Purse Description
This is the purse I designed while thinking of all of the people during this pandemic who have done more in less time, put a tasty dinner on the table from a nearly empty fridge, helped kids do homework on one side of the table and “walked” into zoom boardrooms from the other side of the kitchen table. I thought of all the child-care, pet-care, general family care that gets done around everything else that needs to get done. I thought of how we have had to laugh while crying sometimes during the last year. I thought of the holidays we didn’t get to spend together. This pretty purse is for you. This purse is the elegant, whimsical, special bag that says, “You deserve something special. I’m thinking of you. I appreciate what you do. You matter to me.”

This is the purse for any day, the “for no special reason and all the reasons” day, for Mother’s day, birthday. It’s for your one-of-a-kind sibling, friend, parent, child, co-worker, boss, companion, spouse, grandparent, assistant, life-saving doctor, angel nurse.

And it’s a project that doesn’t take that much yarn and not too much time, and it’s for any shape and size person: in other words, it is guaranteed to fit.

See the Amazing Grace Complete Kit for a hardware, yarn, and beads and thread package in my favorite, curated colorways. Or put your own color combinations together at The Noni Store.

Pattern Difficulty Level
The Difficulty Level is Intrepid Advanced Beginner to Intermediate: This project requires knowledge of casting on, knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing using multiple methods for different effects, knitting in the round using two different colors on circular and knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, binding off using a 3-needle bind off, and some hand-sewing to complete the finishing process.

Pre-felted Gauge
20 sts and 28 rounds = 4” (10cm) using a single-strand of yarn in St st on a US 9 (5.5mm) needle or needle size to obtain gauge

Yarn Requirements
The pictured purses were created using Stonehedge Fiber Mill’s Shepherd’s Wool (heavy worsted weight; 100% merino wool; 250 yds [229m] 4 oz [110g] skein).

Amazing Grace Handbag
125 yds (114m) of A. Pictured purses: Black or Granite (A)
125 yds (114m) of B. Pictured purses: White or Sun Yellow (B)

Handbag Handle Cover
4 yds (3.6m) of B, C, or desired color. Pictured purses Hot pink (C) or Sun Yellow (B)

Pretty Posies
Each Solid-colored Pretty Posy requires approximately 13 yds (12m) of (C). Pictured purse uses Hot Pink (C).

Each Bi-colored Pretty Posy
4 yds (3.6m) for flower center of B. Pictured purse uses Sun Yellow (B)
9 yds (8.2m) for 5 flower petals of A or C. Pictured purse uses Granite (A) or Pewter (C)

Needles and Other Materials
• 2 US 9 (5.5mm) 16” (40cm) circular needles for purse
• 1 US 6 (4mm) set of double-pointed needles for making the handle cover and the pretty posy flowers
• 6 locking stitch markers, one of a different color. Two markers are for the bag, to mark the purse side seam
and the different colored marker to indicate the beginning of the round. The remaining 4 markers will be used
as holders when making flowers
• 1 Noni Elegant Purse Frame (available in antique brass)
• 1 Noni Renaissance Purse Chain (antique brass)
• Sharp tapestry needle to weave in ends
• Sewing needle and nylon beading thread to sew the purse into the frame and to decorate it
• Seed Beads (8mm) in coordinated colors to finish and decorate the purse
• Locktite Super Glue Extra Time Control to glue the purse to the frame

Approximate Felted Dimensions of Amazing Grace
Width at top of the frame: 6” (15.25cm)
Height from center bottom to frame apex: 7.25 - 8.25” (18.5 - 21cm)
Bag bottom at widest part: 9” (23cm)