Pixel Purses . . . an origin story

One of my original small bags.

I made this one (2004) for my daughter to stash her 'treasures' in.

I don't really remember how we all decided that it would be a brilliant idea to celebrate Dad's 70th birthday in Spain, nevertheless, we did . . . . 

I had decided it would be great to have a small purse for carrying small amounts of money & bank cards while travelling.

I wanted a purse which was not too bulky, soft to touch, sturdy, strong, hand sized & I also wanted it to be colourful.  
(I've just now realised, 8 yrs later, it never occurred to me to sew one out of fabric, which I think proves I am first & foremost a fibre geek!)

Years before I had become enamoured of traditional Australian Aboriginal dilly bags (still am in fact), which inspired me to make a few tiny cylindrical bags with draw string closures. I made these bags out of cotton using a slip stitch crochet technique.

These wee bags became containers for treasures.
I knew from making these bags that slip stitch crochet has a somewhat similar appearance to the stitches in some of the dilly bags I had seen.

I wanted my new purse to be flat (not a cylinder) so that it would fit into my jeans or jacket pocket, or could easily be hand carried. 
But not so small that it would get 'lost' in a hand bag. 
I also needed the contents to be secure so I wanted to be able to insert a zip. 

I found Paton's Jet Pixel, a brightly, randomly, multi-coloured wool alpaca blend yarn & set to work. 
I made a purse each for my daughter, one of my sisters & myself.
My astoundingly pink purse lasted 7 yrs & it was the zip that failed in the end. I used it as my card & change purse for 7 yrs, no lies.  
That possibly sounds ridiculous & highly unlikely but yep I am one of those people who uses things til they can no longer be used. 

the lining is a cotton jersey knit . . .

. . . which I hand sew into the purse

My original purses were unlined & it's only been in the last year or so that I have lined them.
A friend had asked if it was possible to line them, which I’d never thought about so I made one to find out. 

The purses don’t need to be lined for structural reasons, which is why it had never occurred to me to line them but I have realized that lining the purse makes it useful for items over & above cards & money. 

In fact nowadays, in addition to the several unlined purses I use for all manner of stuff, I also have a lined one to carry my little bits & bobs (notions) associated with knitting & crochet, including small pointy things like needles & scissors which stay happily nestled within. 
Another friend uses hers to keep her lipsticks together in one place in her handbag.
We have used them as camera cases as well.

As with everything I make I have tried different yarns over the years, but I prefer this one. 
The resulting purse is everything I ever wanted & needed it to be. 
The colours available have changed with seasons & trends but while the yarn is still available I'll keep making these robust, brightly coloured, fun & functional, unique little purses.

And the name . . . ? 

Well, yes, it does come from the label …

but, the real reason is that I love pixelated images & the way this yarn is coloured & spun I have never managed to make it colour pool, nor stripe consistently nor in any way create a pattern …the fabric is a collection of evenly spaced brightly coloured stitches . . . just like little pixels  ;)

In October 2007 we stayed for a week in Gaucin. We had booked rooms in the hotel . . .

. . . & also had the whole house across the street. It was amazing!

oh ! & was Spain a brilliant idea ? yep, it most certainly was ! 


You'll find the pixel purses currently available for purchase here.