Designed by Lilycobweb and published as part of the ’Twelve Days of Craftmas’ on LittleFire’s blog

The Holly and Ivy purse is a versatile item, making a perfect gift bag for a pair of earrings or a ring. A dozen of them would look great as Christmas tree decorations, or they can be filled with cinnamon and orange-scented cottonwool to create a seasonal aroma in your house or your car.

This takes a little over an hour to make, trust me. If you know basic crochet stitches like the half-treble, treble and slip-stitch, you’re good to go! Study the pattern and try it out in any old double-knitting yarn to ensure you have the general idea. This is worked in circular rows, increasing and then decreasing, and then increasing again for the wide frill at the top. You can do this intuitively, watching the increases and deciding when it’s time to shrink, decrease for a bit until the neck is narrow enough and go nuts with the increases again for two rows. That brings you to the last two rows, one of shell stitch (very easy), another finishing row with a fine-thread green double-crochet edging to make the shells look pointed like holly leaves.

All year round. I make (and sell) an even tinier version of the yuletide one. The pattern for both is the same, the yarn thickness giving the different sizes. Pictured below, the teenytiny one is less than an inch long and is made in two strands of fine multicoloured crochet cotton, finished with 3mm satin or organza ribbon.

These are the cutest things and very quick to make. If you are planning well ahead for next Advent season, make the required number in many colours, pin them to a long, 6mm wide swathe of ribbon, and you have a lovely Advent calendar. Don’t forget to fill them up with surprises! Customers often ask me to put brooch backs on these, as they make an unusual and pretty corsage.