Stocking Purse Ornament

Stocking Purse Ornament by Terry Morris

What is Being Made

The Stocking Purse Ornament is a decorative knitted accessory designed to function as both a holiday ornament and a small gift container. Measuring approximately 3 inches wide by 7 inches long, this project combines traditional stocking aesthetics with practical functionality. The finished piece attaches to a 3-inch clasping purse frame, allowing it to hold candy, gift cards, jewelry, or other small treasures. The ornament is completed with ribbon or cording for hanging on a Christmas tree or display.

Construction Techniques

This ornament employs a two-phase knitting approach that combines flat and circular knitting methods. The cuff section is worked flat to create corrugated ribbing, which provides structural definition and visual interest at the opening of the stocking. After the flat cuff is complete, the piece transitions into working in the round for the remainder of the stocking body. This technique allows for seamless construction of the cylindrical stocking form and accommodates the stranded colorwork pattern that creates the distinctive multi-colored design.

The stranded colorwork technique is used throughout the body of the ornament, incorporating five different yarn colors to create a patterned fabric. This method involves carrying unused yarn colors inside the fabric while actively knitting with the working color, creating a dense, reversible textile. The gauge for this project is 32 stitches and 32 rows over 4 inches in stranded colorwork, indicating a relatively tight gauge appropriate for the small scale and detailed patterning.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k): The fundamental stitch forming the base of the fabric
• Purl (p): Used in the corrugated ribbing of the cuff section to create textural contrast
• Knit 2 Together (k2tog): A right-leaning decrease used for shaping
• Slip 1 Knitwise, Slip 1 Knitwise, Knit 1, Pass Slipped Stitches Over (ssk): A left-leaning decrease used for shaping

The corrugated ribbing technique in the cuff creates vertical lines of texture by alternating knit and purl stitches, which is enhanced by the color changes in the flat section before joining to work in the round.

Materials and Tools

This project requires fingering weight yarn in five colors of your choice. The sample shown was knit using Knit Picks Palette yarn in the following colors: Pimento red, Blue Tones, Turmeric gold, Clover green, and white. Fingering weight yarn is a fine yarn weight that produces detailed stitch definition and allows for intricate colorwork patterns at a manageable scale.

Essential tools include a set of US Size 1 (2.25mm) double pointed needles, which are necessary for working in the round after the flat cuff section is complete. The small needle size is appropriate for the fingering weight yarn and produces the tight gauge required for the stranded colorwork.

Additional materials include a 3-inch clasping purse frame (which can be recycled from an inexpensive change purse found at dollar stores), 12 inches of ribbon or cording for the hanger, assorted small beads for optional tree decoration, and craft glue with a flathead screwdriver for assembly and attachment of the frame to the knitted fabric.

Difficulty Level

This project is rated as intermediate difficulty, appropriate for knitters with experience in basic techniques who are ready to tackle stranded colorwork and the transition between flat and circular knitting methods. The combination of corrugated ribbing, color changes, and the need to manage multiple yarn colors simultaneously requires intermediate-level skills and attention to tension consistency.