Hi everyone! :)

Today I’m going to show you how to crochet your very own fat bottom bag! Hurray! :)

Alright, what do you need?

Supplies

• 6 skeins of Scheepjes Soft Fun Denim yarn (I used colours 501 (navy blue), 502 (grey), 507 (cream), 508 (light brown) and 510 (dark brown), and I used 2 skeins of the dark brown)
• A square piece of (cotton) lining fabric that measures roughly 55cms/22″
• Embellishments like ribbons, lace, buttons, beads and anything you can find that you think will work with your bag
• Circular bag handles (mine were bamboo)
• Fabric scissors and regular scissors
• A 4mm crochet hook
• A darning needle
• Sewing thread (and a sewing machine)

Let’s get started! :)

Step 1.
Start by making a giant granny square. Everyone has their favourite ways of making one; I made mine with no chains in between the clusters and 1 chain in each corner. If you don’t know how to make a granny square, I recommend this tutorial.

For my granny square, I changed colour every 2 rows. I picked the order of the colours at random.

Make your granny square as large as you want; mine was 30 rows and about 50cms in width.

When you’re finished, sew in the ends with your darning needle.

Step 2.
Alright, let’s line this baby! :) Wait, already? Don’t I have to finish my bag first? Nope! Because we have such a nice square shape right now, it’s the perfect time to add a lining. You could of course wait with putting in the lining until the bag actually looks like a bag, but it’s much easier adding a lining to a square piece of fabric than into a scrunched up bag. Trust me! ;)

If your granny square looks a little ‘warped’, it might be a good idea to block it into shape first. I did, and it made all the difference!

Grab your fabric, and measure it against your square. Cut it a little bigger than your square to account for the seam allowance. Pin it to the back of your granny square (you want the fabric to cover the back of the stitches, because the right side will be the outside of your bag), with the edges folded under. Sew the fabric to your granny square by hand or using your sewing machine.

Step 3.
If you were planning on sewing lace to your bag; now is the time! It’s easier sewing lace to your bag while it’s still square and flat :) I added 4 layers of lace, but you don’t have to go crazy like I did.

Pin the lace to your bag and sew it on by hand or by using your sewing machine.

I added lace to the front and back of the bag; meaning that I sewed lace to the top edge and bottom edge of my square, leaving the sides empty.

Step 4.
We are all done with the sewing, yay! Now it’s time to turn this embellished square into an actual bag.

Grab your crochet hook and the dark brown yarn. We’re going to crochet the left and right edge of the square first. If you sewed lace to your bag, work the two sides that don’t have lace. (unless you want your bag to have lace on the sides too, and that’s totally fine!)

From right to left, insert your hook into the first corner and work a single crochet stitch. Work the next one into the middle stitch of the first granny cluster. Work the next one in between this granny cluster and the next cluster. Go along the side like this until you reach the corner again, work 1 single crochet stitch in the corner space. Chain 1, and turn. Now work 1 single crochet into each stitch across. Chain 1, and turn. Work single crochet rows until you have 10 rows of single crochet stitches. Leave a long tail.

As you can see, the square is starting to gather a little bit, because we skipped so many stitches. This is a good thing! :)

Grab your darning needle and thread the long tail. Flip over the edge you just made, and sew the first row to the last row.

Repeat this step for the opposite edge of your square.

Step 5.
Alright, time for the top and the bottom! :)

Grab your crochet hook and the dark brown yarn. We’re going to crochet the top and bottom edge of the square.

From right to left, insert your hook into the first corner and work a single crochet stitch. Work the next one in between the next two granny clusters. Go along the side like this until you reach the corner again, work 1 single crochet stitch in the corner space. Chain 1, and turn. Now work 1 single crochet into each stitch across. Chain 1, and turn. Work single crochet rows until you have 10 rows of single crochet stitches. Leave a long tail.

The bag is starting to gather a LOT now, and this is what we want! It’s what gives this bag it’s nice fat bottom.

Grab your darning needle and thread the long tail. Grab one of the bag handles. Flip over the edge you just made, and sew the first row to the last row, around the bag handle.

Repeat this step for the opposite edge of your square.

Your bag is now looking like an actual bag! Good job! :)

Step 6.
Time for more embellishments! :)

I created 10 of these puffy flowers, for which you can find the free pattern here. I modified the pattern a little bit by starting with 12 double crochet stitches instead of single crochet stitches.

I sewed them to the front and back of my bag, with wooden buttons as the centers.

I also tied some ribbons to the sides of the bag; and I strung some beads onto thin strips of ribbon and tied those to the front of the bag.

And that’s it; you now have a gorgeous, wonderfully embellished, fat bottom bag! :)

Let me know what you think of this tutorial guys; I can’t wait to see your amazing bags!

xo,
wink