Huggy Chenille Bag · Crochet Pattern

We need to talk about velour/chenille yarn. Like, we seriously need to discuss it right now. I don’t know about you, but this yarn has been wavering between being the love of my life (it looks gorgeous when it’s crocheted up tightly, for example, just look at those bags) and my mortal enemy (the fluff, omg, the fluff) for a while now.

Not so long ago I over-ordered for a sponsored campaign and ended up with a shedload of velour yarn that I haven’t used, mistakenly thinking that it would be a good idea to use for a blanket but instead of getting crocheted it just ended up sitting in my yarn shelves looking sad. Pretty, but sad.

However, chenille yarn does make spectacularly good bags (if they’re crocheted tightly) so, as a crocheter who adores making bags and has a colossal amount of velvet filling my shelves, I thought I’d design a very simple, very demure, very classic and VERY ✨Y2K-vibes✨ bag that will only take you an hour or so to make.

All you need is a couple of balls of chenille yarn held double, a hook and a bit of patience and you’ll end up with a really dense, satisfying handbag that you can customise as you wish. How cool is that? This bag is compact but also big enough to fit in a stand-sized smartphone, makeup, a paperback, your keys… You’ll manage to stuff them all in! Be careful though because you’ll want to make one in every colour of the rainbow. I really love the texture that working single crochet with yarn unders makes – combined with this velour yarn it looks like a sea of squishy bobbles – and you’ll stroke this bag all day long, trust me.

At A Glance: The Huggy Bag Confident Beginner
Materials & Tools	Yarn: 2x 100g balls Super Bulky Chenille / Velour yarn (approx. 240 m total) Hook: 6.0 mm Notions: Magnetic snap bag fastener, yarn needle, scissors, stitch marker
Size	7.5″ wide x 6″ high (19 cm x 15.5 cm)
Technique	Yarn held double, worked bottom-up
Time to Make	~1 to 2 Hours
Gauge	11 sts x 11 rounds = 10 cm / 4″ in sc (yarn under)
Key Texture Secret This pattern uses Single Crochet worked “Yarn Under” rather than yarn over. Combined with the velour yarn, it creates a gorgeous, dense sea of squishy bobbles that give it that perfect Y2K aesthetic.

Easy Chenille Handbag Tutorial · Free & Beginner Friendly

Pattern · Huggy Chenille Bag · Crochet Pattern

Base Layer

Foundation: Holding your yarn double, chain 40 and join to work in the round. Ensure you do not twist your chain before joining. Leave a tail of approximately 60 cm for closing the bottom of the bag. Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.
Body: Work 14 rounds of single crochet, ensuring you use the yarn-under technique throughout.
Final Round: Work 1 slip stitch into every stitch around the top edge. Bind off and weave in your ends.
Closing the Base: Flatten the bottom of the bag so the stitches align. Sew the base closed using your preferred method (a slip stitch seam or a simple whip stitch using your starting tail).

The Strap

Foundation: Chain 51, leaving a 30 cm tail for sewing.
Construction: Skip the first chain. Work 1 row of single crochet into the remaining 50 chains. Chain 1, turn, and work 1 more row of single crochet.
Attachment: Break the yarn, leaving a long tail. Position the ends of the strap on the inside edges of the bag and attach securely using a yarn needle.

Finishing Touches

Sew a metal snap fastener to the center of the inside opening of the bag. Your project is now complete!

If you loved this free pattern, please consider donating and sharing your finished project so I can see your work and spreading the word.

Happy crafting,