Free Easy Crochet Backpack Pattern YouTube Video Tutorial

If you love Crochet Bags then you will love to make this Free Crochet Backpack Pattern! This Crochet Project for a Simple Backpack will have a Video Tutorial that will be especially helpful to a beginner crocheter. If you are a visual learner you can watch the step-by-step-video tutorial. For this drawstring backpack I chose to use a solid color to show off the beautiful texture on the main body of the backpack! I hope you enjoy making the free crochet pattern included in this blog post below, Happy Crocheting!

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Get a digital download PDF Pattern on in my Etsy Shop or Ravelry!
Watch the Video Tutorial on YouTube.

Pattern Description and Tips

This crocheted backpack pattern is an Intermediate Skill Level Pattern made with basic crochet stitches used in a slightly advanced placement.

The base of this drawstring backpack is made with single crochet stitches worked in the round to start with a flat circle. 

We will work this crochet backpack pattern from the center out and bottom up. The only seaming you will have to do is when you add the straps.

You will not turn in the pattern when making this crochet backpack so that the front of your work, or the right side will always be facing you. This is very important especially for the decorative stitches used in the body of the backpack. The seam will remain on the back of the bag and will be hidden surprisingly well in the decorative stitches. 

Although this cute crochet bag looks petite, almost like a mini backpack, it is surprisingly roomy and can fit all of your practical things and then some!

Leave a long tail so you have enough to weave in your ends when necessary.

if you love this free pattern be sure to check out all of my other crochet bag patterns!

Yarn Substitutes

I love cotton yarns and especially 24/7 Cotton which is a super sturdy cotton for accessories like this simple backpack. However, if you do not want to use 24/7 Cotton here are few great options for yarn substitutes.

• Vanna’s Choice
• Color Theory
• Re-Make
• Made With Love – The Cottony One

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Materials

• 5.00 mm Crochet Hook
• 4 Skeins of Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton in Beechnut [761-123AZ]
• #4 Worsted Weight Yarn – 744 yards
• Tapestry Needle
• Stitch Markers

Gauge

• First 9 Rounds of will produce a flat circle with a 4” diameter.
• If your gauge swatch is too big you need to go down a crochet hook size, if it is too small you need to go up a crochet hook size. 

Sizing 

• One Size: 13.5 inches at deepest point by 12 inches at widest point when fully assembled.
• Straps are 30 inches long each.

Stitch Descriptions and Abbreviations

• Chain Stitch – ch 
• Slip Stitch – sl st 
• Stitch(es) – st(s)
• Skip – sk
• Stitch Marker – SM
• Single Crochet  – sc
• Double Crochet – dc
• Center Single Crochet – csc – To create a csc, you will work your stitch under the front and back loop between the two posts of the stitch. (Also known as the waistcoat stitch.)
• Surface Slip Stitch – Surface Sl St – Pull up a loop in the designated stitch with working yarn on backside of piece, one loop on hook, *insert your hook into the next stitch or space, pull up a loop through stitch or space and through loop on hook, one loop on hook, repeat from * to end creating your sl st on the surface of your previously created stitches.
• Foundation Single Crochet – Fsc – Chain 2, insert hook into 2nd chain from hook, yarn over and pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), yarn over, draw through 1 loop, (2 loops on hook with 1 ch created), yarn over, draw through all loops (1 loop on hook, 1 foundation single crochet with chain at the bottom). *Insert hook to the bottom of the stitch you just made, it will look like the top or “V” of a stitch, yarn over, pull up 1 loop (2 loops on hook), yarn over, draw through 1 loop (2 loops on hook with 1 ch created), yarn over, draw through all loops;* repeat from * to * for desired amount of stitches.

Pattern Notes

• * Designates a repeat.
• Do not turn at the end of Rounds, use a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round to help with keeping the correct stitch count. 
• Rounds 1 to 26 are Sl St to join in the first sc st and then ch 1 to begin the next round, ch 1 does not count as a stitch.
• Rounds 27 to 52 are Sl St to join in the first dc st and then ch 2 to begin the next round, ch 2 does not count as a stitch.
• Moving from Round 27 to 28 your stitch count will increase. When working this next section the bag will lat flat for a significant amount of rounds, this is part of the design. Trust the process to so you get the unique shape of the backpack. 
• “sc 1” means to single crochet in the next stitch.
• “sc 2” means to single crochet in each of the next 2 stitches.
• “2 sc” means to single crochet twice in the next stitch to create an increase.
• “sc2tog” means to work two sc stitches together for a one stitch for a decrease.

Free Crochet Backpack Pattern

Round 1 – Ch 2, 6 sc into 2nd chain from hook. [6 sts]
Note: *Sl st to join and ch 1 on each round.
Round 2 – 2 sc in each st. [12 sts]
Round 3 – *Sc 1, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [18 sts
Round 4 – *Sc 2, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [24 sts]
Round 5 – *Sc 3, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [30 sts]
Round 6 – *Sc 4, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [36 sts]
Round 7 – *Sc 5, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [42 sts]
Round 8 – *Sc 6, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [48 sts]
Round 9 – *Sc 7, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [54 sts]
Round 10 – *Sc 8, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [60 sts]
Round 11 – *Sc 9, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [66 sts]
Round 12 – *Sc 10, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [72 sts]
Round 13 – *Sc 11, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [78 sts]
Round 14 – *Sc 12, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [84 sts]
Round 15 – *Sc 13, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [90 sts]
Round 16 – *Sc 14, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [96 sts]
Round 17 – *Sc 15, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [102 sts]
Round 18 – *Sc 16, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [108 sts]
Round 19 – *Sc 17, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [114 sts]
Round 20 – *Sc 18, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [120 sts]
Round 21 – *Sc 19, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [126 sts]
Round 22 – *Sc 20, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [132 sts]
Round 23 – *Sc 21, 2 sc in next st, repeat from* to end. [138 sts]

Rounds 24 to 26 (3 total rounds) – *Sc in each stitch to marked stitch, move marker to last stitch in next round, repeat from * to stitch marker for end of round, move stitch marker up to next round. [138 sts]

Round 27 – Ch 2, sk 1, dc in next, ch 3, sk 1, dc in next, *ch 1, sk 3, dc in next, ch 3, sk 1, dc in next, repeat from * until 2 sts remain, ch 1, sk 2, sl st to first dc. [138 sts]

Note: Round 28 also works its stitches in Round 26 like Round 27. You are creating two rounds in the same round.

Increase Round 28 – Ch 2, *(dc, ch 3, dc) in sk’d sc of Round 26, ch 1, (dc, ch 3, dc) in center sc of 3 sk’d-sc of Round 26, ch 1, repeat from * to end with last (dc, ch 3, dc) being placed in last sk’d sc of Round 26 instead of center sc of sk’d-sc, sl st to first dc created for Round 28. [276 sts]

Note: Round 29 works the ch-1 sts from Round 27 and is the only round to work ch-1 sts. The remaining rounds do not work the ch-1 sts from previous rounds and only work in the ch-3 loops. 

Round 29 – Ch 2, *(dc, ch 3, dc) in ch-3 loop 2 rows below through (dc, ch-3, dc), ch 1, sk ch-1, (dc, ch 3, dc) in ch-1 sp 2 rows below through (dc, ch-3, dc), ch 1, sk ch-1, repeat from * to end, sl st to first dc. [276 sts]
Round 30 – Ch 2, *(dc, ch 3, dc) in ch-3 loop 2 rows below through (dc, ch-3, dc), ch 1, sk ch-1, repeat from * to end, sl st to first dc. [276 sts]
Rounds 31 to 52 – Repeat Round 30. [276 sts]
Round 53 – Ch 1, *3 sc in ch-3 loop 2 rows below through (dc, ch-3, dc), sc in next ch-1 of previous round, repeat from * to end, sl st to first stitch. [184 sts]
Round 54 and 55 – Ch 1, sc around in each stitch, sl st to first stitch, finish off. [184 sts]
Round 56 – Ch 1, sc 10, *ch 3, sk 3, sc 20, repeat from * 7 more times, for a total of (8) ch-3 openings, sc 10, sl st to first st. [184 sts]
Round 57 and 58 – Ch 1, sc around in each stitch, sl st to first stitch, finish off. [184 sts]

Backpack Flap

From the last marked stitch in Round 58 count over 23 stitches and place a stitch marker. In the opposite direction count over another 23 stitches and place a stitch marker so that you will now have 46 stitches to work over to create the Backpack Flap.

Reattach your yarn in the marked stitch so that you will continue working your Row in the same direction as the Rounds with the right side facing.

Row 1 – Ch 1, sc across from SM to SM. [46 sts]
Row 2 – Turn, sk first st, csc in next, csc across. [45 sts]
Rows 3 to 15 – Repeat Row 2 with each row decreasing by 1 until you reach 32 sts.
Row 16 – Turn, sk first st, csc2tog, csc across. [30 sts]
Rows 17 to 25 – Repeat Row 16 with each row decreasing by 2 until you reach 12 sts, finish off. 

Backpack Body and Flap Trim

Reattach your yarn anywhere in a Round 58 stitch so that you will continue working your Round in the same direction as the Round 58 with the right side facing.

Round 1 – Ch 1, sc in each stitch around and row ends of Backpack Flap, placing 3 sc sts in the the bottom corners of the Backpack flap to avoid pinching, sl st to join, finish off and weave in ends. 

Backpack Straps – Make 2

Round 1 – Fsc 110, place SM in first and last st, 4 sc in base of last Fsc, place SM in 4th sc st, sc 109 by working in every base st of Fsc across, place SM in last sc, 3sc in same st as last st. [226 total stitches]

Note: There should be 110 sts from SM to SM on both sides and 3 sc between both sets of SM’s to create a half circle at each end.

Round 2 – Do not turn, work in a continuous round, 2 sc in each of next 3 sts, sc 110, 2 sc in each of next 3 sts, sc 110. [232 total stitches]

Note: Optional surface sl sl detail for Round 3, if you do not want to do this detail round, finish off at Round 2 with a sl sl to join. However, I would highly suggest doing the detail as it serves a dual purpose. While it adds some beauty to the straps it also adds structure to reduce stretching.

Round 3 – Surface Sl St between stitches of Round 1 and Round 2 down one side to end, follow curve and then surface back up the other side the same way until you reach the end, finish off and weave in your ends. 

Backpack Handle

Round 1 – Fsc 25, place SM in first and last st, 4 sc in base of last Fsc, place SM in 4th sc st, sc 24 by working in every base st of Fsc across, place SM in last sc, 3sc in same st as last st. [56 total stitches]

Note: There should be 25 sts from SM to SM on both sides and 3 sc between both sets of SM’s to create a half circle at each end.

Round 2 – Do not turn, work in a continuous round, 2 sc in each of next 3 sts, sc 25, 2 sc in each of next 3 sts, sc 25. [62 total stitches]

Note: Optional surface sl sl detail for Round 3, if you do not want to do this detail round, finish off at Round 2 with a sl st to join. However, I would highly suggest doing the detail as it serves a dual purpose. While it adds some beauty to the straps it also adds structure to reduce stretching.

Round 3 – Surface Sl St between stitches of Round 1 and Round 2 down one side to end, follow curve and then surface back up the other side the same way until you reach the end, finish off and weave in your ends. 

Assembly

1. Thread your straps through your backpack according to the diagram and reference for seaming locations. 
2. Seam your straps to the front of your backpack through the loop holes.
3. Then lay your backpack flat so that the opening is folded closed like an accordion with the back facing up.
4. On the bottom in the single crochet base it will pinch in. I put my straps inside that area, you may play around with different locations to customize your backpack.
5. Place your handle at the top center just behind the flap. Mine is approximately 3 Rounds down in the single crochet and 6 stitches apart. 
6. Do your best to seam all of your straps as seamlessly as possible.