Colourful Wayuu Bags to Crochet

Colourful, functional and fun – these striking crocheted Wayuu bags have the best combination of features! Using the technique of tapestry crochet, there are ten stunning bags to make, all in excitingly bold colourways and designs, with the characteristic woven shoulder straps and drawstring cords. Some of the bags are also embellished with pompoms and tassels. Using the traditional geometric patterns and shapes of the Colombian and Venezuelan Wayuu people, each bag is unique and you can make them in your own choice of colours.

Tapestry crochet uses just one crochet stitch and is an easy technique to learn, and a section at the end of the book shows you how to make the beautifully braided straps and drawstrings. The braided straps could also easily be made on their own as trendy belts for trousers and skirts.

Using very simple stitches, with easy-to-follow patterns and widely available 100% cotton yarns, these bags are too beautiful to resist - so pick up your yarn and hook and get started!

“Rianne de Graaf's Colourful Wayuu Bags to Crochet ticks a lot of boxes for me. For one, I have a thing about bags. Two, I have a thing about intarsia knitting and these bags are made using tapestry crochet, which is kind of like intarsia's crochet cousin. Finally (mostly) I am seriously coveting the flamingo bag on the cover! --- Yarn Geeks Newsletter, May 2019 (YarnSub)”

Inspired by the vibrant bags made by the Wayuu tribe, these tapestry crochet projects are bursting with colour! The book starts with Rianne's techniques for colourwork, carrying the yarn and creating the bases of the bags, illustrated with colourful step-by-step photographs. Then we're onto the ten projects, beginning with a simple hourglass pattern designed for people taking their first steps into tapestry crochet. After that you can move onto floral designs, geometric patterns, stripes and a fun flamingo bag. 

Recently received this book to review and have been constantly picking it up and gone through the techniques shown, very impressed with written instructions and pictures to ensure easy understanding. Great the way the author also gives the problem solving hints as well. Now have the cotton ready to try out the first project!

Love this book it's a pleasure to use, the patterns are great, it's well written and very easy to follow all the aspects of the bag making process.

I love this book. I have never crocheted over a bundle of yarns before and the step by step instructions and the photos that illustrate the techniques are brilliant. The author briefly explains the origin of wayuu crochet and then explains several techniques before you even see the patterns. The book has a beginner pattern and also more advanced patterns. Further on in the book the different techniques for braiding handles and drawstrings are explained. I particularly liked the section about using a kumihimo disc as I bought one a while back that I haven’t yet used. This is an excellent book that explains each step in depth so that even a beginner crocheter could follow it. I can’t wait to get started on my first project. 

Crochet bags with a difference.

Until recently I had barely seen any Wayuu bags. This beautiful book has ten examples to crochet. US terms are used but UK terms are noted. The instructions are clearly worded and the pictures and explanations of techniques are very precise throughout. Included in the book is an amazing section on making the shoulder straps for the bags using ply split braiding. It's fascinating. The only problem I have is deciding which design to crochet first. Highly recommended for more experienced crocheters. 

I adore the projects to crochet. I love the Wayuu bags, the projects have easy to follow patterns with step by step photographs to help you along the way. I recently started to crochet and would say this isn't a book for beginners, like me, however, I am going to aspire to make some of the projects when I have mastered the different stitches. A great book full of lovely projects. 

The colourful, geometric-patterned bags of the Wayuu people, who are native to Colombia and Venezuela, provided the inspiration for the 10 projects in Rianne de Graaf's new book. Start your journey of mochilas (Spanish for "backpack") with the Small Hourglass Bag designed with beginners in mind. Full-colour photos guide you step-by-step through the basic tapestry-crochet technique. Learn how to finish your bag with a woven shoulder strap and kumihimo-bread drawstring. Rianne also provides troubleshooting tips and advice on selecting cotton yarn and the appropriate size of hook.

I feel envious of Rianne! Imagine discovering an exotic form of crochet made by a tribe in South America - and which few people have heard of, let alone written about! She first saw Wayuu bags on Pinterest a few years ago, became enthused and wrote this book. The Wayuu tribe live in Venezuela and Colombia on the shores of the Caribbean. Their homes are basic huts, they sleep in hammocks, and they use mochila bags for storing their few possessions. Mochila is the general word for a shoulder bag made in tapestry crochet, and Wayuu is a sort of trademark for the bags made by this tribe - which can sell for £100! But it does take them 3 weeks to complete one.

These are sturdy duffle bags made in vibrant colours and striking geometrical patterns. They are worked in tapestry crochet, in dc over 4-6 strands of 4ply cotton. These carrying yarns lie along the top of the work, and colour changes are made by bringing a new one forward as the working yarn and letting the current one join the other strands.

The bags are finished off with a patterned shoulder strap and drawstring, and sometimes big tassels and pompoms. Traditionally the strap would be crocheted, or woven on a back-strap loom, but Rianne adds an international touch by using ply-split braiding, which originated in North West India, and was used as a neck decoration for camels! The drawstring is made from Kumihimo braid from Japan! Detailed instructions and several designs are given for both. But simple crochet can be used instead.

Rianne gives all the basic instructions for the tapestry crochet, including coloured charts for the designs, and step-by-step photos. She has lots of hints and explanations in her very readable style. There are 10 detailed patterns for bags, attractively photographed. This is quite a tricky technique; it must be said. The simple dc needs 'modelling', and patience is needed to handle the colour changes neatly, and not get all those balls in a tangle. The bag is worked in a spiral, so how to avoid a step at the beginning of a round? We are taught the art of 'staggering' to cope with this. I made a coaster for practice and am looking forward to making my own Wayuu mochila bag soon.

If you like a challenge and are intrigued by new crochet techniques, I would recommend Wayuu Bags to Crochet - as far as I know, it is currently the only book on the subject.

Rianne de Graaf discovered the colourful world of crocheted mochilas in 2013 and has specialized in making these wonderful creations ever since.

Crochet is not her only passion - Rianne also finds it very satisfying to pass on her knowledge to other people, so in 2014 she began running workshops on making mochila bags. One thing led to another and her company, RiannesHaaksels, was officially launched in 2015 in the form of a webshop. It was only a matter of time before she wrote her first book.

You can find her on Facebook and Instagram as RiannesHaaksels and her website can be visited at

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.