After over 20 years my trusty handbag was falling apart and couldn’t be repaired, so I began thinking of crochet bag ideas and that could be eco-friendly too.
I spotted a new recycled ribbon yarn by Paintbox Yarns and I ordered it straight away! I was so elated when it arrived and got to work immediately. It was a very exciting thing for me to work with a totally different kind of yarn. Suffice to say this was the perfect yarn for my bag and I had lots of fun creating the design.
I usually doodle some ideas first but not with this one. I raced ahead with the shape in my mind but I hit some frustrations as it worked up.
It was too ordinary and it wasn’t doing this beautiful yarn justice! You see, the stitch definition with this yarn is amazing! I wanted to play with texture to create a visually striking bag to really take advantage of this yarn. I wanted a bag that’s full of texture and both quick and easy to make too. I jumped for joy when the right textures came together perfectly and the Totally Textured Tote materialised.
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Recommended Yarn
Recycled Ribbon Chunky #5 weight yarn – approx. 180-200m (199-220 yds) in total, 2 contrasting colours: 1 skein of Colour 1 (Navy) 120m (131yds) and approx. half a skein – 60m (68yds) of Colour 2 (Turquoise).
Yarn used: Paintbox Recycled Ribbon. Alternative: Hoooked Ribbon XL (exact substitute).
Alternatively, you could substitute with chunky cotton or use 2 strands of aran weight together. A couple of my testers used t-shirt yarn with quite different results to each other. T-shirt yarn is generally a thicker yarn but varies considerably in thickness so may not be a good substitute if you want to match the size.
Hook & Other Materials
US Size L-11 (8mm) crochet hook
Big Eye Yarn needle
1¼ – 1½” (3-4cm) button or use a sew on Magnetic fastening
Sharp scissors – these rose gold ones are sooo pretty!
Stitch Markers – locking ones are the best and the only ones I use.
Pattern uses US crochet terminology with UK shown in brackets in the list of abbreviations.
Skill Level Intermediate
Knowledge of all the basic stitches and techniques. Instructions are included in the pattern for the special stitches used, along with photo tutorials.
Abbreviations used
St – Stitch | Sts – Stitches | Sl st – Slip stitch | Ch – Chain | Sk – Skip
BLO – Back loop only | FO – Fasten off | Slst2tog – Slip stitch decrease
SPsc – Single crochet Spike Stitch | Xsc – Crossed single crochet
Sc – single crochet (UK: Dc – Double Crochet) | Dc – double crochet (UK: Tr – Treble)
Sizes/Finished Measurements
Approx. Height 10” (25.5 cm) Width 12 ¾” (32.5 cm) (not including strap)
Special Stitches/Techniques
Suzette Stitch: Sc and dc in same stitch, sk 1, repeat, next round work sc and dc in the dc, to create a pretty stacked effect.
Single Crochet Spike Stitch (SPsc): Single crochet stitch done 1 round below the next stitch bringing yarn up to the same height as the current round. So instead of doing a sc in the top of the sc from previous round, work the st into top of the sc in the round below.
Crossed sc (xsc): Single crochet worked back over a skipped stitch. Stitch pattern used for this section of the bag is worked in pairs of sc and xsc as follows: sk1, sc, xsc in the skipped stitch, next pair is worked by skipping over the next unworked st, sc in next then xsc in the skipped st. The next round is worked stacked on top, by just working continuously.
All my patterns are tested by my team of testers to help ensure the best quality patterns that are free from errors. Should you have any problems at all, please get in touch with me, I am always happy to help.
While you are here why not check out my other crochet patterns, I have lots more that I’m sure you’d love too.
Do you use Ravelry? When you make the Totally Textured Tote, please favourite the pattern and link a project to show off your gorgeous bag. I love to see your projects and if you use social media, pop over and follow me, tag me in posts @thecraftytherapist or use #thecraftytherapist #totallytexturedtote to show me. I can’t wait to see! love Janferie xx
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