A Vintage Purse to Crochet Pattern

Frequent PieceWork contributor Galina Khmeleva came across the delicate vintage purse, shown above, made of fine real silver and gold or gold-colored threads in an antiques store on one of her many trips to teach Orenburg lace knitting. Even though the silver is now tarnished, one can tell that this purse—with its lacy fabric and fancy two-tone design—was made for special occasions. The dealer from whom Galina purchased the purse had no information about it. Because we know that handwork using real silver threads began to disappear near the end of the nineteenth century, this purse may well be more than a hundred years old. I have re-created the purse here, using readily available modern threads.

Materials needed:

• Kreinik Metallic Thread Very Fine #4 Braid, 100% metallic polyester thread, 13 yards (11.9 m)/spool, 8 spools of #001V Vintage Silver (A) and 8 spools of #002V Vintage Gold (B);

• Kreinik Metallic Thread Fine #8 Braid, 100% metallic polyester thread, 11 yards (10.1 m)/spool, 1 spool of #001V Vintage Silver (C);

• Crochet hook, steel, size 11 (1.1 mm)

• Stitch markers

• Tapestry needle

• Sharpie pen or ½-inch (1.3-cm) diameter dowel

• Cotton fabric, 2 squares, 9 inches (22.9 cm) each, Ecru, for lining

• Sewing chalk

• Sewing thread, to match cotton fabric

• Sewing needle

Finished size: About 7 inches (18 cm) tall and 6¾ inches (17 cm) wide Gauge: Medallion, 2¼ inches (5.7 cm) in diameter; 12 mesh rows, 2 inches (5.1 cm); 6 open meshes, ¾ inch (1.9 cm) wide

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