10+ Coin Purse Knitting Patterns You’ll Actually Want to Make

There is something quietly satisfying about a handmade coin purse. It sits in your pocket or bag, small and sturdy, stitched together with care, and every time you reach for it you feel that little reminder that someone — maybe you — made something beautiful out of nothing but yarn and needles. Coin purses are one of those knitting projects that get overlooked because they seem too simple, but the truth is they are some of the most rewarding things you can make. They are quick enough to finish in an evening, useful enough to actually get used, and small enough that you can experiment with techniques, colors, and textures without committing to a sweater’s worth of yarn.

Whether you are a beginner looking for your first functional knit project, an intermediate knitter wanting to practice new stitches, or an experienced crafter searching for last-minute gift ideas, coin purse patterns offer something for everyone. In this guide, we have rounded up more than ten coin purse knitting patterns, covering a wide range of styles, skill levels, and construction methods. You will find patterns that use basic stockinette stitch alongside those that incorporate colorwork, cables, and lace. Some close with a zipper, others with a snap or a button, and a few fold in on themselves like little envelopes.

Let’s dive in.

Why Knit a Coin Purse?

Before we get to the patterns, it is worth taking a moment to appreciate why coin purses make such great knitting projects.

First, they are fast. Most coin purse patterns can be completed in a single sitting, making them ideal for knitters who get distracted by longer projects or who want the immediate gratification of a finished object. If you are someone who struggles to complete large projects, a coin purse gives you that finished-object feeling in a matter of hours.

Second, they are practical. Unlike decorative knits that sit on a shelf, a coin purse gets used. You can carry it yourself, gift it to a friend, or tuck a little cash inside and give it as a clever present. Because they are so small, coin purses also make excellent packing for travel — a handmade purse is a uniquely personal item that feels luxurious even when it holds nothing fancier than bus fare.

Third, they are a fantastic way to use yarn scraps. Most coin purses require less than 50 grams of yarn, and many need far less than that. If you have been hoarding little leftover balls from other projects, this is your excuse to finally use them up in something beautiful.

Finally, coin purses make wonderful practice grounds for new techniques. Want to try stranded colorwork but not ready to commit to a full-sized Fair Isle sweater? Knit a coin purse. Curious about knitting with a zipper or adding a fabric lining? A coin purse is the low-stakes place to learn.

What You’ll Need Before You Start

Regardless of which pattern you choose, there are a few supplies that most coin purse knitting patterns share.

Yarn is obviously the main ingredient, and for coin purses you generally want something that holds its shape and has a bit of durability. Wool and wool blends are popular choices because they are sturdy and felt beautifully if you want a stiff, structured purse. Cotton yarn is another excellent option, especially for purses that will be used in warm weather or washed frequently. For a soft, luxurious feel, a merino-blend yarn gives you both durability and elegance.

Needles should correspond to your yarn weight. Most coin purse patterns call for fingering, sport, or DK weight yarn with appropriately sized needles, typically ranging from US size 1 to US size 5. Because coin purses are so small, you may find double-pointed needles or a short circular needle more comfortable than long straights.

Closures are where things get interesting. You will need to decide whether your purse will close with a metal frame (the classic kiss lock or flex frame), a zipper, a snap fastener, or a button. Metal coin purse frames are widely available online and in craft stores. Zippers for knitting projects come in a range of lengths, and the most useful for coin purses are typically 4-inch or 6-inch zippers. If you plan to use a zipper, you may want to have a needle and some sewing thread on hand as well.

A tapestry needle is essential for weaving in ends and, in some cases, for seaming. Stitch markers are helpful for marking rounds when working in the round. And if you plan to felt your finished purse, you will need a washing machine and some hot water.

10+ Coin Purse Knitting Patterns

1. The Classic Stockinette Coin Purse

This is the ideal pattern for a beginner. Worked flat in two matching rectangles of stockinette stitch, the classic coin purse is seamed along the sides and bottom, then attached to a metal flex frame at the top. The simplicity of the construction means you can focus on your knitting without worrying about complex shaping, and the result is a neat, professional-looking purse that wears beautifully.

To make this pattern, cast on about 30 to 40 stitches in a sport weight yarn and knit in stockinette until your piece measures roughly 3 to 4 inches. Make two identical pieces, seam them together, and stitch the open top edge to your chosen frame using a whipstitch. The finished purse will be sturdy and smooth, and because stockinette tends to curl, the edges fold naturally toward the inside of the purse, giving it a polished silhouette.

This pattern is a great canvas for color blocking or simple stripes if you want to add visual interest without changing the construction.

2. The Seed Stitch Coin Purse

Seed stitch — alternating knit and purl stitches in a checkerboard pattern — gives a coin purse a beautifully textured surface that lies flat without curling. This makes seed stitch an especially practical choice for coin purses, since the fabric won’t roll up at the edges before you attach a closure.

The construction here is nearly identical to the classic stockinette purse, but the finished texture is noticeably different: bumpy, dense, and satisfying to touch. Seed stitch also shows off hand-dyed or variegated yarns beautifully, since the alternating stitches break up color pooling in an attractive way. If you have a skein of hand-dyed yarn that you have been saving for a special project, a seed stitch coin purse is a wonderful way to show it off.

3. The Felted Coin Purse

Felting transforms a loose, soft knit fabric into a dense, almost felt-like material that is incredibly durable and holds its shape without any additional structure. A felted coin purse is one of the sturdiest handmade options you can make, and it has a cozy, artisanal quality that is hard to replicate with other techniques.

To make a felted coin purse, you knit your fabric larger than the finished size you want — typically about 30 percent larger in both length and width — using a feltable wool yarn (100% wool works best; avoid superwash wools, which are treated to resist felting). Once you have finished knitting and seaming, toss the purse into the washing machine on a hot cycle with a little bit of detergent and let the agitation and heat do their work. The fibers will shrink and bond together, creating a firm, smooth fabric. After felting, shape the purse by hand and let it dry completely before attaching a zipper or frame.

The felted coin purse is a fantastic beginner-friendly project because small inconsistencies in tension are completely hidden by the felting process. It is also a great stash-buster, since it accepts almost any 100% wool yarn.

4. The Fair Isle Coin Purse

Stranded colorwork has a reputation for being intimidating, but a coin purse is the perfect low-risk introduction to Fair Isle knitting. Because the project is so small, you work through color patterns quickly, and if a section goes wrong, you have not wasted much yarn or time. Most Fair Isle coin purse patterns are worked in the round on double-pointed needles or a magic loop, which makes carrying yarn across the back of the work easier to manage.

Traditional Fair Isle patterns use geometric motifs — diamonds, crosses, chevrons, and small repeating florals — and these look stunning on a tiny purse in two or three contrasting colors. You can follow a traditional charted pattern or design your own on graph paper. For your first colorwork coin purse, choose two colors with strong contrast and a simple repeating motif with no more than five stitches between color changes.

5. The Cable Coin Purse

Cables add dimension and texture to knitting, and they look particularly impressive on a small, compact item like a coin purse where the pattern can be appreciated up close. A simple two-stitch or four-stitch cable running down the front panel of a coin purse gives the project a sophisticated, heirloom quality.

Cable coin purse patterns typically work the cable on the front panel while keeping the back panel in plain ribbing or stockinette. This keeps the project manageable for knitters who are new to cables while still producing a beautiful finished object. If you are comfortable with cables and want a bigger challenge, try an allover cable pattern or a braided cable that wraps around the entire purse.

A cable coin purse works especially well in a smooth, plied yarn that shows off stitch definition — a single-ply or highly textured yarn will obscure the cable’s crisp lines.

6. The Ribbed Zip Pouch

Not all coin purses use a frame closure. The ribbed zip pouch is a zippered version that uses knit-two, purl-two ribbing across the entire body. The stretchy, structured fabric of ribbing makes for a comfortable-to-hold purse that expands slightly when filled. Attaching a zipper to a knitted piece sounds intimidating, but with the right technique it is quite straightforward: you simply pin the zipper to the inside of the opening and stitch it in place using a simple running stitch or backstitch with a sewing needle and thread.

The ribbed zip pouch is slightly more modern in silhouette than a frame-closure purse, making it a great gift for younger people or anyone who prefers a contemporary aesthetic.

7. The Button-Flap Coin Purse

This design adds a flap to the top of a simple coin purse, held closed with a button and loop. The construction is worked in one piece: you cast on and knit the back panel, then continue knitting to form the flap, and pick up stitches to knit the front panel downward. The resulting fabric folds into a purse shape, with the flap folding forward to close. A simple yarn loop on the flap edge buttons over a sewn-on button to keep everything secure.

The button-flap design lends itself especially well to decorative details. A lace edge on the flap, a contrasting button, or a monogram worked in duplicate stitch all add personality to what is otherwise a straightforward silhouette.

8. The Garter Stitch Coin Purse for Beginners

If you are a complete beginner who only knows how to knit (not purl), garter stitch is your best friend. Worked entirely in knit stitches on flat needles, garter stitch produces a ridged, squishy fabric that lies completely flat and is extremely forgiving of uneven tension. A garter stitch coin purse is probably the simplest functional knitting project you can make, and it still looks charming and handmade in the best possible way.

Cast on 30 stitches and knit every row until your piece is roughly square. Fold in half and seam the sides, then attach a snap closure or sew the piece to a coin purse frame. That is genuinely all there is to it. If you want to add color without any complex techniques, simple stripes of alternating colors in garter stitch look particularly beautiful.

9. The Lace Coin Purse

A delicate lace coin purse has an air of vintage femininity that is hard to achieve with any other technique. Lace knitting involves intentional yarn-overs and decreases that create an open, patterned fabric, and on a coin purse, even a simple lace pattern has a dramatic visual effect.

For your first lace coin purse, choose a pattern with a small, easy repeat — something like an eyelet row every fourth row, or a simple leaf motif worked across a panel. Lace coin purses look best in fingering weight yarn in a light, solid color that lets the pattern show through. Because lace is inherently open, a lace coin purse typically works best with a fabric or mesh lining sewn inside to keep small items from slipping out through the holes.

10. The Intarsia Color Block Coin Purse

Where Fair Isle uses stranded colorwork with small repeating motifs, intarsia uses separate bobbins or yarn lengths to work large blocks of color in a picture or geometric design. An intarsia coin purse might feature a large heart, a simple landscape, or a bold color-blocked stripe across its front.

Intarsia requires a bit more management than regular knitting because you need to twist yarns at color changes to prevent holes, but on a small object like a coin purse, this is much easier to manage than on a large project. The result is a graphic, modern-looking purse with clean color transitions and a bold visual impact.

11. The Knitted Envelope Purse

This clever design folds like an envelope, with a triangular flap at the front and a magnetic snap hidden inside to keep it shut. The construction is worked in one long rectangle, then folded and seamed at the sides, with a diagonal decrease row creating the pointed flap shape. The envelope purse has a sleek, minimalist look that feels more like a small clutch than a traditional coin purse — it is versatile enough to hold cards and folded bills in addition to coins.

This design works beautifully in a solid, sophisticated color like deep navy, forest green, or burgundy, and pairs especially well with yarn that has a slight sheen.

12. The Double-Knit Coin Purse

Double knitting is a technique that produces two layers of fabric simultaneously on the same needles, with the two layers worked in opposite colors. The result is a reversible, two-color fabric that is twice as thick as single-layer knitting. A double-knit coin purse has the same pattern on both sides, but with colors reversed, so the front might show a white snowflake on a navy background while the back shows a navy snowflake on white.

Double knitting has a reputation for complexity, but the basic technique is actually quite logical once you understand the rhythm. A small project like a coin purse is a wonderful first foray into double knitting because you can master the technique without spending hours on a large piece.

Tips for Finishing Your Coin Purse

No matter which pattern you choose, a few finishing tips will help your coin purse look its best.

Blocking makes a surprising difference even on such a small item. Wetting your finished purse and gently shaping it before letting it dry can smooth out uneven tension and give the fabric a more professional appearance. For lace patterns especially, wet blocking is nearly essential to open up the lace and let the pattern shine.

When attaching a metal frame, take your time and stitch evenly through each hole in the frame. An uneven attachment will cause the frame to sit at an angle, making the purse harder to open and close. Work slowly, keeping your stitches the same length, and if possible, do a test run with scrap yarn before attaching your finished piece.

When inserting a zipper, pin it carefully before stitching. A zipper that is slightly off-center will pull awkwardly when zipped and unzipped. Use pins generously, try zipping it a few times before you commit with a needle and thread, and sew slowly with small, even stitches.

Weave in all your ends thoroughly. A coin purse goes through a lot of handling, so loose ends are likely to work themselves out over time. Use a tapestry needle to weave each end in two directions for security.

Gifting Handmade Coin Purses

Coin purses are one of the most universally appreciated handmade gifts. They are useful without being presumptuous, personal without requiring detailed knowledge of the recipient’s taste, and they communicate care and craftsmanship in a way that purchased gifts rarely do.

For a particularly thoughtful gift, consider tucking something small inside the coin purse before giving it: a folded note, a lucky coin, a lip balm, a few stamps, or a small piece of chocolate. Pairing the gift with something it can hold immediately transforms it from an accessory into an experience.

If you are making coin purses in bulk for a craft fair or holiday gifts, stick to patterns that use simple construction and minimal finishing. The garter stitch, seed stitch, and ribbed zip pouch patterns are all fast enough to produce in multiples without becoming tedious.

Final Thoughts

Coin purses have a long and char