Crochet guide
Bag and basket bases
Many bags and baskets are worked from the base up. The base is one of three flat shapes. A round base is a flat circle. An oval base is worked round both sides of a starting chain, with every increase at the two ends. A rectangle is worked round a chain as well, with its increases at four corners. When the base is big enough the increases stop, and the sides rise.
On this page 7 parts
The three bases
Stitch names on this page are United States terms, with the United Kingdom name in brackets.
| Base | How it starts | Where the increases go |
|---|---|---|
| Round | A ring, worked in rounds | Spread evenly round every round |
| Oval | A chain, worked along both of its sides | At the two ends only |
| Rectangle | A chain, worked along both of its sides | At the four corners only |
These are rules, not patterns. For the stitch counts of a real bag, follow a pattern.
A round base
A round base is a flat circle. How to crochet a flat circle gives the rule: every round adds as many stitches as the first round had. The circle stitch count chart gives the count for each round. If the circle ruffles or cups, Why a crochet hat comes out wavy, pointy or too big has the cure: a crown and a base are the same circle.
An oval base
An oval is two half circles with a straight piece between them.
- Make a chain. It will lie along the middle of the base.
- Work along one side of the chain.
- Turn the end. Put extra stitches into the last chain, so that the work turns round the end of the chain.
- Work back along the other side of the chain, and put extra stitches into the first chain to turn that end too.
- Go on in rounds. Work the straight sides stitch for stitch, with no increases. Put every increase at the two ends.
How many increases? Each end is half of a flat circle, so it takes half of the increases a circle takes in a round. In single crochet (UK double crochet) a circle adds 6 stitches in a round, so the oval adds 3 at each end, spread evenly across the end.
How long a chain? A longer chain makes a longer, narrower oval. The straight piece stays as long as the chain while the rounds add the same width all the way round, so the chain is about as long as the base's finished length less its finished width. For a base 12 in (30 cm) long and 5 in (13 cm) wide, start with a chain of about 7 in (18 cm).
A rectangle base
A rectangle is worked round a chain in the same way, but the turn is made at four corners. Work 3 stitches into each corner stitch in every round, and one stitch into every other stitch. A stitch marker in the middle stitch of each corner shows where the next round's corner goes. Turning corners shows the corner, and how a round is worked round the edge of a flat piece.
From base to sides
When the base is as big as the bag is to be, stop increasing. Rounds worked with no increases cannot grow outward, so they turn up and become the sides.
Some patterns work the first round of the sides in the back loops only. The loops left free show as a ridge that runs round the base and marks the fold. Back loop and front loop shows how.
A stiff base
- A smaller hook. A hook smaller than the yarn asks for gives a tight, stiff fabric.
- Two strands. A base worked with two strands held together is thicker.
- A bought base. A basket can stand on a ready-made base of wood in place of a crocheted one, with the sides crocheted up from it.
Where to go next
- Bag handles and straps, for the other end of the bag.
- Crochet rugs, which are often the same circles and ovals made large.
- How to crochet a flat circle, round by round.