Crochet Hobo Bag with Square Base and Flower Motif

A soft, spacious hobo bag is one of those makes we reach for every single day, and I love how simple and modern this one is! We will start with a square single crochet base with marked corners, then build the body in rounds of mesh and puff stitches.

Those puff stitches gather into pretty flower bands that repeat around the bag, and the 10-round rhythm is easy to settle into once you have worked the first repeat. The bag is ideal for shopping, casual outings, or simply keeping your essentials organised in style.

This design is perfect for beginners who are familiar with the basic stitches, and the height is easy to adjust: just repeat the body rounds until your bag is as tall as you like it.

Materials

• Approximately 300 g small polyester thread (1 to 1.2 mm thickness) worked with double strands, or a single strand of thicker thread (approximately 3 mm)
• 6/0 (3.5 mm) crochet hook
• Several stitch markers, for tracking corners and the beginning and end of rounds
• Scissors
• Yarn needle, for trimming and sewing
• Optional: magnetic button
• Optional: tassel for decoration

Abbreviations

• ch: chain
• sc: single crochet
• dc: double crochet
• st: stitch
• sl st: slip stitch
• dc2tog: double crochet two together, a decrease

Special Stitches

• Puff stitch: yarn over 5 times into the same stitch, pull through all loops on the hook, and secure with 1 chain. In the body rounds this is worked as: yarn over 5 times, pull through all loops, ch 1.

Gauge & Size

• Finished base: 32 cm (12.5 inches) long by 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) wide
• Finished body height: 27 cm (10.6 inches)
• Strap: adjustable; the tutorial strap was approximately 34 cm (13.4 inches) on each side
• Construction: square base worked in corner-increase rounds to 140 sts, body worked in repeating mesh and puff stitch rounds (approximately 26 rounds in total), straps decreased from 30 marked stitches down to 4 stitches and sewn together
• Skill level: Easy

Base Pattern

The bag starts with a rectangular base made with single crochets, worked with corner increases in rounds. This pattern uses US crochet terminology, and ( ) means repeat the instructions within the brackets the indicated number of times.

Foundation Chain: Make a slip knot and chain 49.

Round 1: Chain 1 (turning chain). In the 49th chain (the last chain of the row), place 2 single crochets (sc). Insert markers: use a green marker for the 1st sc, and a red marker for the 2nd sc. Work 47 sc across the chain. In the last chain, place 3 sc. Mark the 1st and 3rd sc with markers, as these will serve as corner points. Work 47 sc back along the other side of the foundation chain. In the chain with 2 sc at the start, add 1 more sc. Mark the last (red marker) as the corner. Join with a sl st into the first sc and fasten off.

Round 2: Chain 1, sc in the first stitch. Mark this sc with a different colour as the round starter. At each corner point marker (red, green, blue), make an increase of 3 sc. Insert a marker into the middle sc of each corner. Sc in all other stitches. At the end of the round, join with a sl st.

Rounds 3 to 6: Repeat the steps from Round 2, ensuring the corners receive a 3-sc increase each time. Continue marking the middle sc of each corner. By the end of Round 6, the base should measure 32 cm x 6.5 cm, and you should have a 140-stitch base (a multiple of 20).

Body Pattern

The body uses a combination of mesh (dc-ch) and puff stitch patterns, and the design alternates every few rows.

Round 1 (Mesh Base Pattern): Start with 3 chains (acts as the first dc). Skip 1 stitch, dc, ch 1. Repeat [dc, ch 1, skip 1] around the base. Join with a sl st into the second chain of the starting ch-3.

Round 2: Start with a ch-3. Repeat the same dc-ch pattern as Round 1. Join with a sl st.

Round 3 (Puff Stitch Pattern): Start with ch 3 (counts as dc). Dc, ch 2. Skip 1 st, make a puff stitch in the space between stitches. Ch 2, dc in the space. Repeat this sequence: [2 chains, puff stitch, 2 chains, (dc, ch)]. Join with a sl st.

Round 4: Start with ch 4. Make 1 puff in the first ch space. Ch 2, puff in the next ch space. You now have 2 consecutive puffs. Ch 2, dc, ch over the next 6 spaces. Repeat the sequence around. Join with a sl st.

Round 5: Repeat the steps in Round 3.

Repeat Rounds 1 to 5 to create the rest of the bag body. The total rounds for the bag body are approximately 26, as per the tutorial, and you can adjust the height as desired.

Strap Pattern

Mark 30 stitches on each side of the bag top edge for strap placement.

Work in rows between the marked stitches: at the start and end of each row, decrease by working 2 stitches together (dc2tog). Continue decreasing until only 4 stitches are left.

Work even, with no decreases, for the strap length (approximately 34 cm, as per the tutorial).

Repeat the same process on the other side.

Joining: sew the two strap ends together to form a continuous loop. Add a finishing edge by working 2 rounds of sc around the strap edge.

Finishing & Assembly

Trim any loose threads and weave them in securely.

Optionally, attach a magnetic button or a different closure to the bag opening, and add a tassel or other decorative elements if you like.

Tips

Because this pattern follows the video closely, I recommend reviewing the video for visual guidance on the trickier steps, especially the puff stitch pattern and the strap assembly. The video embed above will walk you through those moments.

You can adjust the base width or length by working with multiples of 20 stitches, and adjust the strap length to your own preference.

Adding an inner lining makes the bag more durable, and swapping the closure is an easy way to make the design your own.