Are you looking for a classic but easy project? This clutch is the perfect crochet project for a rainy weekend, in total it took me about eight hours to make. And it’s the perfect eye-catcher to level up any outfit.
To get started, you’ll of course need the yarn – I used around 200g (slightly less than one skein) of Hobbii’s Ribbon yarn in the colourway 02 Natural White. It’s a bulky weight tape yarn made from 100% cotton. Additionally, I used a 6.0mm aluminium crochet hook, however with this yarn you could most likely use any hook you like as Ribbon is a very smooth yarn that glides over the hook easily.
In addition, you’ll need a magnetic snap button (or any snap button) as well as a chain for the clutch, I used a 40cm chain that I ordered from Amazon some time ago.
You won’t need many other additional tools, just a tapestry needle and optionally a few locking stitch markers.
The stitches used for the purse are triple v-stitch (3 SC Shells separated by two chain spaces) and a few rows of single crochet. The triple v-stitch is just shells of three single crochets and then skipping two chains. In the chart you can see how the stitch is worked up.
As the main body is worked in the round, you don’t need to worry about any single crochets on the borders. For the cover of the clutch you will find another chart further down.
Creating the body of the purse
To get started, chain 36 plus a turning chain. Then single crochet along the chain and instead of turning your work to continue working into the single crochets you just created, you’ll crochet back in the other direction into the opposite side of the chains. If you’re not sure whether you’re accidentally adding or skipping stitches, adding a stitch marker to both ends of the chain can help. Now you have created the setup for crocheting in the round and you should have a total of 72 stitches to work into.
Now it’s time to start with the triple v-stitches. Create a 3sc shell, skip two stitches, create another 3sc shell, skip two stitches again and repeat until you’ve crocheted around the entire round; following this repeat you should end up always working the 3sc shells right above the previous shell (so into the middle stitch of each shell). By continuing to work along one side of the body of the purse, turning your work and working along the other side of the body, you’ll be able to work your way up in a spiral until you’ve done a total of 16 rounds.
Crocheting the cover
Now that the body is finished, it’s time to move on to creating the cover for our purse. For this you’ll no longer crochet in the round; instead you’ll work flat and turn your work after each row to crochet back along the stitches you created in the previous row.
In the chart as well as in the written instructions you can see how the cover is worked up. In each row you’ll reduce by two stitches (one on each side) by using a decreasing number of single crochets on the borders. So you single crochet 3/2/1 stitches, skip two stitches, 3sc shell across, skip two stitches, single crochet 3/2/1 stitches. For the final three rows, you’ll make use single crochets and skipped stitches to form a decrease. Now it’s already time to weave in the ends with a tapestry needle.
Finishing touches
While it is certainly optional for this pattern, I still recommend blocking. I steam block most things, mainly because I am impatient and don’t want to wait a day or even longer for my finished object to dry. Simply pin your clutch onto your blocking mat and go over it with a garment steamer (or even a steam iron on medium heat) and let it dry for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps especially for the clutch cover to lay flat and to prevent it from twisting or leaning towards one side.
Once all of this is finished, all that’s left to do is to attach the chain (or whichever type of purse handle you want to use, you could even use I-cord for this) and to sew on the snap button. I used a 12mm magnetic snap button from the craft store and attached it using white thread and a sewing needle.
And that’s all there is to it. Congratulations – you created a unique accessory that’s sure to draw some attention and that allows you to carry all your essentials for any occasion. If you create your own version, I would love to see your finished items! Please tag me @cablesandcrochet if you share them on Instagram. Of course, you can also contact me there for any questions you might have about the pattern or any techniques used for it.