Alyice on May 14th, 2009

How To Crochet A Purse

One day last year my daughter and I ran across yarn that reminded her of the military but with one unique twist, the purple matched her school colors. She asked that I buy it and make her something out of the yarn. My original intention was to crochet a vest, however, that attempt didn’t go over too well and so I asked what she wanted me to create. She replied, “a purse and a strap to carry my drumsticks”. “Seems easy enough,” I said. And so my venture in creating purses began. I started small by creating a few hand purses, then moved onto a bigger purse. To my surprise it turned out rather cute and it was so darn simple to make!

To create your own purse, you’ll need 1 skein of yarn (approximately 364 yards), one K-10.5 crochet hook, and about 2.5 hours—less if you’re fast.

The yarn I used was 100% acrylic. It was manufactured by Red Heart® and is worsted. It’s a “no dye” lot so you don’t have to worry about running out and not being able to match colors later. I chose a yarn that was dyed multiple colors. The one thing I don’t like about this yarn is that it’s got a squeaky feel to it and reminds me of nails going across a chalkboard but when it comes to projects like this, it’s the perfect choice because it’s very durable and great for beginners

To start your purse, grab a skein of yarn and tie a loop onto your crochet hook.

Next, crochet a chain of 40-60 single crochet stitches, depending on the length you want. The longer the stitches, the taller the purse.
Create 16 rows of double crochet stitches; depending on the width you want. The more stitches you make, the wider your purse will be. When turning the corner to come back around and start the next row, single crochet one stitch before beginning the next double crochet row. Make sure to start with the very first loop of each row and end with the very last loop of each row.
When you are done, you should have a crocheted rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half, then join the sides together by single crocheting through both sides to form a seal. Crochet around the bottom and both sides of the rectangle, leaving the top open. When turning the corner, single crochet two extra stitches to keep the corners from turning in.
Once you crochet the last side, you should be at the top. Single crochet each side of the top of the purse, leaving an opening.
Choose one side of the top of the purse to continue crocheting. This will be the fold of the purse. Double crochet 6 rows. This time however, don’t start at the first loop of each row. Instead, go in one or two loops so that as you crochet each row you develop a slight angle on both sides of the fold—sort of like what you see on the fold of an envelope.

Once the body of the purse is complete, create the strap.

Crochet a chain of 100-120 single crochet stitches, depending on the length of the shoulder strap you want. The longer the stitches, the farther down the purse will hang off your shoulder.
Create 1 row of double crochet stitches.
Go back around and single stitch the other side so that the shape holds. When you are done, your strap should have two single stitch sides and a double crochet middle.
Line one end of your strap to the back of the right side of the purse and stitch it onto the purse using a single crochet stitch. Once secure, tie it off with a knot.
Line the other end of your strap to the back of the left side of the purse and stitch it onto the purse using a single crochet stitch. Once secure, tie it off with a knot.

Congratulations, you’ve just created your very own purse!

Now, if you want to prevent things from falling out of your purse, you may want to invest in a thin liner. Turn the purse inside out, and sew the liner to the purse using quilting thread that matches the color of the yarn. The key here is to make sure that you thread halfway through the yarn so that the seams do not show on the outside of the purse. To complete the look, sew a button on purse so that the flap secures and prevents your personal items from flying out. You could also use some of the liner to create a fringe around the flap.

Oh, and as for that drum strap, I simply created a version of the purse above making sure that the width was just wide enough to hold the drumsticks and the length was just long enough to hold them. The problem, however came when I inserted the drumsticks. They kept falling through the bottom so I had to turn the strap/carrier inside out and single stitch the bottom until it created a seal, then I had to continue up the sides for about an inch so that the drum sticks would stop falling out.

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AlyiceEdrich.com
I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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