If you’re looking for a twist on the typical knit gift card holder, I think you’ll enjoy today’s pattern, Tiny Purse for Gift Card. This itty bitty purse holds a gift card or financial card and can also be used as an ornament or gift tag, or added to a garland.
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It’s getting close to the time of year affectionately know as holiday crafting season. You know, the time of year where you crochet, knit, sew, Cricut, and craft into the wee hours of the night making handmade presents for your friends, family, and loved ones. Inevitably, I find that I have more gift ideas than I have time. Years ago, I started to cut back my holiday crafting for the extended network of people in my life. But, I still like to gift handmade stuff, and that’s where this little knit gift card holder comes in.
This is something you can make any time of year, not just at the winter holidays. It would be a great fit with a birthday, Mother’s Day, or graduation gift card, for example.
For my version, I used King Cole Beaches DK, one of three lines of yarn that have the same yardage, fiber content, and thickness to make substitution easy. Beaches DK is a variegated yarn, Island Beaches DK is a single color variation, and Paradise Beaches DK is a solid yarn. All three are a super soft acrylic and polyamide blend. You can buy them through your local yarn shop or online at LoveCrafts or Wool Warehouse UK. I picked Beaches DK for this project because I love tiny stripes but I don’t love weaving in tiny ends.
You can make 11-12 knit gift card holders from one skein of yarn, so if you have a large family or network of friends, this is a fun gift idea. Each bag will be a little different because of the yarn’s striping pattern.
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Tiny Purse for Gift Card
Knit Gift Card Holder Pattern by Underground Crafter
This itty bitty purse holds a gift card and can be used as an ornament, or included in a garland or part of gift wrap.
Finished Size
- Fits a standard gift card or financial card measuring approximately 3.375” (8.5 cm) x 2.125” (5.5 cm) once assembled.
Materials
- King Cole Beaches DK yarn (70% acrylic/30% polyamide, 3.5 oz/100 g/278 yd/255 m) – 1 skein in 4282 Pearl Beach, or approximately 25 yd (23 m) in any light weight yarn. One skein makes approximately 11-12 gift card holders.
- US Size 6/4 mm knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.
- Yarn needle.
- Blocking supplies (optional).
Gauge
- 15 sts in pattern = 2.25” (5.5 cm). For best fit, always check your gauge.
Abbreviations Used in This Pattern
- BO – bind off
- CO – cast on
- k – knit
- k2tog – knit 2 sts together – Jessie At Home has a helpful video tutorial for the k2tog decrease here.
- p – purl
- p2tog – purl 2 sts together – Jessie At Home has a helpful video tutorial for the p2tog decrease here.
- rep – repeat
- sl 1 – slip 1 stitch
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Pattern Notes
- Jessie At Home has a helpful video tutorial for the long tail cast on here.
- The Tiny Purse is knit flat in rows in one piece and is then seamed closed. The Strap is knit flat in one piece and then seamed onto the Tiny Purse.
- A helpful tutorial for joining pieces with the mattress stitch is available here.
- This blog post has helpful tips for blocking knit projects.
Pattern Instructions
Tiny Purse
- Starting with a long yarn tail (approximately 36”/91.5 cm) for seaming, CO 15 sts with long tail cast on (see Pattern Notes).
- Row 1: (Right Side) Sl 1, k4, p5, k4, p1. (15 sts)
- Row 2: (Wrong Side) Sl 1, p4, k5, p5.
- Rep Rows 1-2 until Tiny Purse measures approximately 3.25” (8.5 cm) long. Do not fasten off.
Create Ridge for Folding
- Row 3: (Right Side) Sl 1, p across.
Continue on Tiny Purse
- Rep Row 2 once.
- Rep Rows 1-2 until Tiny Purse measures approximately 3.25” (8.5 cm) long from Row 3. Do not fasten off.
Create Ridge for Folding
- Row 4: Rep Row 3.
Shape Flap
- Row 5: Sl 1, p across to last 2 sts, p2tog. (14 sts)
- Row 6: (Right Side) Sl 1, k across to last 2 sts, p2tog. (13 sts)
- Rows 7-16: Rep Rows 5-6, 5 more times, decreasing 1 st every Row until 3 sts remain.
- Row 17: Sl 1, p2tog (2 sts).
- Row 18: (Right Side) P2tog. (1 st) Fasten off yarn tail and pull through last stitch.
Strap
- CO 45 sts.
- Row 1: K across.
- BO as to knit. Fasten off with long yarn tail (approximately 12”/30.5 cm) for seaming.
Assembly and Finishing
- With yarn needle, weave in yarn tail from Row 18 of Tiny Purse on wrong side. With yarn needle, weave in cast on yarn tail from Strap.
- Thread yarn needle with long yarn tail from cast on edge of Tiny Purse. Fold Tiny Purse at Row 3 Ridge and again at Row 4 Ridge. With yarn tail, seam first long edge closed with mattress stitch (see Pattern Notes). Work the yarn tail through the fold at Row 3 on the inside of Tiny Purse. At other side, seam second long edge close with mattress stitch. Weave in yarn tail on inside of Tiny Purse.
- Thread yarn needle with yarn tail from Strap. Sew one side of Strap securely to wrong side of Tiny Purse at inside of Row 4 ridge. Weave in yarn tail on inside of Tiny Purse. Being careful not to twist, position second side of Strap on other side of Row 4 ridge. Sew second side of Strap securely. Weave in yarn tail on inside of Tiny Purse.
- Fold over Flap at Row 4. If necessary, spray block and pin Flap down to hold shape. Insert gift card and enjoy!