Alpine Purse
I crocheted a little purse! Without a pattern! I've always looked at the alpine crochet stitch and wanted to try it out, so I finally did! A friend of mine, who loves books, recently graduated high school so I'm making a set of three book sleeves and (maybe) a bookmark for her. Keep a lookout for the rest of the projects on the blog soon.
Other than a rectangle scarf, this is one of the first things I've crocheted without a pattern. I'm so happy with how it turned out! To start, I did my foundation chain, turned and worked in the front loop only, then turned and worked in the back loop only to start an oval in the round. From there I worked the alpine pattern in the round until it covered the book I was using as template. To finish, I worked one round of single crochet and added a button loop.
At first, it was just going to be a book sleeve, but once I finished I decided it really needed a purse strap. For the strap, I copied the Summer Days Daisy Bag from All About Ami. It's a great free crochet pattern that I just finished making in the last few weeks (post coming soon!). The wooden button was an extra from a pajama shirt I made a while ago. I picked up the buttons in a little teeny shop in San Francisco over a year ago.
The purse was made with Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Frosty Green, and I held the yarn double (except in the strap) for an extra thick and padded bag. The yarn was from a friend who bought it but never ended up using it, so it was free for me!
As a finishing touch, I sewed on a leather patch with my friend's intial (first time sewing leather!). I got the leather from a Landmark Plant Co. in Southern California. They had the coolest leather working station with rivets, stamps, all colors of leather scraps and even keychains. I also made a "HANDMADE" leather tag, so keep a lookout for the special project that gets that patch.
You can learn how to do the beautiful alpine stitch here, at The Spruce Crafts. It is a fairly easy stitch once you get going - and the finished texture is so nice!
Project Overview: Alpine Purse
Pattern: My own! Used alpine crochet stitch.
Finished Date: 8/5/2023
Cost: $5 for leather patch
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Frosty Green (held double)
Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
