“It is amazing to me how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished, as they all are… . They all paint tables, cover screens and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”
—Mr. Bingley, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 8

Self-effacing Jane would never have made Mr. Bingley a miser’s purse to attract his romantic attention, as a more forward young lady might have. Once engaged, however, it would have been entirely appropriate for her to knit him a monogrammed purse with their initials on the front and the year of their marriage on the back. With fashionably masculine silver beads, Mr. Bingley’s Miser’s Purse is typical of a gentleman’s miser’s purse of the time. The small coin purse was intended to fit in a pocket, averaging between 31⁄2 and 41⁄2 inches long when folded in half. Silver coins were stored in one side and gold in the other. In a dimly lit carriage or shop, having one square and one rounded end simplified finding the correct change.

Individual pattern for sale here: http://www.interweavestore.com/mr-bingleys-misers-purse

Chart PDF available here: http://www.needleworktraditions.com/charts-illustrations-...