Free Pattern – Spiral Seashell Bag

Shell bag collage1

This great bag is perfect for a day at the beach or a casual night out, with just enough room for a few essentials.  It could even make a good project bag! The idea for this bag started with the Spiral Seashell Square. The pattern for the back starts off the same way as that square, but it ends up different and bigger.  The Spiral Seashell Motif is on both sides of the bag, but the shell on the front is secretly a pocket!

I have been working on a couple more ideas using this motif, but I have a few other ideas I’d like to focus on for now. It will likely be a while before I post any new spiral seashell patterns, but I may have something for you next spring. Meanwhile, you can still find all my spiral seashell related patterns here.


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Spiral Seashell Bag

4-medium

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Materials:

Difficulty:

Intermediate – Techniques include magic circle, working in the round, some back stitching or straight stitching over the finished piece for the spiral detail, and some seaming.

Size:

Approximately 9″ square without handles.

Gauge:

The seashell motif works up as quickly as a separate gauge swatch would, so it’s easier to use the shell itself to measure gauge. Without the edging, the shell should measure approximately 4.25 inches (about 10.5 cm) at its widest point.

Abbreviations used:

  • ch = chain
  • sc = single crochet
  • hdc = half double crochet
  • dc = double crochet
  • sk = skip
  • st(s) = stitch(es)
  • sl st = slip stitch
  • RS = right side

Notes:

  • Use a stitch marker or scrap piece of yarn to mark the first stitch of each round (move marker for each new round).
  • Slip stitches are not included in any of the stitch counts that are noted at the end of rounds.

Recommended Resources:

Front:

With blue, ch 2 (or use magic circle technique)

Rnd 1 (RS): 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook (or work ch 1, 6 sc in magic circle and pull circle closed), join with sl st in first sc.  (6 sc) Mark this round as right side.

Rnd 2: Turn, ch 1, 2 sc in each st around, join with sl st in first sc (12 sc)

Rnd 3: Turn, ch 1, (2 sc in next st, sc in next st) 6 times, join with sl st in first sc (18 sc)

Rnd 4: Turn, ch 1, (2 sc in next sts, sc in next 2 st) 6 times, join with sl st in first sc (24 sc)

Rnd 5: Turn, ch 3 (counts as first dc), (dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in same st, *[hdc in next 2 sts, sc in next st, hdc in next 2 sts], (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next st, repeat from * twice more, then repeat between [ ] once more, join with sl st in top of ch 3. (36 sts, 4 ch sps)

Rnd 6: Turn, ch 3 (counts as first dc), *dc in each st to corner, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in corner sp, repeat from * three times more, dc in each remaining st, join with sl st in top of ch 3. (52 sts, 4 ch sps)

Rnd 7-8: Repeat Rnd 6 twice more, fasten off (84 sts, 4 ch sps)

With blue, ch 2 (or use magic circle technique)

Rnd 9: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), (dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in same sp, *[(sc in next st, sk next st, 3 dc in next st, sk next st) 5 times, sc in next st], (2 dc, ch1, 2 dc) in next corner sp, repeat from * twice more, then repeat between [ ] once more, join with sl st in top of ch3, fasten off. (100 sts, 4 ch sps)

With wrong side facing, join blue with sl st in any ch 1 sp.

Rnd 10: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), (dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in same sp, *[(sc in next st, sk next st, 3 dc in next st, sk next st) 6 times, sc in next st], (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next corner sp, repeat from * twice more, then repeat between [ ] once more, join with sl st in top of ch3, fasten off. (116 sts, 4 ch sps)

With right side facing, join green with sc in the top right corner ch 1 sp.

Rnd 11: (sc, ch 1, 2 dc) in same sp, (sl st in next st, sk next st, 3 dc in next st, sk next st) 7 times, sl st in next st, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 sc) in next corner sp, *[(sc in next st, hdc in next st, dc in next st, hdc in next st) 7 times, sc in next st], 5 sc in corner sp, repeat from * once more, then repeat between [ ] once more, join with sl st in first st, fasten off. (126 sts, 2 ch sps)

Pocket:

Work Spiral Seashell Motif pattern with crocheted edging (option 1)

Back:

Work Spiral Seashell Square pattern up to Rnd 4 of background. (84 sts, 4 ch sps)

Rnds 5-7: Repeat rnds 9-11 of front.

Handle (Make 2):

With blue, ch 4, leaving an 8 inch tail for sewing

Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across, turn

Rows 2 & 3: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc in each st, join with sl st to first sc

Working in continuous rounds, sc in each st around until handle reaches desired length. Make both handles the same length. There is no need to keep track of the beginning of the round.

Next 4 rows: ch 1, sc in next 3 sts, turn. Fasten off after 4th row, leaving an 8 inch tail for sewing.

Button Closure Tab:

With green, ch 4, leaving an 8 inch tail for sewing

Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across, turn

Row 1 (RS): Sc in 2nd ch from hook and next 2 chs (3sc)

Rows 2-9: Ch 1, sc in each st across

Row 10: Ch1, sc in first st, ch 2, sk next st, sc in last st, fasten off.

Rnd 11: With RS facing, join blue with sc in side of first sc on row 1 (see Fig 1). Working in sides of rows, sc in each row, 5 dc in the ch 2 sp on row 10,  now working in the other side of the rows, sc in each row, fasten off. (20 sc, 5 dc)

Figure 1 - button closure tab

Assembly:

  • With beige, sew pocket to the middle of the front, working around the outside edge, just under the brown crocheted edging. Be sure to leave a portion unworked at the top for the pocket opening.
  • Using Fig 2 as a guide for placement: sew one handle to wrong side of front and the other to wrong side of back
  • Using Fig 2 as a guide, place button closure tab on wrong side of back, so that it is centered near the top and wrong side of tab is facing up. Sew tab to back securely, being mindful of how the stitches look on the back side of the bag. Sew button to center front of bag, so it lines up with button hole.

Figure 2 - Button placement

  • Hold front and back pieces with wrong sides together and front piece facing you. Working through both thicknesses, join blue with sc in ch sp at top left corner of bag (see Fig 3). Working in back loops only, through both thicknesses, and being careful to match the stitches on both pieces so that the corners line up together: sc in each st around to top right corner ch 1 sp, sc in ch 1 sp, fasten off.

Figure 3 - joining


I hope you enjoy the pattern! An ad-free, downloadable pdf of this pattern is also available in my Craftsy store for a $2 fee. The pdf includes the Spiral Seashell bag, square, and motif patterns. The fee for the pdf format is to offset the advertising revenue lost when you print or download the pattern rather than viewing it online.

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