This plastic bag holder is a tall, sturdy tube in deep plum. A column of raised lilac puff-stitch diamonds runs down the front, and a little grape cluster sits under the rim. It hangs from a strap loop. You stuff bags in at the top and pull them out of an arched opening near the bottom.
The colors are plum for the body, lilac for the puffs, rim and berries, and olive green for the leaves and stem. The style is cottage kitchen: tidy and textured, and practical enough to use every day.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished holder is about 4.75 in (12.1 cm) across and 13.5 in (34.3 cm) tall. The loop rises about 3.5 in (8.9 cm) above the rim.
You start with a flat circle for the base and turn it up into a tube of joined single crochet rounds. A few short rows form the dispenser opening. Then you build the puff diamonds while carrying the lilac yarn inside the stitches. To finish, you add a lilac rim, an edging around the opening, a strap loop and the sewn grape appliqué.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 4.75 in (12.1 cm) diameter x 13.5 in (34.3 cm) tall; about 17 in (43.2 cm) including the loop
- Skill level: Intermediate (carrying a second color, puff stitches)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4)
- Hook: 4.5 mm (US 7)
- Number of pieces: 1 main holder, plus small sewn appliqués (3 leaves, 1 stem, 10 berries)
- Layout: Single tube; motifs centered on the front, plain back
- Circumference: 60 sts = 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Size before border: 13.1 in (33.3 cm) tall after Rnd 59
- Border depth: 2 lilac rounds, about 0.45 in (1.1 cm)
Materials
Choose a smooth worsted acrylic or cotton blend. Acrylic stretches less under the weight of the bags. Cotton gives crisper puffs but may grow a little with use.
- Plum (MC): 120 g, about 240 m (262 yd)
- Lilac (CC): 50 g, about 100 m (109 yd)
- Olive green (AC): 10 g, about 20 m (22 yd)
These amounts include a margin of about 20 percent, because carrying the lilac through the motif section uses more yarn than plain single crochet.
Tools:
– 4.5 mm (US 7) crochet hook
– Tapestry needle
– 8 stitch markers (one for the round start, the rest for motif positions)
– Scissors and a flexible tape measure
– Rust-proof pins, plus a rolled towel or cardboard tube for blocking
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- BLO – back loop only
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- rnd – round
- RS / WS – right side / wrong side
- MC / CC / AC – plum / lilac / olive green
Special stitch – Puff: (Yarn over, insert hook in st, yarn over and pull up a loop to single crochet height) 3 times, so you have 7 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 7 loops. A puff counts as 1 st.
Color change: Work the stitch before a puff until 2 loops remain, then finish it with CC. Work the puff in CC and close its final yarn over with MC. Always lay the color you’re not using across the tops of the stitches and work over it.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 16 sc and 18 rows = 4 in (10.2 cm) in MC sc, with CC carried inside.
Make a test swatch first. Ch 21, sc in the 2nd ch from the hook and across (20 sc), then work 20 rows while carrying a strand of CC. Measure the center 16 sts and 18 rows. The whole swatch should be 5 in (12.7 cm) wide.
Checkpoints:
– Base after Rnd 10: 4.75 in (12.1 cm) across, lying flat
– Body after Rnd 12: about 2.7 in (6.9 cm) tall from the base fold; circumference 15 in (38.1 cm)
– Each large diamond: 13 rnds tall, about 2.9 in (7.4 cm), and 7 sts wide, about 1.75 in (4.4 cm)
– Motif section (Rnds 13-57): 45 rnds = 10 in (25.4 cm)
– After Rnd 57: about 12.7 in (32.3 cm) tall
If your swatch or base is too big, use a hook 0.5 mm smaller. If it’s too small, use a hook 0.5 mm larger. Don’t add or remove stitches, because the motif positions depend on exactly 60 sts.
Base
With MC, make a magic ring. Join each rnd with a sl st to the first sc. The ch 1 at the start of each rnd doesn’t count as a st.
Rnd 1: Ch 1, 6 sc in ring. (6)
Rnd 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. (12)
Rnd 3: Ch 1, (sc 1, 2 sc in next) 6 times. (18)
Rnds 4-10: Ch 1, (sc in next X sts, 2 sc in next) 6 times, where X is the rnd number minus 2. Totals: Rnd 4 (24), Rnd 5 (30), Rnd 6 (36), Rnd 7 (42), Rnd 8 (48), Rnd 9 (54), Rnd 10 (60).
The base is a flat circle of 60 sts, 4.75 in (12.1 cm) across.
Body and Dispenser Opening
From here on, number the sts of every rnd 1-60, starting with the first st after the join. Place a marker in st 1. The dispenser opening sits over sts 50-60, so the center front of the holder is st 55.
Body Rnd 1: Ch 1, sc in BLO of each st around. (60) This turns the base up into walls.
Body Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in each st around. (60)
Opening rows (worked flat):
Row 3 (RS): Ch 1, sc in sts 1-49, turn. Leave sts 50-60 unworked. (49)
Rows 4-10: Ch 1, sc in each st across, turn. (49)
Row 10 is a WS row and ends at the st 1 edge. The gap is 11 sts wide, about 2.75 in (7.0 cm), and 8 rows tall, about 1.75 in (4.4 cm).
Body Rnd 11 (RS, closing round): Turn, ch 1, sc in each of the 49 sts, ch 11, join to the first sc. (49 sc + 11 ch = 60)
Body Rnd 12: Ch 1, sc in each sc and in each ch. (60)
Motif Section
Join CC at the start of Rnd 13. Carry it through every st of Rnds 13-57, including the plain rnds, so the fabric stays even. Every motif rnd has 60 sts.
Round types:
– Plain: sc 60.
– D1: sc 54, puff, sc 5. (puff at st 55)
– D2: sc 53, puff, sc 1, puff, sc 4. (puffs at 54, 56)
– D3: sc 52, (puff, sc 1) 2 times, puff, sc 3. (puffs at 53, 55, 57)
– S1+D3: sc 4, puff, sc 39, puff, sc 7, (puff, sc 1) 2 times, puff, sc 3. (puffs at 5, 45, 53, 55, 57)
– S2+D4: sc 3, puff, sc 1, puff, sc 37, puff, sc 1, puff, sc 5, (puff, sc 1) 3 times, puff, sc 2. (puffs at 4, 6, 44, 46, 52, 54, 56, 58)
Check: S2+D4 is 3 + 3 + 37 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 2 = 60 sts.
One diamond (13 rnds): D1, Plain, D2, Plain, S1+D3, Plain, S2+D4, Plain, S1+D3, Plain, D2, Plain, D1.
This makes a large diamond of 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 puffs centered on st 55. It also makes two 1-2-1 side diamonds, one centered on st 45 and one on st 5, level with the widest row of the large diamond.
Connector (3 rnds): Plain, D1, Plain.
Rnds 13-25: Diamond 1.
Rnds 26-28: Connector.
Rnds 29-41: Diamond 2.
Rnds 42-44: Connector.
Rnds 45-57: Diamond 3.
Cut CC at the end of Rnd 57, leaving a 6 in (15.2 cm) tail.
Rnds 58-59: With MC only, ch 1, sc in each st around. (60) Fasten off MC.
Border
The border covers the top rim, the edging around the opening and the hanging loop. The border gauge is the same as the body: 4 sc per inch (2.5 cm).
Top rim
Rnd 60: Join CC in st 1, ch 1, sc in each st around. (60: 31 front sts, which are sts 40-60 and 1-10, plus 29 back sts)
Rnd 61: Ch 1, sc in each st around. (60) Fasten off.
Why the math works: one sc in each st keeps the rim at the same 15 in (38.1 cm) as the tube, so it doesn’t flare or pull in.
Opening edging
Rnd 1: With RS facing, join CC with a standing sc in st 50 of Body Rnd 2. This st is free because Row 3 skipped it.
– Bottom: Sc in sts 51-60. (11, counting the standing sc)
– First side: 7 sc evenly along the row ends of Rows 3-9.
– Top: Sc2tog over the Row 10 row end and the first ch of Rnd 11, then sc in the underside of the next 9 ch. Sc2tog over the last ch and the Row 10 row end on the other side. (1 + 9 + 1)
– Second side: 7 sc along the row ends of Rows 9-3.
Join to the first sc. (11 + 7 + 11 + 7 = 36)
Rnd 2: Sl st in each st around. (36) Fasten off.
Why the math works: the 8 row ends on each side measure about 1.75 in (4.4 cm), but 8 sc would measure 2 in (5.1 cm) and ripple. Seven sc plus a shared sc2tog fit the side exactly. The two sc2tog stitches also round off the top corners into an arch.
Hanging loop
The back center is st 25. With MC and RS facing, join with a sl st in st 23 of Rnd 61.
Row 1: Ch 32, sl st in st 27.
Row 2: Turn, sc in each ch (32), sl st in st 22.
Row 3: Turn, sc in each sc (32), sl st in st 28. Fasten off.
The strap is about 8 in (20.3 cm) long and 0.6 in (1.5 cm) wide. It forms a loop about 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall.
Grape Appliqué
Leaf (make 3, AC): Ch 7. Starting in the 2nd ch from the hook, work sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc (5 sts). Work 3 sc in the last ch. Along the other side of the chain, work sc, hdc, dc, hdc, sc (5 sts). For a pointed tip, ch 2 and sl st in the 2nd ch from the hook, then sl st in the first sc. (13 sts + tip) Each leaf is about 1.5 in (3.8 cm) long. If you like, backstitch a center vein with a single ply of darker green.
Stem (AC): Ch 9, sl st in the back bump of each ch. (8) The stem is about 2.25 in (5.7 cm) long.
Berry (make 10, CC): Make a magic ring, ch 1, work 6 sc in the ring and pull the ring tight. Sl st to the first sc. Fasten off, leaving an 8 in (20.3 cm) tail. Tuck the starting tail inside the little cup so the berry rounds out. Each berry is about 0.4 in (1.0 cm) across.
Assembly: Sew the berries into an upside-down triangle of 4-3-2-1, about 1.6 in (4.1 cm) wide. Place the cluster on the upper right of the front, between the top diamond and the side, about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) below the rim. Sew the three leaves in a fan just above the top row of berries, overlapping the berries slightly. Curl the stem from the base of the leaves toward the rim and tack it in place. Sew through the outer layer only, so nothing inside catches on the bags.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends on the inside of the tube, running each one through at least 2 in (5.1 cm) of stitches.
- Mist the holder lightly with water.
- Slide the holder over a rolled towel or a cardboard tube about 4.75 in (12.1 cm) wide.
- Square up the fold at the base and straighten the diamond column so it runs straight up and down.
- Pin the opening into an arch and pin the rim so it sits level.
- Let it dry completely. Then flatten the leaves and press the berries gently into shape with your fingers.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- Base is 4.75 in (12.1 cm) across with 60 sts
- Every body rnd has 60 sts
- Diamonds are centered over the opening, at st 55
- Each large diamond has 16 puffs, and each side diamond has 4
- Carried lilac doesn’t show between the plum stitches
- Opening is about 2.75 in (7.0 cm) wide and lies flat
- Both rim rnds have 60 sts and the rim doesn’t flare
- Loop is centered at the back, at st 25
- Appliqué is sewn on securely and sits flat
Troubleshooting
- Lilac shows through: Tighten your tension slightly and keep the carried strand flat across the stitch tops.
- Diamonds lean: Joined rnds can drift. Recount and move the st 1 marker up every rnd.
- Puffs look flat: Pull the loops up only to sc height, and keep the plain rnds snug.
- Tube twists: Join with a sl st to the first sc, not to the ch 1.
- Opening gapes: Work 6 sc on each side instead of 7.
- Rim flares: Use a hook 0.5 mm smaller for the rim only.
Care
Hand wash in cool water, then reshape and dry flat over a rolled towel. Don’t tumble dry, because heat can flatten the puffs.
Final Notes
Everything follows from the gauge. At 16 sc = 4 in (10.2 cm), 60 sts give a 15 in (38.1 cm) circumference and a 4.75 in (12.1 cm) base. For the height, the first 12 rnds bring the body to 2.7 in (6.9 cm). The 45 motif rnds add 10 in (25.4 cm), and the plain and rim rnds finish the holder at 13.5 in (34.3 cm). If each checkpoint matches, the finished holder will too.
Happy crocheting!