Knittin' Crap: Miser's Purse

So, not in an effort to toot my own horn¹ but to dethrone Hansen Jr from the top of my most-viewed picture of all time², I'll refer back to this post on the Crochet Liberation Front blog which features my crocheted, beaded miser's purse.


I actually made it about maybe 10 years ago when I was still in the midst of my bead obsession. The pattern comes from a reprint of a book first published around 80-90 years ago.

What is a miser's purse, you ask? Miser’s purses were usually worn by Victorian men. The two pouches were usually different shapes/patterns so a man feeling in the dark would know which one he kept his different coin denominations in. The two pouches are joined by mesh with a slit in the middle, and two rings which they could slide to get to either pouch through the opening. They were miserly because they would be worn looped over the pants belt, requiring the belt to be loosened to get the bag out.

“My dear Nigel, would you mind taking care of this one? I’m afraid if I loosen my belt to get to my money, my trousers will fall down as they are a little too large.”
“Of course, Cecil. Just make sure to wear your suspenders next time! Ho ho ho!”
“Jolly good!”

---

¹ Why does that sound obscene to me? Never mind. I'd say this was a family blog, except for all the posts where I curse freely argue against that.
² Currently at 63 views, whereas one of the purse photos is in second place at 44.