Enjoy working up this free crochet Santa Bag! This little drawstring bag is perfect for holding small gifts or treats. Plus, it fits nicely in a stocking too!
This Santa Bag is the second pattern in our Christmas in July 2023 event! Stephanie of Grace and Yarn and I have joined together again this year to bring you four new, holiday-inspired crochet patterns this month!
One new pattern will be released on one of our blogs every Thursday in July. Be sure to head to our Christmas in July 2023 post for all the details and links to the other patterns released this month! Last week, Stephanie released the cutest and softest Gingerbread House Plushie!
Anyway, back to the Santa Bag! This little drawstring bag is worked up in rounds of single crochet stitches. Once the bag is worked up, the belt buckle is added at the end using surface slip stitches. The drawstring is also crocheted separately and then inserted into the holes at the end.
This bag is currently unlined, but a lining can be added after if you’d like your bag to have one!
If you’re looking for a way to make a holiday gift a little extra special this holiday season, putting it into a handmade bag is sure to do the trick! This crochet Santa Bag is perfect for holding small holidays gifts and is sure to help you check off names on your gift list this year.
Remember to like Loops and Love Crochet on Facebook and join the Loops and Love Crochet Group for sharing your finished projects! I’d also LOVE it if you followed @loopsandlovecrochet on Instagram!
If you like crochet video tutorials, check out (and subscribe to) my Loops and Love Crochet YouTube Channel!
PIN the Santa Bag crochet pattern to your favorite Pinterest board to save it for later!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. This is done at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Loops & Love Crochet!
The Santa Bag crochet pattern is available for FREE on this website. If you’d like an ad-free, printable PDF version, you may purchase it for a small fee from my Etsy or Ravelry shops. Thank you so much for supporting Loops & Love Crochet!
Materials:
- Worsted Weight (#4) Yarn – Cotton or acrylic yarn will work for this project. The bag pictured here was made with WeCrochet/Knit Picks Dishie in Fiesta Red, Black, and Bumblebee. You’ll need approx. 120 yds of yarn in total. Most of the yardage is in red, with only about 20 yards of black and just a couple yards of yellow.
- 4 mm crochet hook
- Yarn needle to weave in ends.
Stitches Used:
- Ch – chain
- Sl St – slip stitch
- SC – single crochet
- BLO SC – single crochet in the back loops only
Finished Size:
- When laying flat, this bag measures 5” wide x 7” tall.
Gauge:
- Gauge is not critical for this pattern to turn out, however, for reference, 2 inches square is approximately 9 rows of 10 SC stitches.
Important Notes:
- Joined Rounds– This bag is made in joined rounds. At the end of each round, you will be joining the last stitch of the round to the first one with a slip stitch. Then you will chain 1 and start the next round in the first stitch, which is the same stitch as the join. To keep more seam more hidden and from traveling much, be sure to pull the joining slip stitch and the chain 1 nice and tight. Chain 1 stitches do not count towards stitch count of each round.
- Back Loops Only – All of the single crochet stitches for the body of this bag are worked in the back loops only (BLO). However, slip stitch joins are worked through both loops.
- Color Changes – To change colors, complete the last single crochet in the first color up until the last yarn over. Yarn over with the new color and pull through last step of the single crochet stitch. So, your SC will go like this: insert hook into last stitch in the first color, pull up a loop, yarn over with the new color, pull through all loops on hook. Now you will be working in the new color until you change colors again.
- Color Change Tip – When you change colors from red to black, you can either cut the yarn, work over your yarn tail, and then add the color back in when needed again. Or just drop the red yarn and leave it attached on the inside of your bag so you can pull it up later when it’s needed again.
- Video Tutorial – I’ve created a video tutorial to show how to make the surface slip stitches to create the belt buckle on the bag. Surface Slip Stitches Video Tutorial HERE!
The Pattern
Round 1: In red, ch 24, 2 SC in 2nd ch from hook, SC in next 21 sts, 4 SC in last stitch. Continue around so you are working on the other side of the chain. SC in each stitch across, 2 SC in the last stitch (this will be in the same stitch as your first 2 SC of the round). Join with a sl st to first SC, ch 1. (50)
Rounds 2-10: SC in each stitch around, join with a sl st to first SC, ch 1 (50)
*At the end of round 10, change to black yarn in the last SC of the round, join, ch 1. Drop the red yarn, leaving it attached for pulling up later, or cut the yarn and work over the tail.
Rounds 11-14: SC in each stitch around, join with a sl st to first SC, ch 1 (50)
*At the end of round 14, change to red yarn in the last SC of the round, join, ch 1. The black yarn will not be needed again so it can be cut, and the tail secured by working over it for the next several stitches.
Rounds 15-23: SC in each stitch around, join with a sl st to first SC, ch 1 (50)
The stitches of the next round will create the holes the drawstring will pass through.
Round 24: Ch 2, skip first 2 sts, SC next 3 sts, *ch 2, skip next 2 sts, SC next 3 sts. Repeat from * around, join, ch 1 (50 sts including SC and chain sts)
Round 25: SC in each stitch around, work 2 SC stitches into each ch 2 space, join, ch 1 (50)
Rounds 26 – 31: SC in each stitch around, join, ch 1 (50)
Do not ch 1 after round 31. Fasten off and weave in all ends.
Continue to the instructions below to create the belt buckle on your Santa Bag.
Belt Buckle Instructions
The belt is created using surface slip stitches using the yellow yarn. There is a video tutorial for this step HERE. First, find the center of the belt. Start the surface slip stitches a couple stitches over from the center so that the middle stitch is in the center of the belt. For the bag pictured, first 5 surface slip stitches were made across the top of the belt, then 4 stitches downwards, 5 stitches across the bottom of the belt, and finishing with 4 stitches back up to where the stitches started. Fasten off and weave in ends inside the bag.
Continue to the instructions below to make the drawstring for closing up your Santa Bag.
Drawstring Instructions
In red yarn (or a color of your choice), make a chain long enough to go around the bag with a little extra for short ends to tie into a knot. For the bag pictured, a starting chain of 50 was used. Starting in the 2nd chain from your hook, work slip stitches into the 3rd loop (back bump) of each stitch across. Fasten off, weave in ends.
Weave the drawstring in and out of the holes around the bag starting in one of the center holes. The ends may seem short to tie, but when you draw the strings in, they’ll be long enough.
To close the top of the bag, pull the ends of the drawstring to cinch up the top of the bag. Then tie a knot at the top to secure it so the items inside don’t fall out.
You are all finished! I hope you had fun crocheting this festive Santa bag! Enjoy filling it with treats or gifts and giving it to someone special, or adding it to your holiday décor!
If you enjoyed working up this pattern, you also may like the Drawstring Christmas Tree Bag that is also on the blog and in our shops!
**Want to be kept in the loop? Be sure to like Loops and Love Crochet on Facebook and join the Loops and Love Crochet Group! Don’t forget to follow @loopsandlovecrochet on Instagram! Remember to tag Loops and Love Crochet when you post your finished projects on social media! I’d love to see them! **
*You may make and sell any items made from my patterns, but please link back to my blog or Loops & Love Crochet as the designer. Please do not copy this pattern or photos and share as your own, in part or in whole. Instead, link back to the Loops and Love Crochet blog (especially when selling items you make from my patterns). Thank you!