by Marie Lundgren

Every woman needs a going-out purse. Something not too big but big enough for the essentials: money, cell phone, lipstick, and maybe a headache tablet or two. This is a fun and easy wristlet purse to crochet for those evenings on the town. The hardest part is gathering together the pop tabs, but just ask friends to save them for you and you''ll have enough in no time. FYI: beer tabs work equally well, so you could have just as much fun preparing to make the purse as you do making and using it!

Purse Front

Chain 25

Row 1: sk 1 ch and work 24 sc in the remaining, ch 1, turn

Row 2: 1 sc, ((*insert hook in next st and then through one hole in a pop tab, yo and pull it back through the tab hole and the st and continue as a normal sc) repeat from * in next st for second hole in tab, 2 sc)) repeat until you have 6 tabs in the row, 1sc, ch1, turn

Row 3: sc in each sc (24), ch 1, turn

Row 4-16: repeat rows 2 and 3

Row 17: sc in each sc, 2 more sc in the last stitch, turn the work and sc evenly along the side, 3 sc in the corner st, sc in each original ch st, 3 sc in the corner st, turn and work sc evenly along remaining side, 2 sc in same st as first sc in row 17, attach with a sl st to that first sc, clip yarn and weave in ends

Purse Back

Chain 25

Row 1: sk 1 ch and work 24 sc in the remaining, ch 1, turn

Row 2-16: sc in each sc, ch1, turn

Row 17: same as row 17 for the purse front.

With yarn and a yarn needle sew the front and back together along both short sides and one long side.

Handle

Chain 39

sk 1 ch and sl st in remaining (38), cut yarn leaving a long tail

Weave through remaining 21 pop tabs according to the diagram in fig. A.

Using the long tail, sew handle to one side of the purse towards the top

Finishing

Position the zipper along the open edge and sew in place by hand.

I chose also to line my purse. If you would like to line yours as well, you''ll need a small bit of fabric. It''s best to choose fabric that matches your yarn color so that it won''t show through the crochet stitches. Cut it to match the size of the purse, adding seam allowances. Sew the zipper to the lining first, then sew up the remaining three sides of the lining. Lastly insert the lining into the crocheted outer shell and sew the shell to the zipper by hand. A nice touch is to thread a ribbon through the zipper pull and knot it securely.

Now call up your girl or boy friends and invite them out for a night on the town!