A Knitted Mini Purse

I have finally finished another of my knitted gifts! What a relief as Christmas is just over a week away now. I am making two of these purses for my nieces (in different colours); the second one is not quite finished yet - I still need to do all the seaming and crochet edging. I am planning to tuck a few goodies in the purses as well - lip gloss, hair accessories, etc.

This was a fairly quick project but a lot more involved than the lace bookmark! I think most people would need to spend a couple of evenings on this to get it completed. I am pretty slow at sewing seams and crocheting so if you are speedy with both of those you might be able to get the whole thing done in one afternoon or evening. This is another gift that was practically free to make - the yarn had been in my stash for a long time and the button came out of my rather full button box!

Here are the basic directions for making the purse:

Yarn: I used Bernat Handicrafter Cotton; any worsted weight yarn would work. If you use a wool yarn, you could knit the purse up in a bit larger size then felt it.

Needles: 4 mm (size 6 US), 1 pair straight needles plus 2 dpns (for i-cord), 4 mm crochet hook for edging

Other: 1 decorative button

Cast on 24 stitches. Knit in stockinette stitch for 11", ending with a purl row. Starting on the next row, K2tog at the beginning and end of every knit row until you have one stitch remaining on the needle. Pull yarn through the last stitch to finish off.

To make the strap, knit a length of 3-stitch i-cord using the dpns (mine is about 20" long but you can make it however long you want!) There are instructions here on how to knit i-cord if you haven't done this before. It's super easy and a really handy thing to know how to do, I use it often in my little projects.

Weave in yarn ends and sew the side seams of the purse together, attaching the i-cord at the top on both sides (make sure the i-cord's not twisted before you sew it into the second side!)

I decided to do a picot edging around the flap and the top (inside) edge of the purse. You could just leave it plain if you want but I like the little something "extra" it gives the project. I am NOT a crocheter so don't let that scare you off, it's really easy! There are some basic directions on how to crochet a picot edge here if you need some help. I chained a few stitches down at the end point of the flap to create a little loop for the button. If you're not going to do a picot edging, you will need to make a little loop of either single chain crochet or i-cord to attach for a button loop.

Now, sew the button in place and you're done!

If these directions are as clear as mud, email me and I'll try and help you out!