Lady Violette's Vintage Violet Clutch Purse - Knitted,Felted, and Decorated with Vintage Buttons
This is a pretty little clutch purse, I hand knitted, felted and decorated with a few unique vintage buttons! It is very easy to make! I recommend it as a first knitting & felting project. I’ll be leading a group of knitting friends through make this purse in March. It requires only one ball Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky yarn. It’s a good way to use and enjoy vintage buttons you’ve collected.
The original pattern is by Leigh Radford, It is called “The Clutch You’ll Never Give Up” and is from the book “One Skein” available from Amazon.
The finished size is 10″ W x 6″ H. I’m making another in un-dyed natural yarn with mother-of-pearl buttons and documenting the process in photos as I go. I hope to post these for people to follow as they make the purse as it will help to understand the directions. The background is a poncho I knit and the bead necklace is also my design.
Of course I love all these shades of violet, lilac, lavender and rose! They are so feminine and uplifting! Lady Violette’s signiture colors! There are many shades of violet flowers in nature. I often see African Violets in this shade of violet. Did you know that bees love pinks and purples and are most attracted to flowers in these colors? I plant a lot of flowers in these shades in my garden to attract them. Butterflies love them too!
There is a knitting website called Ravelry, where you can see more renditions of this pattern as interpreted by other knitters. Just go there, type in the pattern name, search, and take a look. It is amazing to see the variety of looks people have made with this same pattern! You will get many ideas for colors and yarns you can use. The yarn I used is the same color and type used originally by the author. It comes in many colors. I suggest a visit to Leigh Radford’s site to check out her beautiful work and read her inspiring advice on artistic thinking and creative recycling! In the days of yore women worked on needlework together exchanging ideas and passing along skills. This is one of the best ways to learn knitting and sewing techniques. I learned this way from childhood – from my grand mother, mother, aunts, and grown-up friends. One more example of The Feminine Arts! The needlework skills are patiently and lovingly passed down from generation to generation. Leigh Radford calls her pattern “The Clutch You’ll never Give Up” and I recommend making it for several reasons: First, you can easily personalize it as I did using my signature color and vintage buttons and it is quick and easy to make. Second, if you learn to knit and sew through making projects that can be completed successfully without frustration, so that you learn to enjoy the process of making something, you will build technical needlework skills that you will never give up, too! Thus this is a great project for beginning level knitters. Thirdly, there are many uses for this little purse – it can be a clutch, or a makeup bag, or a needlework tool bag, or an art supply bag! I am so thrilled by it that I am making a second one that will look entirely different. I have also decided to line this bag because I want a very finished look. The pattern does not call for that but it can be done easily….A great little pattern and clutch purse which is an inspiration to set you off experimenting and creating your own unique accessories.
