clever way: the bobble-covered body is crocheted in one long piece that travels from the front, under the bottom and up the back, finishing in a shaped flap with a real buttonhole — then two small side panels are crocheted in to give the purse its depth. The finished bag is 8 inches wide, 6½ inches tall and 2½ inches deep in worsted yarn on a 5.5 mm hook — exactly elegant-evening-clutch size. The strap is a pretty corded one; hers is 22 inches, but the length is yours to choose. Bobbles sit between pairs of doubles, popping out on the right side as you work, and the pattern is rated intermediate, mostly for keeping track of the bobble rhythm. It shares a name with the felted purse above, but the two designs could not be more different.
Pattern: Pretty Little Purse by Bethany Sypolt at Haute Kippy — Get the free pattern
13. A Mini Purse in Three Colours, Handles Included
Sometimes you do not want a big bag; you want a tiny one that makes people smile. The Pine Tree Pocket Purse uses about 75 yards of worsted yarn in three colours and an evening of easy crochet to make a mini handbag just 7 inches wide, 4 inches tall and 3 inches deep. The texture comes from alternating half doubles worked in the front and back loops, with colours changing every round or two using an invisible join, so the stripes sit perfectly clean. The handles are formed right in the last rounds — chain arches filled in with single crochet — and the pattern notes tell you exactly which rounds to repeat if you would rather have a taller version. Advanced beginners, this one has your name on it.
Pattern: Pine Tree Pocket Purse by Pine Tree Crochet — Get the free pattern
14. Panels, Hardware and Serious Structure in Macramé Cord
If soft and slouchy is not your style, Danielle Lombardo's BETTER Crochet Purse is the structured opposite. She builds the bag like joinery: two side panels, a bottom, a back, a top piece and a front, all in plain single crochet worked in macramé cotton cord, with clasp hardware crocheted directly into the panels as she goes — the handle attaches through that hardware, so nothing is sewn on as an afterthought. The handle is deliberately a handheld one (about twenty rows; adjust to your grip), and there is a front flap with its own hardware closure. Full honesty, as Danielle herself is: this pattern is written in her relaxed, chatty style with room to adjust counts to your gauge, plus a companion video. It is her improved second version of her first-ever purse — and the structure really does hold its own.
Pattern: BETTER Crochet Purse by Danielle Lombardo — Get the free pattern
15. Back-Loop Ribbing, Bought Handles and a Magnetic Clasp
Donna Wolfe's Lorrie Bag proves that a single crochet rectangle can become the most elegant bag in the room. You work one flat panel in back-loop-only single crochet — which gives a fine ribbed, almost woven look — with two strands of Bernat Maker Home Dec held together, then fold it, sew the sides and add a firm edge around the top. The finishing is where it turns boutique: a purchased set of purse handles is sewn on, and a magnetic clasp closes the bag, its hardware hidden behind two decorative buttons. The finished handbag is 12 inches wide by 9 inches high before the handles, with an optional craft-felt lining. The full instructions are a free PDF from her pattern page, with a YouTube tutorial alongside; her patterns are free for personal use, and finished bags may be sold.
Pattern: Lorrie Bag by Donna Wolfe at Naztazia — Get the free pattern
16. A Round "Silver Dollar" Bag With Spoked Faces
The Lunaria Round Bag is named after the silver dollar plant, and its two spoked circular faces explain why. Each face is a round of doubles with front-post spokes radiating from the centre, worked with two strands of Caron Cotton Cakes held together — about 600 yards in total — and the two faces are joined by a narrow base strip into a round handbag about 11¼ inches across and 3½ inches deep. It closes with a big button and loop, and the handles are simple chains slip-stitched back on themselves for strength; work a shorter chain if you prefer a true hand-carry drop. Donna's lining trick — flexible dollar-store cutting mats cut to shape — keeps the round silhouette crisp and wipes clean. The full pattern is a free PDF from her page, video included, free for personal use.
Pattern: Lunaria Round Bag by Donna Wolfe at Naztazia — Get the free pattern
17. Two Strands Held Together, and a Snap That Hides
The Sweet Simple Handbag is Donna Wolfe's love letter to the very first bag a beginner ever makes — and plenty of experienced crocheters keep coming back to it. It is worked in a continuous spiral of single crochet with elongated single crochet rounds striping through it, using two full skeins of Red Heart Super Saver held together, so the fabric is thick, sturdy and completely lining-free. The finished bag is 13 inches wide by 10 inches high, and it closes with a magnetic snap hidden behind two buttons. One thing to know before you start: Donna writes the strap as a long shoulder strap, so for a hand-carried bag — my preference with this chunky shape — simply work far fewer strap rows; the construction makes the length entirely adjustable. Her page links the free PDF and video walkthrough.
Pattern: Sweet Simple Handbag by Donna Wolfe at Naztazia — Get the free pattern
18. Flowers, Buttons and Tassels on Crochet Nylon
Evening bags do not get more joyful than Donna's Bohemian Clutch. The body is spiral single crochet worked in crochet nylon — two balls of Red Heart Crochet Nylon — giving a firm, slightly glossy finish that holds the 10-by-7-inch shape beautifully with no sagging. A flap folds over the top, and across it sits the decoration that gives the bag its name: six little flowers crocheted in bright embroidery floss, each built around a button centre, joined into a strip and sewn on like a garland. There is a crocheted i-cord wrist strap, a wrap-around cord that fastens at the button, and tassels — of course there are tassels. A lining of craft felt stiffened with plastic canvas is optional if you want it extra crisp. The complete pattern is a free PDF on her page with a video tutorial, free for personal use.
Pattern: Bohemian Clutch by Donna Wolfe at Naztazia — Get the free pattern
19. Raffia, a Sewn-In Zipper and a Corded Handle
The Couture clutch from Trisha Gurumi is the minimalist of this collection — a slim, architectural little handbag of 21 by 13 centimetres, designed for raffia yarn, or two strands of firm lace yarn held together if raffia is hard to find near you. The texture is subtle and expensive-looking: single crochet spiked into the row below, edged with corded ridge stitch (reverse single crochet by another name). A 25-centimetre zipper is sewn in by hand along the top — Trisha walks you through aligning the teeth carefully — and the handle is a corded strip sewn at the zipper corner, with a tassel hanging from the zipper pull for that final designer touch. You will need a tiny 2.5 mm hook and a little patience with the sewing, but in natural raffia it is summer perfection; in black, pure evening.
Pattern: Couture Clutch by Trisha Gurumi — Get the free pattern
20. The Handbag Made From Grocery Bags (Yes, Really)
We are finishing with the most resourceful handbag I have ever featured. Cindy's handbag at My Recycled Bags is crocheted from plarn — plastic grocery bags cut into strips and joined into yarn — worked in half double crochet on a big 9 mm hook over an oval base. The finished bag is 10 inches wide and 9 inches long with a 6-inch oval bottom, with handles formed by chain openings in the final rounds, firmed up with single crochet — one seamless, wipe-clean, rain-proof piece. In a soft tan plarn it genuinely looks like raffia. One important note, in Cindy's own plain terms: she offers this pattern for private, individual use only, so this is one to make for yourself and enjoy, not to sell. She has been turning recycled bags into beautiful things since 2007.
Pattern: Crocheted Hand Bag Using Plastic Grocery Bags by Cindy at My Recycled Bags — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty handbags — Celtic weave and Tunisian colour wheels, felted flowers and granny-square puckers, a charted lace crescent, a raffia clutch that thinks it is couture, and one heroic bag made of grocery bags. If you are new to bags, start with the Sweet Simple, the Honeysuckle or the Chic griddle-stitch stripes; if you want a weekend showpiece, the Naomi or the Color Wheel will keep your hook very happy. And remember the handbag maker's golden rule: line it if it will work hard, and choose handles you truly love.
Now tell me — are you team wooden handles, team crocheted-in handles, or team tiny evening clutch, and which of these twenty is going in your project bag first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your makes!
