Fanny packs have made a comeback recently! But they’re not called fanny packs anymore! You can call them crossbody bags, belt bags, hip packs or waist packs now! Whatever you call them, they are still a marvelous invention for keeping your hands free… they’re just way cuter and more stylish now! This is just the crossbody bag crochet pattern to get you back into the trend!
A crossbody bag can be worn in several ways. The traditional way is around the hips or waist. The more recent trend is to wear them wrapped from one shoulder to the opposite side of your waist (or “across your body”).
Crossybody Bags: The most practical bag for travel
Whichever way you choose to wear your the bag, it is as comfortable and practical as ever. Wearing a belt bag, or crossbody bag, around your waist or across your body frees up your hands to do whatever you need. Besides being hands free, it’s also light and safe. Great for moms, athletes and just busy people!
Wearing a belt bag removes a lot of weight from your neck and shoulder that you would normally feel if you were to carry a traditional purse or bag. When I am wearing my purse over my shoulder, it doesn’t take me long to start to feel the strain in my neck and back. It is a huge relief to remove that burden!
The size of the crossbody bag is also very practical. It may not hold as much as a large bucket purse, but it is large enough to hold the essentials, like your wallet, phone, keys and other small items. The smaller size makes it light and manageable so that you can move around like it isn’t even there.
Lastly, the classic benefit of the belt bag… it’s safe! You don’t have to worry about anyone snatching your bag off your shoulder because it is literally buckled around your body! Such a great worry-free item for going out!
The Yarn: Lion Brand For the Home Cording yarn
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Lion Brand For the Home Cording yarn is a size medium (4) weight yarn. It is 50% recycled cotton and 50% polyester. The unique thing about this yarn is how sturdy it is. It has a drape that is similar to the feel of twine, but without the roughness. It is smooth and straight. There is absolutely no stretch to it.
It is just these qualities that make it perfect for this project. For a bag like this, you really want it to hold its shape. The stiffness of the yarn allows you to create a bag that is sturdy, does not have holes and looks great!
The fact that it is also smooth and has a nice sheen makes it beautiful too! The stitch definition is phenomenal!
The color choices for this yarn are just beautiful as well. They are muted and earthy and rich. It is hard to pick which one to use and if you use more than one they would all look beautiful together.
The Pattern
If you would like to purchase an inexpensive, ad-free printable pdf version of this crossbody bag crochet pattern, you can find it here at my Etsy shop.
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Materials:
- 224 Yards Size 4 Yarn (I used Lion Brand ‘For The Home Cording’ in Sage)
- US H/ 5.0 mm Crochet Hook
- 2” Adjustable Buckle Snap
- 8” Zipper
- Yarn Needle
- Scissors
Gauge:
4” x 4” swatch of single crochet = 16 rows x 14 stitches
Sizing:
8 ½” wide x 5 ½” tall x 1 ½” deep
Stitches Used:
(ch) chain
(sl st) slip stitch
(fsc) foundation single crochet
(sc) single crochet
(sc2tog) single crochet two together
Pattern Notes:
Beginning chain of each round does not count as a stitch.
I tend to crochet tightly. So be sure to check your gauge and if you are crocheting more loosely you can move to a smaller hook (or larger if you crochet even more tightly).
Some people find they even need to go down two hook sizes to meet my gauge.
The pattern begins by constructing each panel of the bag separately. Then the pieces will be sewn together with a yarn needle and yarn.
Main Panel (make 2 of these):
Row 1: Fsc 25. Row should be roughly 7” wide.
Note: if you do not like to use foundation stitches, you can chain 26. Sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and in each chain across (25). However, foundation stitches will make stitching around the panel later a little easier.
Row 2: Ch 1. Turn. Place 2 sc in the same stitch. Place one sc in each of the next 23 stitches. Place 2 sc in the last stitch. (27)
Row 3: Ch 1. Turn. Place a sc in the same stitch and in each stitch across. (27)
Rows 4 – 16: Repeat Row 3. (27)
The panel should be about 4 ¾” tall now.
Row 17: Ch 1. Turn. Sc2tog (half of the stitch will be in the same stitch and half in the next stitch). Place 1 sc in each of the next 23 stitches. Sc2tog. (25)
Row 18: Ch 1. Turn. Sc in the same stitch and in each stitch across. (25)
Row 19: Ch 1. Turn. Sc2tog (half of the stitch will be in the same stitch and half in the next stitch). Place 1 sc in each of the next 21 stitches. Sc2tog. (23)
The panel should be about 5” tall now.
Edging: Ch 1. Turn. Place a sl st in each stitch across the row. (23) When you get to the end, continue to slip stitch down the side by placing 1 sl st in the end of each row. (19) Slip stitch along the bottom of the panel (25) and back up the last side (19). Join with a sl st to the first sl st of the edging.
Note: If you are using the suggested cording yarn, when you work along the sides of the panel, it works best to only grab one of the outermost strands of the cording from the end of each row.
Don’t forget to make 2 panels. Finish off and weave in your ends. You may want to add a marker to the top or bottom of the panel to remind you which side is which.
Pocket Panel:
Repeat the instructions for the main panels, but stop after row 14.
Follow the same instructions for the edging. You should have 27 slip stitches along the top of the panel, 14 on each side and 25 on the bottom.
The pocket panel should be about 4” tall. Finish off and weave in your ends.
Attach the Pocket Panel to Main Panel:
Find the front of one of your panels. The front will be the side with the slip stitch edging facing towards you. Place the pocket panel on top of the main panel (also with the front side facing you). Line the two panels up so that the bottom rows are aligned with each other.
Cut a piece of yarn 4x the width of the panels. Attach to a yarn needle.
Starting at the upper right corner of the pocket, insert needle through the back loop of the top right corner slip stitch and through the front loop of the corresponding slip stitch on the main panel. Pull through and leave enough tail to insert into the back side of the pocket later to secure and tie off.
Use the yarn needle to whip stitch down the right side, going into the back loop of the slip stitches on the pocket panel and the front loop of the corresponding slip stitch on the main panel.
Continue along the bottom of the panels and up the left side. When you get to the top left corner of the pocket panel, insert the needle towards the back of the panel. Tie a knot to secure and weave in the end.
Secure the beginning tail on the back side of the pocket panel as well and weave in.
Adding Zipper to Main Panels:
On the back side of the zipper, use a pencil to draw a line where you want to connect the panel to the zipper (Roughly a quarter inch from the edge).
Cut a piece of yarn 3x as long as the panel width. Attach to yarn needle.
Find the front of the panel without the pocket. The front will be the side with the slip stitch edging facing towards you. This is not terribly important, but will give it a more finished look. Attach the yarn with a knot into a back loop behind the top right corner.
Insert the yarn needle into the back 2 loops of the top right corner of the panel. Then insert the needle into the right side of the zipper. Make sure it goes through where you have drawn the pencil line on the back. Pull snug.
Insert the yarn needle into the back side of the zipper, about 1 crochet stitch length to the left of where you just came through. Push through the zipper and then forward through the back two loops of the next stitch of the top row of the panel. Pull snug.
Insert the yarn needle from the front of the panel, through the back two loops of the next stitch to the left. Then insert the needle into the right side of the zipper directly behind the stitch (along your pencil line).
Continue this method across the top panel.
Position the pocket panel with the front facing you. Place the other panel above it with the unsewn side of the zipper (front side towards you) lined up with the top of the panel.
Repeat the process to attach the zipper to the panel.
Buckle Strap:
Row 1: Ch 8. Sc in the 2nd chain from the hook. Sc in each chain across. (7)
Row 2: Ch 1. Turn. Sc in the same stitch and each stitch across. (7)
Rows 3+: Repeat Row 2. (7)
To customize the length of your strap, first measure the circumference of where you want your strap to wrap around. Take that measurement and add 6”.
Your bag can wrap around your waist, or it can wrap across your body from waist to shoulder.
I measured where I would like my bag to fit across my waist and shoulder and got a circumference of 45”. I added 6” to this for a total of 51”.
I crocheted a total of 201 rows to reach this strap length.
Attach Buckle Strap:
Line up the strap so that it is behind the pocketed panel (right side facing you). You should see 3 ½” of the strap sticking out behind the right side of the panel. The top of the strap should be about even with the top of the pocket.
Cut a piece of yarn about 24” long. Use the yarn and a yarn needle to stitch the strap to the pocketed panel. Insert the needle from the front, into the back few loops of the panel and through the entire strap. Come back up through the strap and into the next few back loops of the side of the panel. Repeat until the entire strap is secure along that side. Finish off. Secure both ends of the yarn piece with knots at the back of the panel and weave in your ends.
Make sure strap is flush with the back of the panel and secure the strap on the left edge of the pocketed panel in the same manner.
Attach the Buckle
Insert the short end of your strap (from front to back) through one end of the non- adjustable side of the buckle. Pull the end back towards the strap (on the back side) so that it overlaps by about an inch. Use your tail if it is long enough or cut a piece of yarn to sew the strap in pace with a yarn needle. Sew up and down through both pieces of the strap. I went once across the end of the strap and then back across closer to the buckle to make sure everything was tight and secure.
Finish off and weave in the ends.
For the adjustable side of the buckle, insert the strap as you would on any adjustable buckle and pull through to the length you prefer. No sewing necessary for this side, as it is meant to be adjustable.
Side Panel
This is the narrow panel that runs between the two main panels to create the sides and bottom of the bag.
Measure from one end of the zipper, down the side of the bag, along the bottom and back up the other side to the other end of the zipper. This length was 17” for me. This is how long you want to make the side panel.
Row 1: Ch 5. Sc in the 2nd chain from the hook and in each chain across. (4)
Row 2: Ch 1. Turn. Sc in the same stitch and in each stitch across. (4)
Rows 3 – 66: Repeat Row 2 until you have the length you measured for this panel. (4)
Finish off, leaving a tail of 30”.
Attaching the Side Panel:
Line the side panel (start with the corner with 30” tail) up with the front, upper right corner of the main panel, just where the zipper ends.
Using the tail and a yarn needle, attach the left edge of the side panel to the right edge of the main front panel, just to the right of where the zipper ends (not including any extra flaps on the zipper, but where the actual zipper ends. The flaps will be tucked under later).
On the front panel edge, insert the yarn needle into a loop directly behind the slip stitch edging. When stitching through the side panel, go through just one loop from the edge of the panel.
Continue to whip stitch down the right side, across the bottom of the bag and back up the other side.
When you get to the zipper at the upper left corner, continue until you reach the very end of the zipper itself (exclude any flap of material after the zipper). If your side panel is too long at this point, you can fold any excess under.
Use the yarn needle to sew across the end of the side panel and secure the top of the side panel to the end of the zipper. Tie a knot at the back side of your work to secure and weave in your ends.
Cut a 30” piece of yarn. With your yarn needle and the yarn, attach the yarn close to where you tied off your last piece of yarn. Use the yarn needle to begin to whip stitch the other edge of the side panel to the back main panel of the bag. Do this in the same manner as the front panel. The only difference will be that, when you get to the strap, instead of whip stitching, work up and down through the strap to attach the two panels.
Work down the side, across the bottom and back up the other side. When you get back to where you started with the first edge of the front panel, use the last of the yarn to sew the top of the side panel to the end of the zipper. It may help to unzip the zipper to access the inside of the bag. Once secured with a few stitches, tie off and weave in your ends
Note: Feel free to sell finished products made with this pattern. If finished products are posted online, please include a reference/credit to this pattern. Do not distribute or claim the pattern as your own, or alter and use my photos to market your finished products.
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