How to Crochet a Church Purse

A crochet purse will showcase your craftsmanship at church.

Crochet hobbyists will show off their abilities by making a purse for church. A small purse holds cosmetics and is easy to drop in a diaper bag to reduce the number of items you must carry into the sanctuary. Experiment with different ply yarns and number of rows to adjust the bag size, and create several using different colored yarn to match every church dress in your wardrobe. Experienced artisans will complete this project quickly, while amateurs will gain valuable skills attempting this pattern.

Things You'll Need

• Size H crochet hook
• 65 yards worsted yarn
• Straight pins

Instructions

Purse Body

1. Create the base by starting with a single chain stitch.

2. Chain-stitch 21 loosely half-double crochets in the second chain to form one complete row of stitches, better known as a round, and turn by inserting your hook into the last-completed round and drawing your yarn through.

3. Repeat the round until the body of the purse is approximately 10 inches long by 21 chain stitches wide. At this point, the purse will appear to be a small envelope with no flap.

Purse Flap

1. Create the top flap by repeating the first half-double crochet used on the purse body with 21 chain stitches. Do not pull the last loops through to complete the stitches in the initial round.

2. Repeat the half-double crochet round and draw through all the half-double crochet stich loops. Decrease the number of stitches by three in each of the subsequent rounds, so that the flap resembles an 7-row inverted triangle.

3. Add a final row with 2 half-double crochet stitches. Draw the loop through both stitches and pull to fasten off.

4. Fold up the bottom edge of the purse and pin about 1/2 inch before the top decreasing. Sew side seams together and remove the pins.

5. Make two 8-inch long chains and fasten off. Sew one end of the first chain to the top point of the flap. Pull the flap down over the purse and sew the tie in place where the tip of the flap rests on the purse front. Weave in any yarn ends.

References

• Frugal Haus; Crochet Cosmetic Bag; 2007

Resources

• Dummies; Crocheting in Circles; Susan Brittain and Karen Manthey