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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Knit Puffball Clutch

November 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

The holidays are upon us, and it’s officially handmade gift crunch time. If you want a super cute and relatively easy gift for a friend, I’ve got a knitting project for you. This clutch is going to be my new go-to accessory for wintry outings, and it dresses up or down with a lot of my wardrobe staples like a little black dress or a cute outfit with jeans and boots. Read on, even if you don’t knit, because I’ve also got a non-knitting variation on this project for those who aren’t confident knitters!

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Supplies

1 skein 100% wool yarn

1 magnetic purse closure

small amount of felt

yarn needle

knitting needles

scissors

fabric punch (I used a crop-a-dile.)

Directions

I used some yarn from my stash at home called Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed for this project. I used the recommended size needles, US 10.5.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Knitting Pattern

Cast on 32 sts

Rows 1, 3, 5, 7: P across

Rows 2 & 6: K across

Row 4: K2, (K4, turn, P4, turn) twice, K12, (K4, turn, P4, turn) twice, K12, (K4, turn, P4, turn) twice, K6

Row 8: K8, (K4, turn, P4, turn) twice, K12, (K4, turn, P4, turn) twice, K12

Repeat the above pattern until your work is 16 inches long. Cast off. My finished rectangle measured 9 inches wide by 16 inches long. Set aside at least two yards of extra yarn for sewing later on.

This pattern was inspired by the Puffball Pattern found in The Step-by-Step Needlecraft Encyclopedia by Judy Brittain. You can also do a simple stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row, etc.) if you’re not comfortable with knitting the puffballs or don’t like the look. 

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Non-knitting alternative

Hit up the thrift store. Buy a chunky dude sweater, shrink it in the washer, and cut out a rectangle that’s 9×16 inches. Ta da! (But really, remember to shrink it. Otherwise it will unravel everywhere.)

Moving on…

Once your hand knit or faux knit piece is ready, cut a rectangle of felt that’s 1/4 inch shorter on all sides than the knit piece. Mine was 8.75 x 15.75 inches.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Using a fabric punch or very fine scissors, punch holes all the way around your piece of felt.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

If you’re using the same kind of magnetic purse closure as I did, you’ll want to use your fabric punch one more time to punch holes where you’d like your closure to be on the felt. Attach closure as shown.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Thread some of your extra yarn onto your yarn needle. Align your felt over the wrong side/back of your knit piece. Sew the felt to your knit piece using the punched holes and natural gaps in your yarn, all the way around the whole rectangle. Since the yarn you’re sewing with is the same color as the knit piece, the sewing doesn’t have to be seamstress quality.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

When you’ve finished sewing and woven in all of your yarn ends, fold your clutch in half, letting the magnetic closure click into place. If you’re using some other kind of closure, now is the time to button it, snap it, etc.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Sew straight down the left and right sides of the clutch to complete it.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

Sew over the last inch a couple times before tying off to reinforce near the folded end. This is a good idea since most of your bag’s contents will find its way to the bottom as you use it.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

I love my knit clutch so far – it’s cute and it holds a ton despite its compact size. I’m also working on a cowl that uses a variation on this puffball knitting pattern that I’ll share with you soon.

How-to: Knit Bauble Clutch | HandsOccupied.com

PS: You can easily add a handle or strap to this bag if clutches aren’t your thing.

Filed Under: DIY Style, Free Patterns, How-to, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: accessories, bauble, clutch, Knitting, purse, wool

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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Craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. / #latchhookbook out now!
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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s c Happy Wrestlemania weekend, folks!!! 🎊 It’s coincidentally International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day today, so I’d be remiss not to share a first look at this project finished JUST in time to wear while I watch some rasslin’ on a pirate ship in a football stadium in Tampa! 💪🏻 I’m excited to watch tonight’s women’s matches the most. Eee!
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Pictured: A blond woman in a denim dress and glasses wearing a giant belt made with punch needle. The belt is made with wool in primary colors and was inspired by the WWE Universal Championship title belt. 
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This is just a preview - after jab 2.0 tomorrow (feeling grateful 🙏🏼), I’ll be editing together a vlog about the design process for this wooly waist cover. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to make some of your wilder craft ideas come to life. Stuff you’ll never find a pattern for, you know? I’ll finish editing that ASAP, but I might take a few days to edit if I feel like trash from 💉 and only want to watch wrestling and wrestling YouTube for a day or two. 😂
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#ipnrhd #punchneedle #wwe #wrestling #championshipbelt #wool #yarn #handmade #universalchampionship #universalchampion #rugmaking #wrestlingfan #wrestlemania37 #wrestlemania
A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-ins A look at the halo on the back of my wrestling-inspired punch needle project! It’s interesting to see how fuzzy the handspun beige yarn is compared with the primary color sections of @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. ❤️💛💙🤎 
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Pictured: The back of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool sits on the work.
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#punchneedle #woolrug #rugmaking  #kpambassadorsapr21 #sponsored #griefproject #handsoccupied #wrestlingfan #universalchampion #yarn #yarncraft #wool #needlepunch
Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishin Happy Easter / One week til Wrestlemania! Finishing up the punch needling part of this crazy @wwe inspired project by tonight. 💪🏻🧶 Anybody else have crafty plans for this fine spring day? 
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Pictured: A blond woman sits, smiling and holding an in-progress punch needle project inspired by the Universal Championship belt. Houseplants are in the background and there’s lots of sun. 
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#punchneedle #griefproject #handsoccupied #heidigustad #wrestlingcrafts #wwe #universalchampion #universalchampionship #wool #wooloftheandes #primarycolors #oxfordpunchneedle
I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back I'm finally starting to get some of my energy back from the past few weeks, and as I dip my toe back into production mode, the long-promised seamed sweater knitting YouTube series is at the top of my list. I've got FOUR versions of a simple sweater I've been playing with since last JULY to feature as a free pattern for folks who want to knit along during the series. Pictured is the first prototype for the series, knit in 2 colors of @knit_picks Mighty Stitch yarn. I imagine this soon-to-be short sleeved number will come in handy as an emergency Waldo costume or Christmas sweater. 🌲 
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I've got my own list of topics I think folks would like to see in a series like this: things like tips for construction, working with vintage patterns, how to seam as invisibly as possible, and more, but as always, I'd love to hear from you: What scares you about knitting seamed sweaters? What would be helpful to cover, especially since we'll be doing more long form video content. I get so much positive feedback on my series of 20 minute+ intarsia tutorials, so I'm using those as a starting point as I produce this series. Seamed sweaters using vintage or self-improvised patterns are one of my favorite things on the planet, so I'm eager to share some seamed sweater skills with y'all super sweet folks. 😉 
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Pictured: A red and white striped, short sleeved sweater knit in pieces that have yet to be seamed. They are laid out on a yellow and orange colorblock background and one sleeve is yet to be bound off. 
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#handsoccupied #seamedsweater #kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #waldo #waldosweater #wip #yarncraft #yarn #knitting #knittersofinstagram #heidigustad #vintageknitting #sweaterknitting
Work continues this evening on my absurd punch nee Work continues this evening on my absurd punch needle pro wrestling inspired championship belt project. I’ve finished most of the front pretty quickly thanks to the @knit_picks Wool of the Andes Bulky yarn I’m using. For now, I’ve got a couple more weeks until Wrestlemania, & I’m on track to finish this in time! 
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The biggest question I have is what to do with the “plates” - the open circles in the picture. Should I try to closely replicate the Universal Championship belt or go rogue and make it wool themed? Please advise in the comments. ☺️🧶🙏🏻🐑 
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Pictured: The front of an in-progress punch needle project. A wooden punch needle tool with navy yarn running through it rests on top of the work. 
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#kpambassadorsmar21 #sponsored #knitpicks #punchneedle #rugmaking #primarycolors #punchneedlerughooking #punchneedlelove #wool #wip #yarncraft #yarn #yarnaddict
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