Pattern: Lined Purse

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General Information

This pattern is the third practice pattern of my course “Learn to Crochet Simple Style”. With this pattern you can practice the half double crochet, or hdc. The purse itself is made in ribbing by crocheting into the back loop of stitches. In this pattern you will also find a description of how to put in a zipper and a lining.

Skill level

Beginner: know how to do half double crochet, single crochet, slip stitch, chain stitch and a bit of sewing skills.

Abbreviations

Hdc: half double crochet

Hdc inc: half double crochet increase, make two hdc st in same st

Hdc dec: half double crochet decrease; yarn over hook, insert hook in 1st st, yarn over hook, pull yarn through st (3 loops on hook), yarn over hook, insert hook in 2nd st, yarn over hook, pull yarn through st (5 loops on hook), yarn over hook and pull yarn through all loops.

Sc: single crochet

Sl st: slip stitch

Ch: chain stitch

Bl: back loop

Notes

You can make this pattern as an “any yarn, any gauge” pattern if the finished size is not important to you. If you want to get the same size as my purse please check the gauge that is stated and compare it to your own gauge. To get the same size you need to have the same amount of rows and same amount of stitches in a 4” by 4” measurement. If you have more stitches/rows take a crochet hook that is bigger than you’ve used for your first attempt. If you have less stitches/rows take a crochet hook that is smaller than you’ve used the first time.

Finished measurement

Body of purse:  21x11 cm (width x height)

Gauge: 17 st and 11 rows in 4”by 4”

Materials

Yarn:  Zeeman Royaal, worsted weight, 241mtr/100gr, 1 ball

Hook: 3.5 mm

Darning needle

Sewing needle and sewing thread

Cotton fabric,  a piece of approximately 11 cm by 23 cm or as big as your purse is going to be

Button

Zipper (20 cm or approx 8 inches)

Pattern

For this pattern, all stitches are made in the back loop of the stitch unless otherwise stated.

Ch 32

1) Ch2, (counts as hdc throughout), hdc in 3rd st from hook and in each st. Turn. (33 hdc)

2) Ch2, hdc in first st through bl (hdc inc), hdc in bl of each st, hdc in 2nd ch of turning ch as last stitch throughout the pattern. Turn. (34 hdc)

3) Ch2, hdc in next st and each st till last st. Hdc inc in last st. Turn. (35 hdc)

Repeat row 2 & 3 three more times or until you have increased to 41 hdc. Turn.

4) Ch2, hdc in bl of next st and each st till end of row. Turn (41 hdc)

Repeat row 4 four more times. Turn.

5) Ch2, hdc in bl of next st and until last two st of row. Hdc dec over last two st. Turn. (40 hdc)

6) Ch2, hdc dec over next two st, hdc in each st till end. Turn. (39 hdc)

Repeat row 5 & 6 three more times until you have decreased back to 33 hdc. Turn.

Sl st through each full stitch (back and front loop) and in top ch of ch2.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Attach your yarn into one of the bottom corners (the flat side, the flap of the purse should be pointing upwards), ch1 and sc once or twice (just divide them evenly) into the row ends to make a nice border.

Fasten off, weave in ends.

Fold the bottom border upwards and make sure that at the sides 13 stitches are laying next to eachother and 6 stitches are free to belong to the flap of the purse. Pin the sides to make it easier for crocheting the sides together.

Attach yarn in bottom corner, ch1 and sc through both layers at the sides (13 sc), sc in the 6 st of flap, sc in same st to turn the corner, sc along row ends of flap, sc in middle row of flap, ch a couple of st to make a loop that fits over your button, sc in same row and continue along the other half of the purse in the same way as stated in this paragraph but in reverse order.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Further assembly of the purse

This post only contains written steps, the phototutorial is available here.

11)    Buy a zipper that is about 1 inch longer than your purse opening.

22)    Open zipper and line up the top stop at one side of your purse opening and the zipper puller on the other side of the purse opening.

33)    Pin the zipper to the crocheted fabric, keep both sides of the zipper at the same height.

44)    Stitch the zipper in place with needle and thread by hand using a back stitch. 

55)    Measure the height and the width of the purse part, add 1.5 cm or 0.5 inch seam allowances to all sides. Cut fabric.

66)    Fold fabric with right sides together and stitch the sides together with a sewing maching. Press open the seam allowances and clip corners.

77)    Fold over the seam allowance at the top of the lining and press it with the wrong sides of the fabric together.

88)    Pin your lining inside the purse against the zipper fabric. Keep a bit of distance between the fabric and the zipper teeth to avoid catching of the fabric whilst using the zipper.

99)    Sew your lining onto the fabric of the zipper with the slip stitch. You take a bit of the zipper fabric and after that you take a bit of the layer of fabric that lies against the zipper fabcric. In this way you will not see any stitching on the lined inside.

110) Take your button and sew it in place with a bit of yarn or thread on the ouside of the purse. Make sure that it is placed at the right height so that the chain loop you’ve made goes easily over the button.