Sand Bucket Backpack Crochet Pattern: A Perfect Summer Accessory

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Sand Bucket Crochet Backpack - design by Kind Of Knit

Even though every season of the year brings something wonderful, I love summer. This is the time for vacations, adventures and of course, going to the beach!

And what trip to the beach will be complete without a totally cute, light and easy to wear crochet drawstring bucket bag? I had to have one and so I decided to make one. Here it is, Sand Bucket Backpack, a perfect crocheted summer bucket bag!

The Inspiration

This fun crochet bag had more than one inspiration for it.

First of all, I love Caron Cotton Cakes yarn and I keep on making things with it and always want to make more.

I actually used this yarn to make another summer bag, Cambria Dream Beach Bag, which is the second inspiration for my new project as I wanted it to have a matching smaller bag.

Cambria Dream Beach Bag designed by KindOfKnit.com

I also love backpacks and wanted to crochet one forever, but I didn’t want it to be complex or involve buckles or other such things, so I decided that a drawstring bucket bag will be a perfect solution.

And, I asked my subscribers to vote on my next project and the backpack won!

The Stitch

I wanted this crochet bucket backpack to be fun and quick to make. I wanted it to be easy and breezy like the fresh air by the beach. I also wanted the fabric of the bag to be dense enough to hold all the small accessories like glasses, lip gloss and wallets to safely stay inside.

So, I went with the double crochet (DC) for the bottom of the bag and single crochet (SC) for the body of the bag.

I made the design to be worked in a round so there would be less seams to sew and less yarn tails to hide.

I used the I-cord technique to create the shoulder straps of the bag. To avoid complicated pieces like buckles but also make the straps resizable, I used the shoulder straps as straps as well as ties to keep the backpack closed when worn.

Sand Bucket Crochet Backpack - from Kind Of Knit

The Yarn

The yarn that I used for this colorful crochet bucket bag is one of my favorite yarns of all time, Caron Cotton Cakes from Yarnspirations. This yarn is a blend of cotton and acrylic and it’s a perfect combination of sturdiness and practical wear, as well as softness and ease of work.

And of course, it comes in totally gorgeous colors, especially some beachy colors that I adore.

For this design I went with Beachglass and Aqua Breeze that work so well together and give the backpack a fun and breezy summer bag look.

By using this yarn I knew it will make this drawstring summer bag sturdy, easy to take care of, and fun to wear around.

And the colors make it so reminiscent of the fun times by the beach, building sand castles and enjoying fun in the sun!

The Hook

For this project I used my favorite hook in my favorite size for working with a worsted (weight 4) yarn. I always go for my size J, 6mm hook from BQueen Collection.

This hook is so comfortable and light and it’s design just makes me excited by looking at it. It’s well made and the size 6mm makes it great to work with this weight of yarn. I also like how smooth the head of the hook is and it glides easily in the cotton yarn.

Even though yarn labels for worsted yarn usually call for size 5.5mm, I find that for me, a slightly bigger hook lets me make more comfortable stitches, especially when working with a cotton yarn that tends to have less give than wool or acrylic yarns.

In the pattern, I provide the gauge so you can see if the 6mm will be good for you or if you should stay with a 5.5mm hook.

The Design

The design of this summer crochet drawstring backpack is fun and playful. It’s also meant to be easy and fun to make, using only basic stitches, worked in a round and marrying gorgeous beach colors that will make you smile.

The basis of this backpack is a classic bucket bag and, if you ever made a hat, this design will be a walk in a park for you to make.

I wanted this bag to be fun, easy to make, with no complicated pieces like buckles or clamps. At the same time I wanted it to be adjustable and for you to be able to make the straps longer or short for the way you like to wear your backpack.

So, to make the straps adjustable, I used the I-cord technique to create long shoulder straps that are threaded through the top of the bag, serving as shoulder straps and the ties to close the bags at the same time.

Just pull the straps at the front of the bag to make them shorter or pull them at the back to make them longer, tie them at the front and you are ready to go!