Reversible Crochet African Flower Bag- Free Pattern

Good ol’ African flower. There are so many beautiful crochet items made from the African flower motif, and whenever I saw another one I’d tell myself I would design an item from it someday. This Reversible African Flower bad is the result of many days and nights of imagination.

I’ll confess it took me a while to put the motifs together. I underestimated the number of African flowers needed to create this tote seeing as it is reversible. In the end, I am pleased with the outcome of the African Flower Tote. It is thick but not bulky, it is durable as well and will last through washes.

One bag, two sides, pairs perfectly with your casual attire.

Let’s get right to it or just go ahead and Pin it for later

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And please, do not sell or mass produce LM patterns- (the only exception is if you are donating the items made to charity)

Thanks. You can read more on LM policy here.

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Finished dimension is 12 inches wide by 11.3 inches tall without the handles. Each Flower is about 3.5 inches in diameter. You’ll need 15 full flower motifs and 6 half flower motifs for each side of the bag. So, that’s basically 30 full flowers and 12 half flowers.

Materials
-Worsted weight cotton yarn of choice.
I recommend 2 balls each of 3 Lily, SugarnCream yarn
-4.5mm hook
-Needle to sew and weave in ends
-20-22 (1 inch) wooden buttons

Abbreviation
FSC- foundation single crochet. See here for tutorial
SC- single crochet
DC- double crochet
HDC- half double crochet
CH- chain
ST- stitch
Special Stitch- Spike stitch
Go into stitch 2 rows below and work your next stitch

Note:
-Pattern is written in U.S terms
-When making DCs in the Magic Circle, do not Ch 1 after every 2 DCs. Just DC 12 in ring.
-Ch 1 and Ch 2 do not count as stitches
-Colour A- brown, Colour B- pink, Colour C- lilac

Reversible Crochet African Flower Bag- Free Pattern

Make magic circle
Round 1 – with colour A: Ch 2, DC 12 in ring. Sl St in 1^st DC
Round 2 – join color B with Sl St in next DC, Ch 2, *2DC, Ch 1, 2DC* in between post of 2 stitches. Skip 2 stitches, repeat * to * around. Sl St in 1^st DC
Round 3 – Ch 2, DC 7 in each Ch 1 space around. Sl St in 1^st DC
Round 4 – join color C: Ch1, SC in same stitch and in next 6, Spike in next. *SC in 7, Spike in next*. Repeat * to * in each stitch around. Sl St in Sl St in 1^st SC

Joining 2 flowers
Tip 1 : HDC, ch1, HDC should be at the center of the flower petal; which is the 4^th stitch on that petal. This is the corner of the hexagon
Tip 2: Sew buttons on both sides of 12 flowers before you join
Tip 3: tie loose ends together and trim. No need to weave in all the ends, they will be covered when you join two flowers.

Insert hook through 2 flowers to join as seen in photo below

Round 5 – with colour A, starting from the side of a petal hold 2 flowers together with wrong side facing in, *HDC in 3, [HDC, Ch 1, HDC in next], HDC in 3, DC in next(this is the Spike stitch)*. Repeat * to * around. Sl St in 1^st HDC.

Half African Flower
With colour A form magic ring.
Row 1: DC 7 in ring. Join color B with Sl St, Ch 2, turn
Row 2: Skp 2 stitches, *2DC, Ch 1, 2DC* in between post of stitches. Skip 2 stitches, repeat * to * two more times. Sl St in top of Ch 2. Ch 2, turn
Row 3: Ch 2, DC 7 in each Ch 1 space across. Sl St in top of Ch 2. Join colour C, Ch 1, turn
Row 4: *SC in 7, spike in next*. Repeat * to * 2 more times. Sl st in top of Ch 2. Break yarn, fasten off

To join flowers, follow instruction as for joining above.

Joining all flowers
With colour A, make a tail about 80 inches long. I used the Geojoin by Crocheting Kay, it is pretty easy and quick.

Forming the Tote

Tip: pass needle through stitches to join farther edges. No need to break the yarn. See photo below for example.

Fold the joined flowers in half and sew all edges closed

Edging
Join yarn at the side of the bag (in the center of the half African flower)

Round 1: Ch 1, HDC evenly across, Ch 1 over where the flowers are joined. Repeat around, Sl St to 1^st HDC. Ch 1, turn
Round 2: HDC around (skip Ch 1 spaces and just HDC in next stitch)

Handles (make 2)

Row 1: FSC 105. Ch 1, turn
Row 2: SC across. Ch 1, turn
Row 3: SC across. Break yarn leaving long tail to sew on buttons

Sew handles with 2 buttons. 1 on each side

Button Clasps (optional)

Sew 2 buttons with about 1 inch of yarn space between them. Tie ends together, wrap around and tie again.

Will love to see photos of your completed African Flower tote. #loopinglym on Instagram and tag us on Facebook. Thank you