This is a crochet pattern review of the Dafne Granny Stripe Bag pattern by designer Simply Melanie Jane. Review done by A Stitch Shy of Normal for EyeLoveKnots.
This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. If you make a purchase by clicking on them, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! Some links included for our Yarn Crafts and Coffee Yarn Shop.
Find the crochet pattern review below, click here to view the free bag crochet pattern or purchase the PDF on Etsy.
In a hurry? Pin this for later when you have more time.
It’s me, Abigail with A Stitch Shy of Normal.
I’m a sucker for a good bag. Right now in my craft room, where I’m typing this review, there’s several of those 3M hooks on the back of the door all full of various tote and market bags. I love them. Open and meshy, dense and sturdy, one color or a rainbow-full, doesn’t matter to me. I love them all. They can hold anything from a phone and keys up to a craft market full of goodies! I love them in all shapes and sizes.
So it’s no wonder that this Dafne Granny Stripe bag caught my eye when I was scrolling Ravelry, and then it jumped out from my favorites list when I looked for my next project for this summer. It’s colorful, and I could tell from the picture that it was likely made with one of my favorite spring/summer yarns, good old Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton. I’ll get more into my love for that yarn later on. Let’s just say it’s a classic for a reason and I was happy to see this designer apparently agrees!
I found this pattern a lot of fun to work up. It’s a repetitive stitch but with this gorgeous yarn it has a wonderful crisp definition and it’s a spin on the basic stitch. You can make it in an endless combination of colors (one of my favorite things about a pattern), and it uses simple stitches in super creative ways. I truly recommend checking it out, if you want a fashionable and practical bag that you certainly can’t find on the shelves in a store!
Visit with me on Instagram @astitchshyofnormal for all kinds of awesome crochet makes and inspiration!
What Materials Do I Need to Crochet a Granny Stripe Bag?
- 500 Yards of Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton (or a similar medium-weight cotton) in main color – that’s 85 yards each of two contrast colors. I used three skeins of Navy for my main and one each of Grass/Jade for my two contrasts.
- G6/4mm hook – I use Clover Amour
- Scissors and yarn needle for assembly
- Dafne Granny Stripe Bag Crochet Pattern – View the Free Pattern on the Simply Melanie Jane blog | Purchase the PDF on Ravelry | Purchase the PDF on Etsy
Material Notes:
After making this one, I would buy a 4th skein of the main color next time. I’m not sure what happened but I was playing yarn chicken to the extreme at the end, and had to use some of my cut-off tails to seam things together! Maybe I was leaving my tails too long on all the squares, I’m sure that can add up to quite a bit in total. 3 skeins of 24/7 Cotton should be more than the 500 yards needed, but like I said I bet all the tails add up. 1 skein of each contrast was fine though.
I originally planned to do it like the designer did, a neutral main shade with two pops of color. But my local store didn’t have enough in stock of any neutral I liked, so I ended up going for this deep blue, and I picked two coordinating greens for fun. And I’m very happy with how it came out! Imagine how cute this would be in just one shade, too! Instead of the colors being the star, it would allow the beautiful texture to shine (more than it already does in multi-colored of course).
I’m sure this would be gorgeous in most medium-weight cottons, but I personally would probably stick with this specific yarn in the future on this pattern. It’s just such a sturdy reliable yarn that has proven to hold up to things like bags and keep your item looking great. I’ve used it time and time again, and I still find myself reaching for it whenever I get an opportunity.
How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Granny Stripe Bag?
This is actually a slightly tough question for me to answer because I initially misunderstood part of the pattern and frogged back a few hours of work. I would have to guess that this might take someone 12-14 or so hours of work, and it took me slightly more than that having to make some time back. I got it done in a few weeks of casual stitching in the evenings.
Gauge & Measurements:
I did skip the gauge swatch this time but it’s provided as 4″ = 12 stitches and 16 rows.
I skipped it in this case for two reasons: one, I’m using the exact yarn the designer did, so that’s already more likely to turn out the same and would only be affected by my tension. And two, it’s a bag, so a slight difference in gauge adding an inch or two in size is not a big deal to me. As long as the pieces fit together, I’d be happy.
Checking this gauge to my finished project, I have about 12-13 rows in 4 inches, and 15 stitches. This is unstretched and unblocked, though, and this yarn has some good bounce, so these numbers are hard to pin down exactly.
How did this affect the finished bag? It’s meant to be 12″ high and 12″ across the bottom, and 5.5″ wide.
Mine is perfect on height but is wider, about 14.5″ across. And it’s more like 5.75″ across the bottom width. That makes sense with my gauge, I got pretty close but it’s a little wider than intended. And that does not hurt the effectiveness or look of a bag, so I’m happy with that result!
Pattern Notes:
Honestly, I’m very impressed by this pattern. It’s a stunning bag. Part of that is the 24/7 Cotton giving the stitches that beautiful definition, but the pattern has a lot to do with it too! The small touches like seaming a lot of the pieces together in the back loops to give clean lines, or using herringbone stitches for the main body to add both structure and texture, did a lot to make this pattern truly elevated.
I would suggest this pattern for more intermediate stitchers, though. It’s not always super clear exactly how you do things, like slip stitching the pieces together. There are pictures but to be completely honest, I wish some of the pictures explained things a little better. I was confused and I don’t think my joins look exactly the way they should, but I do like the look of mine anyway.
And I’m not proud of it but like I said, I was originally working the side panels wrong! The instructions about putting stitch markers at the center and then working the sides, plus my brain defaulting to what I thought a bag should be, meant I was working the sides as solid panels instead of leaving the gap for the granny squares! I suppose I thought the granny squares went on the outside edges instead of in the middle. I actually finished one whole panel and was a few rows into the second when I figured it out. And there is a picture demonstrating this in the pattern but I still didn’t catch my mistake.
So although those were still my own mistakes, I would not really suggest this pattern for a complete beginner. It would be slightly challenging. Maybe you’re up for a challenge and like to learn through a fun and difficult project, and in that case go for it!
I appreciated some of the small touches, like I said earlier. You work the bottom as double-stranded, which is minor but adds a lot of stability. I initially thought the herringbone double crochet was chosen for the look but I realized at the end that it adds a lot of stability to the fabric, and doesn’t really let it stretch as much as a standard double crochet would. The pockets are big and can hold phones or sunglasses pretty easily. The handles are worked as a strip and then seamed together for strength, a touch I wouldn’t have thought of but I love. There’s a lot of seemingly small choices made in this pattern that give away the thought that went into every piece.
I would make this pattern again without a doubt. I made some mistakes, I had some confusion, but I regret nothing and I want to make more of these. This bag has some serious carrying capacity! I could tell from the pattern pictures that it would, it has that nice wide base allowing for good volume inside. The base being double-thick allows it to hold more without stretching out too badly. The pockets add several inches of space on the outside, both sides! (These are of course optional but I think they’re worth adding.) It’s a great pattern with a beautiful result.
I am very happy I made this bag, and I will be checking out other patterns from this designer. They have a wonderful eye for detail and made this complex pattern approachable. This bag looks like I could have bought it in a store, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
What color combos would you use for this bag? Bright contrasting shades to shine on a summer day? Muted neutrals so it goes with your outfit for date night? Let me know!
Don’t forget to visit with me on Instagram @astitchshyofnormal for all kinds of awesome crochet makes and inspiration.
Join one of our awesome Facebook groups to share your creations, and see what others are up to!
– Yarn Crafts & Coffee Community
– DIY Home On Rockwood Lane
– Alexandra Lane Lifestyle
Leave a Reply