Crochet miser's purse.

Interweave's Spin Off and Piecework have featured at different times a knit pattern for a miser's purse. Looking at the historical patterns, I've seen them for crochet as well. I decided that for a special somebody, I was going to use some of my handspun yarn to make them one. Because I didn't have enough to make the full sized one that I saw in the Victorian pattern book, I came up with my own  pattern.

The yarn weight I used was a ply of cobweb weight wool singles with size 10 crochet thread. It basically was size 10 crochet thread. I had two rings that are one inch in diameter. If you don't have them, you could crochet a ring that sized. It needs to be able to slide along the finished product.

Chain eight with a size H hook. Work a single crochet into each stitch. At the last stitch of the row, work three single crochet. Then work a single crochet into the back of each stitch of the chain row. At the beginning of the row, work two stitches into the first chain and slip stitch into the first stitch. Chain one. (16)

Work two stitches into the first stitch of the round. Work one single crochet into each stitch of the round until at the first of the three stitch increase at the middle of the round. work an increase into that stitch. Single crochet into the next stitch. Work an increase into the next stitch. Then single crochet into every stitch until the final stitch of the round. In the final stitch, work an increase then slip stitch into the first stitch of the round. (20)

Place marker. Begin working in the round with out slip stitching together. Single crochet into each stitch around until piece is four inches long. At the marker make a treble crochet. Chain three. Skip next stitch. Treble crochet into next stitch. single crochet into next stitch and continue around. (23)

On the next round, single crochet into the first treble crochet. Skip the first chain stitch. Single crochet into the second chain stitch. Skip the third chain stitch. Single crochet into the next treble stitch. Single crochet into the next single crochet and continue thus around.

Single crochet until piece is eight inches long. Bind off. Sew open end together so that it lies flat. One end will have a semi rectangular side and the opposite end will be rounded. Roll up pouch and slide rings on.

To use the miser's purse, slide both rings to one side of the hole and insert coins on one side. Then slide both rings to the opposite side of the hole, insert coins of a different denomination on the opposite side. The addition of the coins will keep the rings on the purse. To keep the coins in the purse, slide the rings until they meet their respective ends where the coins are.