# Pastel Garden Sunburst Granny Tote Free Crochet Pattern
If you can make a granny square, you can make this bag — and I mean that. Thirty little sunburst flower squares in the prettiest pastels, joined with a crisp white lattice, finished with a lacy eyelet collar and a beaded tassel. Every square is its own tiny garden, and carrying the finished tote feels like carrying a bouquet that never wilts.
I love a project that works up in pocket-sized pieces. Make a few squares on your lunch break, join them on the weekend, and suddenly you have a farmers-market-ready tote that turns heads. Cotton yarn gives it real structure too — this is a bag you will actually use, not just admire.
What You’ll Need
- Worsted or aran weight cotton yarn:
- Bright White — 350 yards
- Ivory or Cream — 300 yards
- Lavender — 60 to 70 yards
- Rose — 60 to 70 yards
- Mint — 60 to 70 yards
- Buttercup — 60 to 70 yards
- Peach — 60 to 70 yards
- (Total: 950 to 1,050 yards / 870 to 960 meters)
- US G-6 / 4.0 mm hook for motifs and body
- US E-4 / 3.5 mm hook for the handles (firmer fabric)
- 3 wooden beads, 12 to 16 mm, for the tassel
- Tapestry needle, stitch markers, scissors
- Optional: small piece of plastic canvas for base support
Finished size:
- 14 inches wide by 13 inches tall, with a 10-inch handle drop
- Gauge: one finished sunburst square through the white round = 3.5 inches / 9 cm square with the 4.0 mm hook
- Body gauge: 16 dc by 8 rows = 4 inches / 10 cm
The Pattern
Sunburst Motif (make 30)
Use buttercup or peach for the Round 1 center, any one pastel for the Round 2 petals, then ivory and bright white as written. Scatter the pastels freely — aim for 6 squares each of lavender, rose, mint, buttercup, and peach. Beginning ch-3 counts as dc. Join each round with a slip stitch.
Round 1 (center): Make a magic ring. Ch 3, work 11 dc into the ring. Join with sl st to top of beginning ch-3. Pull the ring closed tightly. (12 dc)
Round 2 (petals): Join your petal color in any stitch. Ch 3, dc in the same st. Work 2 dc in each st around. Join. (24 dc) — this doubles the count and creates the petal bloom.
Round 3 (ivory): Join ivory in any stitch. Ch 3, dc in the same st. Dc in each st around, and in every 6th stitch work (dc, ch 3, dc) to form a corner — 4 corners total. Join. (28 dc, 4 corner spaces)
Round 4 (ivory): Ch 3. Dc in each dc around. In each corner space work (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc). Join. (44 dc, 4 corner spaces)
Round 5 (white): Join bright white. Ch 1. Sc in each dc around. In each corner space work (sc, ch 1, sc). Join and fasten off. (52 sc — 11 sc per side plus 4 corners)
Weave in ends as you go — it saves a mountain of finishing later. Block each square to 3.5 inches.
Joining the Squares
Join with bright white using single crochet through the back loops only, holding two squares wrong sides together — this makes the clean white ridge. Work 11 sc per side, adding an extra sc into each corner pair.
- Front: Join 4 squares across by 3 down (12 squares)
- Back: Same layout (12 squares)
- Sides: Two columns of 1 by 3 (6 squares total)
Seam front + side + back + side into a continuous tube, open at top and bottom. The tube is 10 squares around.
The Base
With bright white, worked flat:
Row 1: Ch 49. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and across. (48 sc)
Rows 2–14: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each st across. (48 sc each row)
Border: Ch 1. Sc evenly all around the rectangle, working 3 sc in each corner, spacing so the round totals 110 sc. Join.
Attach the base to the body: with wrong sides together, line up the base border (110 sc) with the bottom edge of the square tube (10 squares x 11 sts = 110 sts). With bright white, sc through both layers all around. Join. (110 sc)
Eyelet Top Band
Worked in the round in bright white on the top edge (110 sts around).
Round 1: Join white at the top edge. Ch 3. Dc in each st around. Join. (110 dc)
Round 2 (eyelet): Ch 4 (counts as dc + ch-1). Sk 1 st. *Dc in next st, ch 1, sk 1 st.* Repeat from * around. Join to the 3rd ch. (55 dc, 55 ch-1 spaces)
Rounds 3–5: Ch 3. Dc in each dc and each ch-1 space around. Join. (110 dc)
Round 6 (picot trim): Ch 1. *Sc in next 2 sts, work a picot (ch 3, sl st in first ch).* Repeat from * around. Join and fasten off. (110 sc, 55 picots)
Handles (make 2)
With the 3.5 mm hook and bright white:
Row 1: Ch 9. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and across. (8 sc)
Rows 2–90: Ch 1, turn. Sc in back loops only across. (8 sc each row) — this makes a strap about 24 inches / 61 cm long.
Fold the strap in half lengthwise and sc the long edges together into a rounded cord (or leave it flat for a wider strap). Fasten off with a long tail.
Attach the handles: mark two points about 4 inches / 10 cm apart, centered, just below the picot trim on the front panel. Stitch each strap end firmly to the inside of the band, sewing through several rows for strength. Repeat on the back. The handle drop is about 10 inches / 25 cm.
Beaded Tassel
Wrap lavender and ivory yarn together around a 4-inch / 10 cm card about 20 times. Thread a strand under the top of the wraps and tie tightly; slide the loops off the card. Wrap a strand several times around the bundle about 0.75 inch / 2 cm below the top to form the neck and knot securely. Cut the bottom loops and trim level. Thread the top ties up through the 3 wooden beads, tie the tassel to a corner of the eyelet band, knot firmly, and hide the ends.
Sophie’s Tips
- Lay out all 30 squares and photograph the arrangement before joining — once you start seaming, you will forget your perfect color scatter.
- Keep your join tension relaxed so the corners stay square and the bag hangs evenly.
- Cotton stretches under weight, so if this becomes your everyday carry, slip a plastic canvas insert into the base to hold the shape.
Have fun watching those little sunbursts bloom under your hook!
