This pattern was inspired by the beautiful scalloped shapes of vintage evening bags. A shiny yarn and sparkly beads will give a luxurious evening bag, a matte yarn and wooden beads will give a casual boho purse; the possibilities are endless! Instructions are given for using either one color of beads, or using four colors to shade the scallops as in the pictures. This pattern is knit flat and then sewn up the sides of the bag. A simple I-cord handle completes the purse.

Yarn: 170-200 yards (155-180meters) of worsted or DK weight yarn

Needles: U.S. size 5 straight needles if using worsted, U.S. size 2.5 straight needles if using DK, one DPN or circular needle of same size as straights.

Beads: 2126 round beads to fit the yarn; If using four colors: Color A (opaque gold) – 604 beads, Color B (clear gold) – 694 beads, Color C (clear blue) – 596 beads, and Color D (clear purple) – 232 beads

Gauge: 3-4 sts per inch for a 6-8” wide purse, 6-8 sts per inch for a 3-4” wide coin purse; it’s not super important to be exact for this pattern :)

Techniques Used:
Pre-stringing beads
Knit stitch (garter stitch)
Slipping beads between stitches
Short rows
I-cord

While I say the gauge isn’t super important, a tighter gauge will hold your purse’s shape better with the weight of the beads. Unless you are going for a very particular size purse, however, you can feel free to mix whatever yarn and needles to get a good firm gauge. As a good rule of thumb, decide how big you want your purse and pick your beads and yarn based on that, then pick needles that give a good gauge.