happy old 2: stoopid purses

I’m finally emerging from my comfortable little dark hole made of knit hats, and am cautiously stepping into the light of day with other accessories. It took me long enough. Now that we are officially about 16 or so days into summer, I finally realized maybe wool hats are not the best way to spend my time. Enter the purse.

For Brittany’s big 3-0 I made a navy blue boiled wool (felted) purse with fabric lining. Being the first purse I’ve attempted, I limped my way through it as best I could. The length of the bag is knit on the round, making a cylinder. Then I picked up one edge separately and knitted it off in a quick decrease to make a flat base. On the other end of the cylinder, I bound off about two-thirds and knitted the rest straight to make a flap. The strap was knit separately and joined later. With the body finished, I tossed it in some hot freakin’ water to felt. The felting process shrinks the item a bit but also seems to add structural integrity that works well for a purse. I still wanted to see some stitches and didn’t want too much shrinkage, so I pulled it out pretty quickly.


The liner is pretty dern cool. It’s sorta anime with angry pandas and little men dressed up like dinosaurs and ghosts with coconuts and other weird stuff. I do not get it at all, which is why I chose it, so if anyone can make sense of it please let me know. Is it from an actual cartoon, or is it just nonsense?

I sacrificed the plastic base of one of my fabric grocery bags and cut out a circle the same size as the purse. The circle got covered in fabric and sewn into the bottom of the purse, where it also secured the side liner down. The flap liner was separate, and I quilted it in with bright green thread to add a little more flair. I sewed in a magnetic snap and finished it off with a cool lookin resin button on the outside.

I won’t call it professional grade, but I think it turned out pretty cool.

Now onto purse number two:

My second prototype was very different. This one did not get felted cuz I used way too cool of a stitch to let it get all melty. This is a winding leafy vine stitch pattern that I knitted a big swath of, folded in half and seamed up the sides. Separately, I knitted another swath of black wool with a little stretch to it in a tighter gauge to serve as the liner. I wanted it to be tighter for stability, and to make sure things like keys wouldn’t jab through the fabric and tear holes. The two are seamed together to make sure they’re securely attached. The black part is a bit longer than the green, and bound off to make two straps sticking out of each side. The straps got wound around circular wooden handles et voila. Purse. I'm thinking it still needs a little something though, so I might weave in a black ribbin along the top or something.