craftgrrl | knit purse (with pattern)

While I was visiting my girlfriend (the talented

cheshcan) last week, I knitted a purse. It's a seed-stitch clutch made out of Moda Dea's Ticker Tape yarn, which is usually $9 a skein, but I found it for about $2/skein on sale. I recommend you do that, too, if you ever use it.

I used #13 straight needles and approximately 1.5 skeins in Sunset, and Chesh lent me a cute heart-shaped button. I knitted a 12" strip over 20 stitches (in seed stitch, as I mentioned :). For the triangular side panels, I came up with the following:

CO 3.
Row 1: K, P, K.
" 2: P, K, P.
" 3: K+P in 1st stitch, K next stitch, P+K in last stitch - 5 stitches.
" 4: P, K, P, K, P.
" 5: K+P in 1st stitch, K, P* across, P+K in last stitch - 7 stitches.
" 6: P, K* to end.
" 7: K, P* to end.
" 8: P, K* to end.
" 9: K+P in 1st stitch, K, P* across, P+K in last stitch - 9 stitches.
" 10: P, K* to end.
" 11: K+P in 1st stitch, K, P* across, P+K in last stitch - 11 stitches.
" 12: P+K in 1st stitch, P, K* across, K+P in last stitch - 13 stitches.
" 13: K, P* to end.
" 14: P, K* to end.
" 15: K, P* to end.
" 16: P+K in 1st stitch, P, K* across, K+P in last stitch - 15 stitches.
" 17: K, P* to end.
" 18: P, K* to end.
Bind off.

Fold the 12" strip into thirds, leaving one end free for flap, and evenly whipstitch the 2 triangular pieces to the sides. Attach yarn at left-hand corner edge of flap (the purse should be upside down) and single-crochet 10 stitches evenly until about 1/2 way across. Chain 3, skip a space slightly smaller than your button, and continue to crochet across to end. Finish off. Reattach yarn at base of flap (where the short side of the flap meets the pouch of the purse) with right side out and sc up side of flap, across previous sc (4 sc in chain-3 space), down opposite side of flap, and evenly around the mouth of the purse. Finish off, weave in all ends.

Take a 12" length of yarn and 2" from top of purse mouth, sew button in the middle of the purse. Voila!

Since I freehanded the whole thing, it didn't come out perfectly, but I think I could make a second one that looks nicer/less lumpy, especially if I used a different kind of yarn. I'm an old hand at crochet, but I'm kind of new to knitting, so this is probably why it looks... odd. But there's the pattern if you'd like to try it! :)