I have officially retired the big shoulder bag for everyday life. What I reach for now is the crochet crossbody sling bag — that compact little pouch worn high across the chest or back, or buckled at the waist like a modern fanny pack. It holds the phone, the cards, the keys and the lip balm, and then it lets you forget about it: hands free for festival dancing, market browsing, dog walking and chasing small humans around the park. And because the shape is small, most of these finish in a weekend from yarn you already own.
One honest note before we start, because this shape gets confused with bigger bags: these are sling, belt and bum bags — small pouches that hug the body — not full-size crossbody handbags. Inside you will find structured zip-up belt bags, tall boho slings, one pouch designed to hide under your shirt, a happy crowd of granny-square makes, and three video tutorials that I have clearly labelled as videos. A couple of patterns are free PDF downloads and one unlocks with a free email sign-up; I have flagged every single one as we go.
1. The Structured Belt Bag With a Real Zipper and Buckle
If you want your handmade bag to look properly shop-bought, start here. The Crossbody Bag from Cute As A Button Crochet is built like a real belt bag: two main panels, a separate pocket panel and a side panel, all crocheted flat and sewn together, with an 8-inch zipper hand-sewn in and a strap that fastens with a 2-inch adjustable buckle snap. It is worked in Lion Brand For the Home Cording yarn, which gives it that smooth, sturdy, almost woven finish, and it measures about 8½ inches wide by 5½ inches tall by 1½ inches deep. You crochet the strap to your own measurement, so it sits exactly where you like it — high across the chest over a tee dress is my favourite. The written pattern is free on her site, and there is a video walkthrough too if seams make you nervous.
Pattern: Crossbody Bag (Belt Bag) by Cute As A Button Crochet — Get the free pattern
2. Faux-Leather Glam in Tunisian Stitch
This is the fanny pack that gets mistaken for leather, and I am slightly obsessed with it. Noorain's Fancy Fanny Pack is worked in simple Tunisian crochet stitch using Lion Brand Haute Stitches Faux Leather yarn in a warm bronze, on a big 10 mm Tunisian hook, so it grows astonishingly fast. The finished bag is about 9 by 5 inches, closes with a neat button and loop, and has a little tassel for flair. Instead of crocheting the strap, you clip on a purchased adjustable bag strap — 24 inches at its shortest — which keeps the whole look sleek and lets you swap straps to match your outfit. It is genuinely beginner friendly, even if you have never tried Tunisian crochet, and the full written pattern is free on her blog with a video tutorial alongside it.
Pattern: Fancy Fanny Pack by Noorain at Noor’s Knits — Get the free pattern
3. The Minimalist Sling With a Divider Inside
For the friend who organises her bag with smaller bags (it me), zNooi's Minimalist Sling Bag is a small miracle: it has an actual internal compartment panel built into the design, so your phone stops scratching against your keys. The whole thing is worked in linen stitch — also called moss stitch — in bulky cotton, from four flat panels that are whip-stitched together, and it finishes at about 23 by 16 by 7 centimetres, roomy enough for an A5 notebook and a long purse. A big 50 mm button and a worked buttonhole close the flap, and the strap hangs from D-rings and lobster hooks with an adjustable buckle, though you can clip on a ready-made strap instead. In a quiet stone or charcoal cotton, this is the sling that goes with literally everything in my wardrobe.
Pattern: Crochet Minimalist Sling Bag by zNooi Craft Corner — Get the free pattern
4. The Tall Boho Sling With the Statement Strap
Jennifer Renaud's Boho Crochet Sling Bag is the tall drink of water in this collection: about 7 inches wide, 2½ inches deep and a dramatic 14 inches tall, with a generous front pocket that swallows sunglasses and a phone. The body is sturdy single crochet in Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, but the real headline is the wide granny-stitch strap decorated with colourful arrow motifs — it is adjustable thanks to a sliding knot on its crocheted rope, and the bag closes with one oversized button. Worn diagonally across a floaty maxi dress, that strap reads like part of the outfit, not an accessory added afterwards. The full pattern is free on A Crocheted Simplicity, with the ad-free PDF simply there if you prefer printing. Festival season, sorted.
Pattern: Boho Crochet Sling Bag by Jennifer Renaud at A Crocheted Simplicity — Get the free pattern
5. One Piece of Texture, a Strap You Can Swap
Briana K's Summer House Bag has the cleverest construction on this list: it is crocheted in ONE flat piece, side to side, with increases and decreases in the third loop of half double crochet plus rows of puff stitches, then folded and finished with just two seams. At 15 inches at its widest and 6 inches deep, it is the roomiest sling-style bag here while still wearing like a cross-body fanny pack. Little loops at each side take a purchased crossbody strap, which means one bag and a drawer of straps — woven, striped, plain — gives you a different look every day. The pattern is free to read on her blog; it unlocks with a free email sign-up, and I am telling you that plainly so there are no surprises. Her sample in warm rust cotton over a tank and shorts is peak summer.
Pattern: Summer House Crochet Bag by Briana K at Briana K Designs — Get the free pattern
6. The Raffia Belt Bag That Wears Three Ways
The Luna Belt Bag from Life Is Cozy is summer in a pattern: worked in raffia yarn with a variation of camel stitch that bends a pretty braid ridge across the front of each panel. It is designed to be worn three ways — threaded onto your own belt as a chic fanny pack, carried as a clutch, or given a handle and worn as a small crossbody — and it is sized for the holy trinity of phone, wallet and small necessities. The texture does all the talking, so keep the outfit simple: white linen, denim, sandals. This one comes as a free PDF pattern download from the designer, complete with schematics and links to little video tutorials for the special stitch. Raffia plus a steam block gives it that crisp, boutique finish.
Pattern: Luna Belt Bag by Life Is Cozy — Get the free pattern
7. The Boho Flap Bag With a Strap Sized Just for You
Most belt bags assume one strap length fits everybody; Kimberley's Ulla Belt Bag politely disagrees. The bag itself is a soft boho pouch about 12 inches wide and 7 inches deep with a flap closure (you can add a zipper if you prefer), worked in Lion Brand Rewind Tape Yarn for that natural, raffia-like look. The magic is in the strap: the pattern writes it in eight sizes, from a 24-inch Small that fits a 30–32 inch chest up to a 52-inch 5XL, so the bag truly sits where your body wants it. Here is the honest bit — the free version lives on the designer's own site, and her Ravelry page is the reliable doorway to it, so the pattern link below takes you there. Lightweight, customisable, and made for spring and summer dresses.
Pattern: Ulla Belt Bag by Kimberley at Lakeside Loops — Get the free pattern
8. The Hidden Travel Pouch Nobody Sees
Ashlea at Heart Hook Home designed this one for a long-delayed honeymoon, and it is pure travel genius: a super-slim fanny pack that sits underneath your shirt, where pickpockets cannot reach it and it cannot be snatched. The pouch starts with foundation single crochet, so you size it to your own phone with half an inch to spare on each side, and it is worked in black mercerised cotton on a size G hook for durability. A wide single-crochet strap wraps the waist, and a strip of Velcro forms the flap closure — no zipper to sew at all. Hers holds a phone, a passport, cash and a backup battery, flat against the body. For crowded metros, concerts and bike rides, this invisible little bag is the one I recommend most.
Pattern: Super Slim Hidden Fanny Pack by Ashlea at Heart Hook Home — Get the free pattern
9. The Chunky One That Threads Onto Your Own Belt
No strap to crochet at all on this clever design — because it borrows yours. The Mini Chunky Belt Bag from Crochet Love Melbourne is worked in thick Bobbiny cord (t-shirt yarn works too) on a 7 mm hook, and the back panel has two neat holes worked right into the rows, so you simply thread your own belt through them and wear the pouch on your hip. It finishes at about 20 by 15 centimetres, with a folded flap front that fastens with a snap or magnetic closure, and you can add the optional sewn lining with a zip if you want maximum security. The alternating back-loop and front-loop half double crochet gives it a lovely ribbed texture. Festivals, hikes and market days — your phone and cash, riding safely at your hip.
Pattern: Mini Chunky Belt Bag by Crochet Love Melbourne — Get the free pattern
10. A Japanese-Style Pouch With Gussets and Buckle Loops
This little charmer comes from a Japanese pattern book by way of Handmadiya, and the engineering shows: the belt pouch is worked in half double crochet with a separate gusset piece about 9 centimetres wide, so it stands up and holds its shape like a tiny handbag rather than a flat envelope. It finishes around 17 centimetres wide and 19 deep, with belt loops threaded through rectangle buckle rings, and it fastens with a magnetic clasp, snaps and decorative buttons — the sample even wears a little fabric label. The post gives you the full materials list, gauges and construction summary in English, and links out to the complete charted pattern, which is how Japanese patterns are traditionally written. If you have never followed a chart, this small project is a gentle place to learn.
Pattern: Crochet Belt Pouch Bag by Handmadiya — Get the free pattern
11. Tulip Squares That Glow After Dark
Wilma at Wilmade took her famous Tulip Square — puff stitches and V-stitches forming a tiny tulip, a nod to her Dutch roots — and turned four of them into the sweetest bum bag. Join the squares, add two extra rounds for height, then crochet the strap straight from the sides of the bag; it finishes around 13 inches wide and 5 inches high. Her sample is made in Lion Brand DIY Glow, which is exactly what it sounds like: glow-in-the-dark yarn, so your bag quite literally shines on the walk home from an evening festival. She also walks you through adding a fabric lining and hand-sewing an 11-inch zipper, with video help for both. In plain cotton this is pretty; in the glow yarn, it is a conversation piece.
Pattern: Tulip Square Bum Bag by Wilma Westenberg at Wilmade — Get the free pattern
12. Fine-Yarn Granny Squares, Lined and Zipped
Red Agape's fanny pack is the refined end of granny-square bags: instead of chunky acrylic, it uses a fine yarn and a small 2.5 mm hook, so the four granny squares — about 12 centimetres each, finished with a special extra half-double-crochet edging round — join into a neat, almost tailored pouch of roughly 24 by 15 centimetres. Body rounds in contrasting colours build the depth, sturdy tabs hold metal D-rings for the strap, and inside there is a proper fabric lining with a zipper sewn in, plus a tassel on the pull because details matter. It is rated intermediate, mostly for the sewing, and the result looks like something from a boutique rail. Made in soft grey, beige and a muted purple, it dresses up far beyond its humble squares.
Pattern: Crochet Granny Square Fanny Pack by Red Agape — Get the free pattern
13. The Crescent Bum Bag From Four Stash Squares
Lynne Rowe's Granny Square Crossbody Bum Bag is the stash-buster of my dreams: four ordinary granny squares, joined in a clever arrangement that curves them into a crescent moon of a bag. A zip is sewn into the top by hand, and the design is meant to be finished with an inexpensive shop-bought strap — hers cost £1.50 — although crocheted strap instructions are included if you prefer. She also includes a simple method for a lining, and recommends it, and everything is sewn by hand so there is no machine anxiety. It is genuinely beginner friendly, quick, and the perfect destiny for those four leftover squares sitting in every crocheter's drawer. Boho, festive, and basically free to make if your stash cooperates.
Pattern: Granny Square Crossbody Bum Bag by Lynne Rowe at Knit Crochet Create — Get the free pattern
14. The Retro Granny Fanny, Straight From the Yarn Aisle
Pure nineties joy: Red Heart's Granny Fanny Bag folds four classic granny motifs into a pouch, the way your coolest aunt would have made it. The sample pairs Red Heart Super Saver Stripes with a soft Aran shade, each motif measuring about 5½ inches, finishing at roughly 14 inches wide and 6 inches deep. A bright 12-inch zipper is sewn along the top — choose a contrast colour and it becomes a design feature — and the strap is worked in granny stitch to match. The pattern is hosted in full on FaveCrafts, and they also offer the free printable PDF from Red Heart if you like paper in hand. Over jeans and a white tee, worn crossbody, this is retro styling at its most cheerful.
Pattern: Granny Fanny Bag by Red Heart Design Team at Yarnspirations — Get the free pattern
15. Granny-Stitch Panels, a Flap, and Two Straps in One Pattern
Some days you want a waist bag and some days a crossbody; this pattern refuses to choose. The Stylish & Cozy Fanny Pack from Crochet Everything is built from a colourful granny-stitch front panel and a plain back panel, joined with two little triangle side panels that give the pouch its shape, then topped with a flap that buttons closed. Generously, you get two straps: a short 5-inch belt strap worked over D-rings for waist wear, and a long 90-row strap for crossbody days. The page carries the full written instructions with photos for every panel, and the maker's video tutorial is embedded on the same page if you like to watch a step before you work it. It is a lot of pattern for free, and the colour-play potential is endless.
Pattern: Stylish & Cozy Fanny Pack by Crochet Everything — Get the free pattern
16. Four Squares, Point to Point, With a Swappable Strap
Tortoise and Lady Grey's Granny Square Cross Body Bag takes yet another road to the granny pouch: four aran-weight cotton squares joined point to point, which stretches the bag into a wide, flat envelope about 14 inches across and 5½ inches high. It closes with a magnetic clasp — no zipper to sew — and the strap attaches with big lobster swivel clasps, which means you can unclip it and swap in a woven or leather strap whenever the outfit demands. Flat, light and surprisingly roomy for its slim profile, it slides over a summer dress without adding bulk at the hip. The pattern is a free PDF download from the designer's site, written for beginners, and it is a lovely one-evening make in leftover cotton.
Pattern: Granny Square Cross Body Bag by Tortoise and Lady Grey — Get the free pattern
17. The Half-Moon Bag With Contrast Stitching
If granny squares are not your love language, how about geometry? Crochtart's crossbody bag is built from two crocheted half-circles joined by a narrow single-crochet base strip, which gives it that modern crescent silhouette that sits so neatly against the body. The pieces are joined with a bright contrasting yarn in a bold, visible stitch — the construction becomes the decoration, very street-style. A separate strap segment tapers to a neat triangular finish and clips on with carabiners or rings, so the bag converts between fanny-pack wear at the waist and a shoulder sling in seconds. Work it in two strands for structure, keep the palette monochrome with one loud contrast colour for the stitching, and it looks like a designer piece. Full step-by-step instructions are free on the page.
Pattern: Half-Moon Crossbody Bag by Crochtart — Get the free pattern
18. Beads All Over, Taught Step by Step on Video
A quick honest note: this one is a free video tutorial rather than a written blog pattern — and it earns its place anyway. In Kane Crochet's beaded belt bag tutorial, you thread 104 beads onto soft cotton rope and crochet them into the rounds as you go, building a sparkling little pouch about 22 centimetres wide and 13 high. You will see the zipper fitted, the D-rings and strap slider attached, and the roughly 100-centimetre strap made, all on camera with symbol charts on screen. A 3 mm hook and about 200 grams of 2 mm cotton rope are the main supplies. Over a plain black dress for the evening, this beaded baby does the jewellery's job too. Pause, rewind, crochet along — that is the joy of video.
Pattern: Beaded Belt Bag (Video Tutorial) by Kane Crochet — Get the free pattern
19. The Arcade-Stitch Sling, Taught Stitch by Stitch
Our second video tutorial is ViVi Berry's sling bag in arcade stitch — those pretty overlapping shell arcs that look far more complicated than they are. At about 20 by 21 centimetres, this is the roomiest true sling in the collection, crocheted in soft cotton rope (around 200 grams) with a 3 mm hook, so it has real structure and holds a small wallet, phone, sunglasses and a paperback besides. Because it is a video, you watch the stitch rhythm once and then simply repeat it, which makes this a relaxing evening project even for confident beginners. The finished texture begs for a tonal colour — sage, sand or dusty blue — worn crossbody over a linen shirt dress. Follow the pattern link below to watch and make along.
Pattern: Arcade Stitch Sling Bag (Video Tutorial) by ViVi Berry — Get the free pattern
20. The Woven-Look Fanny Pack for Beginners, on Video
We finish with the designer-look one. This free video tutorial from the DIY Pin channel recreates that famous Italian woven-leather style — intrecciato, if we are being fancy — as a crocheted fanny pack with a separate cover flap, and it is aimed squarely at beginners. The video shows everything in order: the body, the woven-look cover, sewing the two together, installing the zipper on camera, and crocheting the straps, with the written pattern shown within the video so you can screenshot your place. The result is roomy, structured and quietly luxurious-looking in a smooth cotton yarn. Make it in tan or chocolate and prepare for the "wait, you MADE that?" comments. It is the perfect finale to this collection — proof that a sling bag can absolutely be the outfit.
Pattern: Bottega-Style Woven Fanny Pack (Video Tutorial) by DIY Pin — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty sling, belt and bum bags, my friend — structured zips and buckles, Tunisian faux leather, raffia and tape yarn, hidden travel pouches, tulip squares that glow, and a whole garden of granny pouches, every single one free. If you are a beginner, start with the crescent stash-buster at number 13 or the hidden pouch at number 8; if you want the boutique look, the structured belt bag at number 1 and the woven-look video at number 20 are calling. My own rule for wearing them: high across the chest over dresses, classic at the waist over tees and jeans — and always, always make the strap work for your body, not the other way round.
Now tell me — are you team chest sling or team waist belt bag, and which of these twenty is going on your hook first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your makes!
