Knitting from an 1840s knitting book: An open stitch purse with beads.

Not long ago, I stumbled across an 1846 edition of My Knitting Book by Miss Lambert. Since then, I've embarked on an adventure - to knit different items from this book. This is my second finished piece, and by far one of the most ornate, beautiful and possibly pointless things I've made to date. 

I chose to make an Open Stitch Purse with Beads, a fun little pattern that seemed rather simple at first glance. The pattern has a simple 4-row repeat with nothing more than simple yarnovers and k2togs. What makes this project difficult are two things. Firstly: the beads. It requires prestringing hundreds, possibly thousands of seed beads. Beads which are easily spilled and lost down the sofa. Secondly: the finishing instructions for such a pattern were likely common knowledge at the time, and are conveniently left out of the pattern. Any finishing details were guesswork on my part, using pictures online, historical websites and (don't judge) AI to help me. For such a niche subject with little information out there, AI was surprisingly informed and helpful when providing historical context for this pattern. 

Each end of the purse is decorated differently. This is so you could tell which end contained gold or silver coins, by both look and by feel of the tassels.

Needles

The original pattern calls for size 20 needles. According to my vintage Archers Bell needle gauge, the modern equivalent would be around 1mm needles. These aren't widely available, so I chose instead to use 2mm lace needles with nice sharp points.

It's worth noting that whilst the Archers Bell gauge looks very similar to the Filière gauge tool in My Knitting Book, I don't have any true way to know if it uses the same or different sizings. I'll be using the gauge tool as a rough guide, but also considering the yarn weight and what seems most logical. 

Yarn choice

The pattern calls for second-size purse twist. Based on my research, this was a tightly twisted 3-ply silk thread—specially spun to withstand the heavy wear-and-tear that a coin purse would endure. Finding a modern alternative was difficult, and AI was very good at suggesting an appropriate modern equivalent. I chose Daruma Silk Crochet Thread #30, a Japanese yarn that has unfortunately been discontinued. For one purse, I bought a 20g ball (148m)and still had thread to spare at the end. 

Other suitable options are standard mercerised cotton crochet thread, or any silk threads with a tight twist. 

I bought 2 shades of silk crochet thread - red and green. I intend to use the green thread for another purse in the future. 

Beads and rings

I chose 11/0 seed beads for this project. To thread them, I bought special beading needles which made the stringing process much easier. I picked Gütermann beads in the colour garnet for the body, but later found out they'd also been discontinued - just my luck! I had to use the same beads in the shade amethyst for the tassels, as I couldn't source any more of the garnet ones. I bought 2 X 12g tubes for this project, and I had a small quantity leftover of each colour by the end. 

For the rings, I searched for some cheap decorative rings online. These were just women's fashion rings. I bought several styles to see what would suit best, and opted for ones with ruby red stones. The rings were sizes 5-7. 

 

Pattern

I have realised that the pattern in my 1846 edition of My Knitting Book is slightly different from the pattern in earlier copies of the book. I have attached a photo of what is in my book - it's a very simple 4-row repeat. 

Before starting the pattern, I pre-strung beads onto my silk thread. I used a whole 12g tube, although there were some leftover by the  end. As this pattern is likely to be a Miser's purse, the fabric is knit until it is between 8-16" in length. I chose to knit my fabric until 10", after which point I cast off. 

To turn my lace rectangle into a purse, I firstly seemed along the side, leaving a 2" slit in the middle for the coins. After this, I added the rings before seaming each end. One end was seamed flat into square shape, and the other end was gathered. I did turn the purse inside out to seam it, and weaved my ends in as best as I could. 

To make the bead tassels, I pre-strung a smaller quantity of beads onto my thread and then sewed them along the edge, creating a nice loop. I created bigger loops on the flat, square end of the purse and narrower tassels of beads on the gathered end. This was the most fiddly part of making the purse, but also the most satisfying as it's a very elegant finish. 

Final thoughts 

This pattern required a lot of research (and bead threading), but it was absolutely worth it in the end. I'd recommend choosing a pretty ring to decorate it, as I feel like the choice of ring and bead greatly impacts the overall look and elegance of the purse. It's also worth researching if there are any suitable silk yarn/thread alternatives to my discontinued Daruma. The silk yarn gives it a lovely drape and shine. Embroidery or sewing thread might be a suitable alternative - I think Gütermann has a silk thread that could work, but I can't know for sure. You'd also need to check the meterage. Lucky for me, I stocked up on several balls of Daruma after learning it had been discontinued. There are several more purse patterns to make in the book, so I'll likely be making more Miser's purses in the future.