Cool Summer Purse

It is HOT in Charlotte. I find I can't knit with my warm winter yarns, so am having fun with cottons. Went on a Yarn Shop Hop with knitty friends last month and we spotted a cool summer purse. This is my take on it, using various cotton yarns. Four of the colors are two strands of DK weight German yarn held together. Found some on sale and wound two once ounce balls from the two ounce skein. The colors were so gorgeous. Note the interesting drawstring opening.....three single crochets and then three chains and skip a couple of stitches. Makes a pretty finish.

For the drawstrings, I like to make two and thread them opposite ways so I can pull each end and get a neat closure. Twice the work, but I like the results. You can make an I-cord drawstring, but I like crochet ones just as well and they take about half the time. I simply crochet a chain the desired length and then do a slip stitch back. Thread the finished cord and tie it in a nice overhand knot.

For those of you who know me, you will be surprised that this is a NORMAL sized purse. I knitted little "pouch" bags for a couple of years, making untold numbers with fancy yarns. I could knit one with a single ball of expensive yarn in about five hours and have a little 'gem' when I was done. I gave them away, kept them, and sold them. This purse is the same idea, only it will hold more than a small wallet, cell phone, and keys!

Again, the photos will appear above in a separate post as I seem to have to upload from Picasa instead of within the blog. So I will describe the three views of the purse. I like the security of a drawstring top, so one view is of the purse closed. My friend Judy thinks the top treatment is lovely, so took a photo of the purse half opened. Then, for those of you who will want to try this treatment on your own purses, I took a closeup of the crochet drawstring top.