Hello hello!
Today I’ve got a brand new pattern for you guys, and this is a fun and easy one! It’s called the Lancaster Purse, and can be found here, or you can continue reading for more info + a pattern coupon code!
This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Any purchases made will help support Knits ‘N Knots blog content.
About
I’ve been designing some more complicated, tedious patterns lately, and I needed a fun and easy pattern to break up all the pattern math! So here we are – the Lancaster Purse. Like most of my patterns, the name comes from certain places surrounding me so that I can look back at a pattern name and be reminded of that time in my life! This purse name is named after a place in Red Deer, where I recently moved (all the way from Winnipeg).
I wanted a small purse that had the direction of the body rows running vertically, with a purse flap with a different stitch pattern that ran horizontally. And voila! This is what we ended up with. It’s quite cute, and could be paired with an endless variety of outfits.
I used this purse strap in my design that I found on Amazon. I’ve used it before for another pattern, my Oxbow Tote, which is another beginner friendly pattern if you’re interested in a circular market bag. I love the idea of interchangeable straps that I can remove and use on different bags. There are a lot of colours to choose from, too, you don’t have to choose the “coffee” colour like I did! There’s also black, brown, yellow, white, and different hardware colours to choose from. You can choose your favourite that you would get the most use out of! I’m just a sucker for brown, LOL.
I made this bag in a morning, and wrote the pattern and pattern listings and blog post all in the same workday, so I’m telling you – it’s a fast project! Fast, but possibly one of my cutest patterns.. it’s so versatile – yet textured and trendy – yet simple enough to wear with any outfit. Yes plz.
Construction
This pattern is written in a “crochet until your work measures x inches” kind of style. Gauge isn’t a big deal. It uses just over 1 skein of yarn. Check, check, check! There are a lot of perks about this bag! And it’is easy to alter; If you want to make it deeper, you can do this by adding more stitches to the foundation chain. If you want to make it wider, you can do this by continuing the repeat until your desired width. Boom. Done.
You can work a second colour for the purse flap – different from the body – for a fun, contrasting situation. I was thinking of working with Ecru for the body, and taupe for the flap, but I wanted to keep it monochrome in order to allow the flap texture to really shine. Ok – I need to stop saying “flap”.
This purse is crocheted in a rectangle, folded, crocheted down the seams, then the *ahem* flap is crocheted directly onto the body.
Like all my patterns, it’s written in US crochet terms, and the only ones you need to know are:
- Foundation half double crochet (I included a link to a video if you’ve never done it before)
- Single crochet
- Double crochet
- Half double crochet
- That’s all folks it’s really that easy
And another bonus – there is no seaming. The seaming is created by just crocheting them together. No seaming with a yarn needle!
Yarn
I used one of my faves.. you guessed it.. Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton. I wrote a review on this yarn and why I love it so much that you can read here. It’s especially great to use for making bags because it’s nice and durable. It gives really great stitch definition – you can see for yourself in the photos I’ve included in this post! I love the way the cluster stitch (the *flap*) looks in this yarn.
I chose the colour “Ecru” which I also used for my Peguis Cardigan, my Sunburst Beach Bag, and my Calypso Carry-All. Basically.. I love this colour. It’s a creamy off-white and it doesn’t get much more versatile than this. It gives me all the beachy, boho-y vibes that I’m all about.
If you didn’t know, 24/7 Cotton is a chainette-style yarn which means you won’t split plies as you’re crocheting! I love this type of yarn because you don’t have to worry about grabbing all plies in the yarn strand with your hook. Ever look back at your work and realize you missed one teeny tiny ply on your yarn-over a few rows back? Ya. It’s the freakin’ worst.
A suggested yarn alternative is Bernat Handicrafter since it’s so widely available. Really, any cotton yarn will work. I am a huge fan of Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, but I totally get it if you want to use what ya already got in your stash. Since it’s written in a “crochet to this measurement” style, you can use any yarn and adjust it to fit the dimensions, no problem.
I blocked my purse lightly when I was finished by pinning the flap to my blocking board and spraying with water. I used my hair dryer to dry it because I’m impatient and ain’t nobody got time for that.
This isn’t my first time using this yarn for a bag! Here’s 3 of them that you may remember from earlier this year:
Shop for this yarn here.
You can find the pattern in these places:
On my website here.
On Ravelry here.
On Etsy here.
(Use the code “PATTERN10” for 10% off all patterns)
I can’t wait to see your WIPs! Make sure to tag me @knitsnknotswpg and use the pattern hashtag #LancasterPurse so that everyone can see your projects!
Happy crocheting,
Janine xo
You May Also Like
