This hanging bag holder pairs a soft periwinkle body with four cream sunburst appliqués. The body is an open grid mesh, so you can see how many bags are left. Solid bands at the bottom and top keep it sturdy and help it keep its shape.
You stuff bags in through the top and pull them out one at a time through an oval opening low on the front. A narrow strap joins two sides of the rim and loops over a wall hook or cabinet knob.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished body measures 8 in (20.3 cm) wide laid flat and 13.25 in (33.7 cm) tall. With the strap, the holder hangs about 20.25 in (51.4 cm) from the hook to the bottom.
To make it, you work a flat round base and turn it up into a tube. Next you work a short solid band with the dispenser opening built in, then the mesh and a solid rim. The strap is worked straight off the rim. Last, you make four small sunbursts and sew them on.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 8 in (20.3 cm) wide flat × 13.25 in (33.7 cm) tall, body only
- Hanging length: about 20.25 in (51.4 cm) with the strap
- Skill level: Easy / Intermediate
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4) cotton
- Hook: 5.0 mm (H-8)
- Number of pieces: 1 body (with the strap attached) + 4 sunburst appliqués
- Layout: 4 sunbursts evenly spaced in one ring around the middle of the mesh
- Piece size: body circumference 16 in (40.6 cm); sunburst 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across
- Size before border: dispenser gap 4.25 in × 2.5 in (10.8 × 6.4 cm)
- Border depth: 2 edging rounds, about 0.5 in (1.3 cm), around the opening; the top rim band is 1.5 in (3.8 cm)
Materials
Use a smooth worsted-weight cotton or cotton blend. Cotton holds its shape when the holder is full of bags and stands up to frequent washing. Avoid stretchy acrylic, because the mesh will sag over time. The amounts below assume about 170 m (186 yd) per 100 g.
- Color A, periwinkle: 160 g, about 272 m (297 yd)
- Color B, cream: 20 g, about 34 m (37 yd)
These amounts include a safety margin of roughly 15%.
Tools:
– 5.0 mm (H-8) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– 4 locking stitch markers
– Rustproof pins
– Measuring tape
– Scissors
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch: chain
- sl st: slip stitch
- sc: single crochet
- hdc: half double crochet
- dc: double crochet
- BLO: back loop only
- sc2tog: single crochet 2 together
- MR: magic ring
- st(s): stitch(es)
- sp: space
- RS / WS: right side / wrong side
Special stitch – Sunburst Ray: Ch 5. Starting in the 2nd ch from the hook, work sl st, then 1 sc in the next ch, 1 hdc in the next ch and 1 dc in the last ch. Each stitch is taller than the one before it, so the ray is wide where it meets the center and narrows to a point at the tip.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 15 sc × 16 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm). For the mesh, 5 mesh units (each unit is 1 dc + ch 2, so 15 sts) × 7 rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm).
Test with the base first. It is the smallest piece that tells you whether your tension matches. After Round 5 it should measure about 5.25 in (13.3 cm) across.
Checkpoints:
– Base after Round 5: 5.25 in (13.3 cm) across
– Height after Round 8: 0.75 in (1.9 cm) above the base edge
– Dispenser gap after Row 18: 4.25 in (10.8 cm) wide × 2.5 in (6.4 cm) tall
– Height after Round 20: 3.75 in (9.5 cm)
– Height after the mesh (Round 34): 11.75 in (29.8 cm)
– Height after the rim (Round 40): 13.25 in (33.7 cm), with the body 8 in (20.3 cm) wide flat
– Sunburst: 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across
If your base is too big, go down one hook size, to 4.5 mm. If it’s too small, go up one hook size, to 5.5 mm. Always re-test, because every later measurement depends on the base.
Base
With Color A:
Round 1: MR, ch 3 (counts as dc), 11 dc in the ring. Sl st to the top of the ch-3. (12 dc)
Round 2: Ch 3, dc in the same st, 2 dc in each st around. Sl st to join. (24 dc)
Round 3: Ch 3, 2 dc in the next st, dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st; repeat from * around. Sl st to join. (36 dc)
Round 4: Ch 3, dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st, dc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st; repeat from * around. Sl st to join. (48 dc)
Round 5: Ch 3, dc in each of the next 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, dc in each of the next 3 sts, 2 dc in the next st; repeat from * around. Sl st to join. (60 dc)
The base should lie flat and measure 5.25 in (13.3 cm) across.
Lower Band and Dispenser Opening
Round 6 (turning round): Ch 1, sc BLO in each st around. Sl st to join. (60 sc) Working in the back loop only makes the edge fold up into a tube.
Rounds 7–8: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Sl st to join. (60 sc)
From here you work back and forth in rows. This leaves the last 16 sts of the round unworked, which forms the gap for the opening.
Row 9 (RS): Ch 1, sc in each of the first 44 sts. Leave the last 16 sts unworked and turn. (44 sc)
Rows 10–18: Ch 1, sc in each st across, then turn. (44 sc)
You have now worked 10 rows. Row 18 is a WS row, so it ends at the same edge where the round began. Check the gap: 4.25 in × 2.5 in (10.8 × 6.4 cm).
Round 19 (closing round): Ch 1, turn, sc in each of the 44 sts, ch 16. Sl st to the first sc. (44 sc + 16 ch = 60 sts)
Round 20: Ch 1, sc in each sc and in each ch. Sl st to join. (60 sc)
The body should now be 3.75 in (9.5 cm) tall.
Mesh Body
Round 21: Ch 5 (counts as dc + ch 2), skip the next 2 sts, dc in the next st, ch 2, skip the next 2 sts; repeat from * 18 more times. Sl st to the 3rd ch of the beginning ch-5. (20 dc + 20 ch-2 sps = 60 sts)
Rounds 22–34: Ch 5 (counts as dc + ch 2), dc in the next dc, ch 2; repeat from * 18 more times. Sl st to the 3rd ch of the beginning ch-5. (20 dc + 20 ch-2 sps per round)
You now have 14 mesh rounds, which measure 8 in (20.3 cm). The total height is 11.75 in (29.8 cm).
Rim and Strap
Round 35 (conversion round): Ch 1, sc in each dc and 2 sc in each ch-2 sp around. Sl st to join. (20 sc in the dc + 40 sc in the spaces = 60 sc)
Rounds 36–40: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Sl st to join. (60 sc) Fasten off.
The rim is 1.5 in (3.8 cm) deep, and the total height is 13.25 in (33.7 cm).
Mark the strap points: Lay the holder flat with the opening centered on the front. The strap attaches at the two side folds, which are sts 6–9 and sts 36–39 of Round 40. The two attachment points are 30 sts apart, exactly half of the 60-st round.
Strap Row 1: Join Color A in st 6. Ch 1, then sc in sts 6–9. (4 sc)
Strap Rows 2–60: Ch 1, turn, sc in each of the 4 sts. (4 sc)
The strap is now 15 in (38.1 cm) long and about 1 in (2.5 cm) wide. Make sure it isn’t twisted. Then sl st the last row to sts 36–39, working through both layers. Fasten off.
Sunburst Appliqués
With Color B:
Round 1: MR, ch 2 (does not count as a st), 12 hdc in the ring. Sl st to the first hdc. (12 hdc)
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. Sl st to join. (24 sc)
The center should measure 1.5 in (3.8 cm) across.
Round 3: Sl st in the same st as the join. Work 1 Sunburst Ray, skip the next sc, sl st in the next sc; repeat from * 11 more times. Work the last sl st into the joining st. (12 rays)
Each repeat uses 2 sts, and 12 repeats × 2 sts = 24 sts. Fasten off and leave a 12 in (30.5 cm) tail. The sunburst measures 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across from ray tip to ray tip.
Make All Pieces
- Color A: 1 body with the strap attached
- Color B: 4 sunbursts
The 16 in (40.6 cm) circumference is divided into 4 sections of 4 in (10.2 cm). Each section is 5 mesh units wide, and one sunburst is centered in each:
| Front (over opening) | Right side | Back | Left side |
| Sunburst 1 | Sunburst 2 | Sunburst 3 | Sunburst 4 |
5 mesh units per section = 4 in (10.2 cm) center to center
Each sunburst is 3.25 in (8.3 cm) wide, so a gap of 0.75 in (1.9 cm) of purple mesh is left between neighboring sunbursts.
Joining
Sew each sunburst on with its own Color B tail.
- Find the height mark: the top of mesh Round 27, which is 4 in (10.2 cm) above the start of the mesh. Pin Sunburst 1 with its center on this line, directly above the middle of the opening.
- Sew the outer edge of Round 2 of the center ring to the mesh posts underneath. Use small stitches through the dc posts, not the open spaces.
- Tack down each ray tip with 2 small stitches over a dc post or chain bar.
- Keep your tension relaxed. If you pull tight, the mesh puckers and the circumference shrinks.
- Add the other sunbursts at the same height, 4 in (10.2 cm) apart, center to center. Weave in all ends on the inside.
Checkpoint: After sewing, the body should still lie 8 in (20.3 cm) wide flat, and each sunburst should still be 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across.
Border
The opening edging is worked at the same gauge as the body: 15 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm).
Join Color A at the bottom right corner of the opening.
Edging Round 1: Work along each edge of the opening:
– Bottom edge: 16 sc, 1 in each unworked st of Round 8
– Side: 10 sc, 1 in each row end
– Top edge: 16 sc, 1 in each ch on the underside of the Round 19 chain
– Other side: 10 sc
Sl st to join. (16 + 10 + 16 + 10 = 52 sc)
Edging Round 2: Ch 1. Work sc2tog over the 2 sts at each corner (the last st of one edge and the first st of the next). Work sc in every other st: 14 on each long edge and 8 on each short edge. Sl st to join. (44 sc worked 1-per-st + 4 sc2tog = 48 sts) Fasten off.
Why the math works: Each edge of Round 1 has exactly 1 stitch per stitch or row of the gap, so the edging lies flat. In Round 2, each sc2tog takes away 1 stitch at a corner (52 − 4 = 48). This curves the four corners into a smooth oval. The edging covers 0.5 in (1.3 cm) all around, which leaves a finished opening of 3.25 in × 1.5 in (8.3 × 3.8 cm).
Final Blocking
- Wet the holder in cool water and gently squeeze it out. Don’t wring it.
- Roll it in a towel to remove the extra water.
- Stuff it with a rolled towel, about 5 in (12.7 cm) across, to shape the cylinder.
- Stand it on its base and pat the height to 13.25 in (33.7 cm).
- Flatten each sunburst and spread its rays out evenly.
- Pin the opening edging into a smooth oval.
- Let it dry completely, then take out the towel.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- [ ] Base is flat and 5.25 in (13.3 cm) across
- [ ] Body measures 8 in (20.3 cm) flat × 13.25 in (33.7 cm) tall
- [ ] Mesh has 20 dc and 20 ch-2 spaces in every round
- [ ] Rim is 60 sc for all 6 rounds
- [ ] Opening is 3.25 in × 1.5 in (8.3 × 3.8 cm) and centered on the front
- [ ] All 4 sunbursts have 12 rays and are 4 in (10.2 cm) apart, center to center
- [ ] Strap is 15 in (38.1 cm) long and not twisted
- [ ] All ends are woven in on the inside
Troubleshooting
- Base curls up like a bowl: Your tension is tight. Go up one hook size, or check that you made 12 increases in every round.
- Base ripples: You have too many stitches. Recount and make sure you have 60 after Round 5.
- Mesh leans or spirals: Join every round and start each round on the dc post.
- Opening is lopsided: You need exactly 16 sts in the gap and exactly 10 rows above it.
- Sunburst rays curl: Block them flat, or loosen the ch-5 at the start of each ray.
- Strap stretches: Use a cotton yarn with less give, or make the strap 6 sts wide and add 2 sts at each attachment point.
Care
Hand wash in cool water, or machine wash on a gentle cycle inside a mesh laundry bag. Reshape the holder and dry it flat.
Final Notes
Each measurement builds on the one before it. The 60-st base, 5.25 in (13.3 cm) across, sets a 16 in (40.6 cm) circumference. The opening is 4.25 in × 2.5 in (10.8 × 6.4 cm) before edging and 3.25 in × 1.5 in (8.3 × 3.8 cm) after. The mesh is 20 units around and 8 in (20.3 cm) tall, and the rim brings the body to 13.25 in (33.7 cm). Four sunbursts, each 3.25 in (8.3 cm) across, sit 4 in (10.2 cm) apart, center to center. If you check these numbers at every stage, the finished holder will match.
Happy crocheting!