Spring Beauties are a woodland ephemeral that blooms in the forests of the Mid-Atlantic region where I live. The blossoms dance atop slender stalks: tiny, pale pink flowers, each of its 5 petals painted with darker pin striations scarcely visible to the unassisted eye. I was inspired by these tiny flowers (one of my favorites since I was a girl) to design a small purse that would have their timelessness, femininity, and romance.

Because the bags are quite small, the knitting goes quickly, making them the perfect choice for a gift-knitting project: the romance and delicacy of the flowers make Spring Beauties the obvious choice for a bridal bag, a place to keep and store treasures from that special day. For the traditional bride, imagine a classic, creamy purse with same color flowers, all beaded with silver-lined white beads. Or, for the bride with a bolder, less conventional sensibility, imagine a white purse with boldly colored flowers, or make a purse as bold as a wedding bouquet of gerbera daisies: a pink purse with hot pink, orange, and bright yellow blossoms …

Click on the Additional Details tab for more information about dimensions, yarn amounts, materials, and bag kits that include everything you need to complete this project.

Finished Dimensions
7” (17.5cm) wide across the front/back at bag bottom
5” (12.5cm) wide across the front/back at bag top
3” (7.5cm) deep
6” (15cm) tall

Difficulty Level
Intrepid Easy: Requires knowledge of knitting and purling, knitting in the round on double-pointed and circular needles, some hand-sewing.

Gauge
Pre-felted gauge: 20 stitches and 28 rounds = 4” (10cm) in St st with a double-strand of worsted weight yarn.

Materials
Spring Beauties Hardware Kit is Available at store.nonipatterns.com and Includes:
5” (12.5cm) classic purse frame in shiny nickel
12” (30cm) rectangular purse chain
6 Noni 16mm bag feet
6 x 9 in sheet of stiffener

Yarn Requirements
140 yds (128m)
2 yds (1.8m) green for long stem (1 flower) (A)
4 yds (9m) for flower petals (1 flower) (B)

Other Materials
Size 8 (5mm) 16” (40cm) circular needles for the bag
Size 6 (4mm) double-pointed needles (set) for flowers. Use smaller needles for smaller flowers.
Sharp sewing needle
Stitch markers
Paper hole punch
Locktite Superglue Extra Time Control clear-drying glue to glue bag into frame
A large-eye sharp darning needle and 26 gauge brass beading wire to wire flowers (optional)

Pictured Samples
All pictured samples were made in Stonehedge Fiber Mill’s Shepherd’s Wool. Lilac bag with Spring Green flowers, Light Turquoise bag and flowers with Lime stems, Spring Green bag with Lilac flowers.