Peonies beguile us every Spring: their round buds glisten and require the assistance of small ants to open. Alas, they are gone too quickly as Summer approaches.

Now you can carry the lushness of peonies with you all year: they look complex to make, but this pattern is deceptively easy to knit. Use them to embellish your lattice bag, your carpet bag, or put pins on them and switch between bags, coats, denim jackets, and hats. A beautiful flower for any occasion.

Difficulty Level

Intrepid Easy: Requires knowledge of knitting and purling, knitting in the round on circular needles, and some hand-sewing during the finishing process.

Finished Dimensions

Medium Peony

Pre-felted size: 7.5" across
Felted size: 5.5" across

Large Peonies

Pre-felted size: 10" across
Felted size: 7" across

Gauge

Gauge is not important for this project

Yarn Requirements

For Flowers

2 skeins White (A) Makes one large or several medium flowers.
1 skein Fuchsia (B)
1 skein Hot Pink (C)
1 ball Crystal Palace Fizz, 7301 & 7308 (Tangerine & Candy Apple)

For Sepals and Stems

1 skein Hunter green (D)

Needles & Other Materials

Size 11 (8mm) 12" circular needles (medium flower)
Size 11 (8mm) double-pointed needles (set, for I-cord and sepals)
Size 13 (9mm) circular needles (large flower)

Pictured Samples

The pictured peonies were made in White and Fuchsia with Crystal Palace Fizz centers in Tangerine and Candy Apple.

I have been thinking a lot about hope as winter begins. For me, hope can be a small thing, but always with you. We tuck it away. Hold it tight in our hands or worry it with nervous fingers. Small hope gets us through. Hope is big. This tiny bag, is the little big bag that carries hope.

As any knitter knows, the knitted gift is always more than its physical self. It is hours of thought, a meditation often, of love. Of hope. This tiny purse is no different, even though it is quick to knit and easy to finish. This tiny purse is perfect for small treasures. It is a re-usable gift box for a lovely gift. Or it is the gift itself. It is a bodacious stash buster, too, requiring only 20 yards of feltable worsted weight yarn. You don't have 20 yards of one color? Stripes are fun. Maybe more fun. Make several for tiny precious surprises or as a happy container for your stitch markers and other small knitting notions. Attach a key chain and carry it with you.

See the Additional Details tab below for information about Pattern Difficulty, Dimensions, Gauge, Materials, and the Pictured Samples.

Pattern Difficulty 

Requires knowledge of casting on, knitting, purling, increasing, decreasing, knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, binding off, and some hand-sewing during the finishing process and to make the tiny bag linings (if desired).

Finished Dimensions

2 1/2" w x 2 1/2" h (6.25cm w x 6.25cm h)

Pre-Felted Gauge  

20 sts and 28 rounds = 4" (10cm) in stockinette stitch 

Materials

Yarn Requirements

20 yds (18.5m) 

Other Materials

US7 (4.5mm) set of 5 double-pointed needles 

Sewing needle for finishing work

Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Locktite Super Glue “Extra Time Ccontrol”

1/16 yd (.05m) lining fabric if desired (optional)

2 locking stitch markers in different colors to mark sides

1 Noni A Little Bit of Hope Hardware Kit: 

• 1 Little Flirt purse frame
• 1 Noni seed beads and thread package of white thread with silver beads or your preferred color
• 1 A Noni Design label
  
  

Cover Samples

All of the pictured purses are made with worsted-weight, feltable wool. Pictured bags are made with Stonehedge Fiber Mill’s Shepherd’s Wool