Get ready for your next beach trip with a gorgeous crochet beach tote bag, the By The Shore Bag! This crochet beach bag pattern captures the essence of the beach in crochet. Using the crochet ripple stitch and tapestry crochet technique, it looks like you’ve captured a picture of seashells amongst the waves.
Keep scrolling to read more details about the pattern, or scroll down for the free version of the pattern. Grab the ad free PDF in my Etsy and Ravelry shops today!
Crochet Beach Bag Inspiration
I grew up on the Central Coast of California, and spent many days of my childhood hunting for sea shells along the beach. From sand dollars to mussel shells, my sister and I loved to splash in the waves and find sea shell treasures. This crochet beach bag is inspired by those beach trips! My goal was to capture the look of waves lapping up on the shore, and sea shells scattered on the sand. I’m so happy with how it turned out!
How to Crochet this Beach Bag
This crochet beach bag pattern is made from two panels. It uses the ripple stitch to make the bag look like bags. Then the sea shell portion is made using crochet colorwork. I used the tapestry crochet technique, but you could also use intarsia crochet if that is your preferred method.
Once the two panels are crocheted and seamed together, you’ll insert a canvas tote bag between them, and then crochet around the canvas bag handles.
I’ve made a step by step video tutorial that walks you through each step of the pattern! You can find the tutorial on my Youtube channel by clicking below.
Grab the Ad FREE PDF with photo tutorials in my shops:
Dimensions: 13.5” x 13.5” (not including handles)
Hook: 5mm
Yarn: Furls Crochet Wander Yarn (120yds/109m, 100g/3.5oz, 100% acrylic) or other worsted weight 4 yarn. I used the following 5 colors of Wander yarn:
- Agave (Color A)
- Abyss (Color B)
- Snow (Color C)
- Camel (Color D)
- Dragonfruit (Color E)
Approximate Yarn Yardage:
- Color A: 80 yds
- Color B: 90 yds
- Color C: 30 yds
- Color D: 75 yds
- Color E: 80 yds
Other supplies:
- 13.5” x 13.5” canvas tote bag
Abbreviations:
- Ch = chain
- st(s) = stitch(es)
- Yo = yarn over
- Sc = single crochet
- Hdc = half double crochet
- Dc = double crochet
- Tr = triple crochet
- Sl st = slip stitch
- [ ] = do everything within the brackets
- ( ) = contains either the color to switch to, or the number of times something needs to be repeated for the lapghan size.
Pattern Notes:
- This pattern uses US crochet terminology.
- The bag is made from two panels that are crocheted separately and then sewn together.
- I used a canvas tote bag to line the bag, and crocheted the handles around the canvas tote bag handles.
- The seashells are made with crochet colorwork. You can use either the tapestry crochet or intarsia crochet techniques. I used tapestry crochet.
- For the colorwork section, a color between parentheses indicates a color change needs to be made. For ex: (Color D) means to change to color D.
By the Shore Bag Video Tutorial
By the Shore Beach Bag Pattern
Row 1: Starting with Color A, Ch 51, starting in the 2nd ch from hook, *sc 1, hdc 2, dc 1, tr 2, dc 1, hdc 2, sc 1, repeat from * across, switch to Color B on last yo of the last st of the row
Row 2: Ch 2, *dc2tog, dc 2, dc inc twice, dc 2, dc2tog, repeat from * across, switch to Color A on the last yo of the last st of the row
Rows 3-15: repeat row 2. To have the rows look the same as mine do the following colors for each row:
- Row 3: Color A
- Row 4: Color B
- Row 5: Color A
- Rows 6-9: Color B
- Row 10: Color A
- Row 11: Color B
- Row 12: Color A
- Row 13: Color B
- Row 14: Color A
- Row 15: Color C
Row 16: (Using Color D) Ch 3, turn, *tr 1, dc 2, hdc 1, sc 2, hdc 1, dc 2, tr 1, repeat from * across
You’ll now begin the colorwork section. You can use the tapestry crochet technique or intarsia crochet technique to do the colorwork. For my sample I used tapestry crochet.
Row 17: (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 7, (Color D) hdc 10, (Color E) hdc 8, (Color D) hdc 10, (Color E) hdc 7, (Color D) hdc 4
Row 18: (Color D) hdc 3, (Color E) hdc 9, (Color D) hdc 8, (Color E) hdc 10, (Color D) hdc 8, (Color E) hdc 9, (Color D) hdc 3
Row 19: (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 11, (Color D) hdc 6, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 6, (Color E) hdc 11, (Color D) hdc 2
Row 20: (Color D) hdc 1, [(Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 2] x 2, (Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 4, [(Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 2] x 2, (Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 1
Row 21: (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 5, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 14, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 5, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 1
Row 22: (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 1, [(Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 2] x 3, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1
Row 23: [(Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 3] x 2, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 6, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 2, (Color D) hdc 4, [(Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 1] x 2, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 1
Row 24: (Color D) hdc 1, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 6, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 6, (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 1, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 4, (Color D) hdc 1
Row 25: (Color D) hdc 2, [(Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 1] x 2, (Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 6, (Color E) hdc 5, (Color D) hdc 2, (Color E) hdc 5, (Color D) hdc 6, [(Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 1] x 2, (Color E) hdc 3, (Color D) hdc 2
Row 26: (Color D) hdc 4, (Color E) hdc 7, (Color D) hdc 9, (Color E) hdc 10, (Color D) hdc 9, (Color E) hdc 7, (Color D) hdc 4
Row 27: (Color D) hdc 21, (Color E) hdc 8, (Color D) hdc 21
Row 28: ch 1, turn, *sc 1, hdc 2, dc 1, tr 2, dc 1, hdc 2, sc 1, repeat from * across
Row 29: (Color C) Ch 2, *dc2tog, dc 2, dc inc twice, dc 2, dc2tog, repeat from * across, switch to Color E on the last yo of the last st of the row
Row 30: repeat row 29 using Color E
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Assembly:
Seaming the panels:
To seam the two panels together, I used a slip stitch seam. If you’d like to do the same method, start by putting both panels wrong sides together. Then along the sides and bottom of the panels, seam both together with a slip stitch join.
Before you crochet the handles, you can insert the tote bag inside of the two seamed panels since you’ll be crocheting around the canvas handles.
Crocheting the handles:
Begin by lining up the top of the panels with the top of the canvas bag portion where the handles begin. You’ll start crocheting from the bottom of the left side handle.
Insert your hook through a stitch just to the left of the canvas handle. Join yarn to the panel with a slip stitch. Ch 8, then wrap the ch sts behind the back of the handle and join it back to the panel with a sl st.
Ch 2, dc in each of the sts to the ch sts (my handles had 5 sts before the chs), then dc through each ch, join with sl st to ch 2 at beginning of rnd
All following rnds: ch 2, turn, dc through each st, join with sl st to ch 2 at beginning of rnd
Once you have crocheted around the entire handle, we will fasten the end of the crocheted handle to the bag. I joined it by doing sl sts through the 5 sts on the handle and the 5 sts on the bag that lined up. (You could also use a yarn needle to join the handle with an invisible seam.)
Fasten off and weave in ends. Repeat on other handle.
I hope that you love your brand new crochet beach bag! Be sure to tag me @eclairemakery on social media if you make it and post it so that I can share it.
Happy stitching,
Claire