Free Knitting Pattern: Melodica Coin Purse

A charming, music-inspired accessory you can knit in an afternoon

There is something quietly magical about a handmade coin purse. It is small enough to finish in a single sitting, practical enough to use every single day, and personal enough to make as a gift for someone you genuinely love. The Melodica Coin Purse takes that magic and layers in a little something extra — a subtle, piano-key-inspired colorwork design that makes this tiny pouch look like it belongs on a musician’s keyring or tucked into the front pocket of a canvas tote alongside a worn paperback and a pair of earbuds.

Whether you are new to stranded colorwork and looking for a low-stakes project to practice your floats, or you are an experienced knitter who simply wants a satisfying quick project with a bit of visual interest, this pattern is for you. It knits up quickly on double-pointed needles, uses only small amounts of yarn, and comes together with a simple zipper closure that gives it a polished, finished look without requiring any advanced sewing skills.

Let us get into everything you need to know.

What Is the Melodica Coin Purse?

The Melodica is a free-reed instrument, a little keyboard you blow into that produces a warm, reedy sound somewhere between a harmonica and an accordion. It has a devoted following among musicians who love its portability and its slightly toylike charm. The Melodica Coin Purse takes its inspiration from that aesthetic — compact, playful, and unexpectedly lovely — with a colorwork panel designed to echo the black and white keys of a small keyboard.

The finished purse measures approximately 4.5 inches wide by 3 inches tall, which is the ideal size for coins, a folded bill or two, a lip balm, earbuds, or a spare key. The body is worked in the round on double-pointed needles, the colorwork panel runs across the front face only, and the whole thing closes with a 4-inch zipper sewn in by hand.

Materials You Will Need

This project is an excellent stash buster. You will need only small amounts of yarn, so dig into your leftover skeins and see what you have before buying anything new.

Yarn: You will need a main color (MC) and a contrast color (CC). The pattern uses approximately 40 yards of MC and 15 yards of CC. Any yarn that knits to a fingering or sport weight gauge will work well. The sample shown uses a smooth, plied fingering weight in a deep navy (MC) and an off-white (CC), but you could just as easily use a rich burgundy with cream, a forest green with gold, or any high-contrast pairing that speaks to you. Avoid very fuzzy or textured yarns for the colorwork panel, as the stitch definition will be lost.

Needles: A set of US size 2 (2.75mm) double-pointed needles. You can also use a short circular needle or work magic loop if you prefer. The critical thing is achieving gauge — the purse should be dense enough that the zipper does not gap and the fabric has a little body.

Notions:

• One 4-inch (10cm) zipper in a coordinating or contrasting color
• A yarn needle for weaving in ends and seaming
• Sharp hand-sewing needle and thread to match your zipper tape
• Stitch markers (2)
• Scissors

Gauge: 32 stitches and 40 rounds over 4 inches in stockinette stitch. Gauge matters for a project like this because the zipper is a fixed length — if your gauge is significantly off, the opening will not match the zipper, and the proportions of the finished purse will look wrong. Swatch, wash your swatch, and adjust your needle size as needed.

Abbreviations

Before you dive in, here is a quick reference for the abbreviations used in this pattern.

CO — cast on
MC — main color
CC — contrast color
k — knit
p — purl
k2tog — knit two stitches together (right-leaning decrease)
ssk — slip, slip, knit (left-leaning decrease)
pm — place marker
sm — slip marker
dpn — double-pointed needles
rnd — round
rep — repeat
RS — right side
WS — wrong side

Pattern Notes

Before you cast on, take a moment to read through these notes. They will save you time and frustration as you work.

This purse is worked in the round from the bottom up. You will begin with a flat provisional cast-on for the bottom seam, join to work in the round, work the body, and then close the top with a three-needle bind-off or a simple grafted seam — whichever you find more comfortable.

The colorwork panel is worked on the front of the purse only, across a span of 36 stitches in the center of the front face. The back of the purse is worked entirely in MC. This makes the colorwork much more approachable than an all-over stranded pattern, and it means your floats are never more than a few stitches long.

When working the colorwork section, carry your MC yarn loosely across the back of the CC stitches. The floats on a project this small are short enough that you do not need to catch them, but do be mindful of tension — floats that are too tight will pull the fabric and distort your keyboard design.

The pattern is written for one size only. If you want a larger purse, you can add stitches in multiples of two (for symmetry) or work additional plain rounds above and below the colorwork panel.

The Colorwork Chart: Keyboard Panel

The keyboard design is worked over 36 stitches and 14 rounds. It represents a section of piano keys — five white keys with the characteristic groupings of two and three black keys between them. You can follow the written instructions below or refer to the chart description to draw your own simple grid chart on graph paper before you begin.

The chart is 36 stitches wide. Each “white key” section is 5 stitches wide. The “black key” inserts are 3 stitches wide and 8 rounds tall, positioned to sit over the upper portion of each white key gap. Black keys appear in the classic piano pattern: two black keys, a gap of one white key, then three black keys.

Rounds 1–3 (base of white keys): Work all 36 stitches in MC.

Round 4 (begin black keys): Work the chart as follows, reading from right to left: 4 MC, 3 CC, 3 MC, 3 CC, 6 MC, 3 CC, 3 MC, 3 CC, 3 MC, 3 CC, 5 MC. (That is your two-key group, your gap, and your three-key group across the keyboard section.)

Rounds 5–10: Maintain the black key positions as established in Round 4, keeping the 3-stitch CC columns aligned and working all other stitches in MC.

Round 11 (end black keys): Return to all MC across all 36 stitches.

Rounds 12–14: Work all 36 stitches in MC.

This creates a clean, graphic keyboard image that reads clearly even in small scale. Once you have worked it once you will find it very easy to memorize, and you can adapt the placement of black keys to represent a specific musical phrase if you are feeling creative.

The Pattern

Cast On and Bottom Seam

Using MC and a long-tail cast-on (or your preferred stretchy cast-on), CO 72 stitches. Divide evenly across four double-pointed needles, 18 stitches per needle, and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist. Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round.

The first 36 stitches of the round will become the front of the purse. The second 36 stitches will become the back. Place a second stitch marker after stitch 36 to mark the boundary between front and back.

Rounds 1–5: Knit all stitches in MC. This creates a small bottom gusset that gives the purse just a little depth when you open it.

Body of the Purse

Rounds 6–10: Knit all stitches in MC.

Rounds 11–24 (Colorwork Section): On each round, work the first 36 stitches according to the colorwork chart described above. Slip the center marker, then work the remaining 36 stitches in MC only.

Rounds 25–30: Knit all stitches in MC.

At this point the purse body is complete. You should have a clean stockinette tube approximately 3 inches tall with the keyboard design centered on the front face.

Top Shaping and Opening

The top of the purse is worked flat so that you can create a clean edge for the zipper. You will now divide the work into two flat sections — front and back — and work each separately.

Divide for Front and Back: Slip the stitches so that your needle holds the first 36 stitches (front). Place the remaining 36 stitches on a holder or spare needle.

Front Top Border (worked flat):
Row 1 (RS): Knit across all 36 stitches.
Row 2 (WS): Purl across all 36 stitches.
Row 3 (RS): Knit across.
Row 4 (WS): Purl across.

Bind off all 36 stitches loosely. A stretchy bind-off such as the Russian bind-off or the decrease bind-off works beautifully here and makes the zipper installation much easier.

Back Top Border: Return the held 36 stitches to your needle and work exactly as for the Front Top Border. Bind off.

Bottom Seam

With RS facing and using your yarn needle, graft or seam the bottom of the purse closed using mattress stitch or Kitchener stitch. Because you worked a few plain rounds at the bottom before the body, this seam sits slightly recessed and gives the purse a nice flat base.

Weave in all ends, but do not trim them yet — wait until after you have blocked the purse and confirmed you are happy with the result.

Finishing: Blocking

Before you install the zipper, block the purse. Wet blocking works best for this project. Soak the purse in cool water for about 20 minutes, then gently squeeze out the excess water without wringing. Lay the purse flat and pat it into shape, making sure the keyboard panel lies flat and the sides are even. Pin the top edges so they dry straight and taut — this will make the zipper installation much cleaner. Allow to dry completely before proceeding.

Installing the Zipper

This is the step that makes knitters nervous, but it is genuinely straightforward once you understand the logic of it. You are not inserting the zipper through a tunnel of fabric — you are sewing it to the inside of the top edge, right up against the bound-off edge, so that when the zipper is closed the knit fabric frames the zipper pull neatly on both sides.

Step 1: Close the zipper. Hold it up against the inside of the top opening of your purse so that the teeth are just below the bound-off edge. The zipper pull should sit just inside one side seam. Pin the zipper in place, easing the fabric gently so the top edges lie flat against the zipper tape without puckering.

Step 2: Thread your hand-sewing needle with thread that matches your yarn color as closely as possible. Using a small, even whip stitch or back stitch, sew the zipper tape to the bound-off edge of the front panel. Work slowly and keep your stitches consistent — about 2mm apart is ideal. You are sewing through the zipper tape only, not through the entire fabric.

Step 3: Open the zipper and repeat on the back panel, taking care to align the two panels so the purse opens evenly.

Step 4: At each end of the zipper, fold the tape ends back on themselves and tack them down with a few stitches to prevent fraying and to give the corners a clean finish. Knot off securely on the inside.

Open and close the zipper a few times to test the installation. If the fabric pulls or puckers, take out the stitches and re-sew with a little more ease. Getting the zipper right is worth the extra few minutes.

Customization Ideas

One of the pleasures of a small project like this is how easy it is to adapt. Here are a few directions you might take this pattern to make it entirely your own.

Change the colorway. The navy and off-white of the original sample gives the keyboard a classical, vintage look, but you could go bold with black keys rendered in gold on a black background, or try a pastel palette with blush and lavender for something softer. The design reads beautifully in almost any high-contrast pairing.

Add a lining. A simple fabric lining in a cotton print sewn to the inside of the purse before the zipper is installed will add structure, protect your knitting from coins scratching the fibers, and give the interior a polished look. Cut a rectangle of lining fabric, fold and press the seam allowances, and stitch it to the inside with a running stitch just inside the zipper seam.

Try a different closure. If zippers are not your thing, you can close the top of the purse with a snap, a toggle, or a button loop instead. A loop of i-cord over a small button is a charming, very beginner-friendly alternative.

Scale it up. Double the stitch count and add additional plain rounds to make a clutch-sized version. You would need a 7-inch or 8-inch zipper and a bit more yarn, but the structure is identical.

Personalize the keyboard. If you know a little about music, you could adjust the position of the black keys in the colorwork panel to represent the first few notes of a favorite melody — the opening of Bach’s Minuet in G, say, or the first phrase of a song that means something to the recipient. It is a subtle, personal detail that makes a handmade gift feel genuinely thoughtful.

Gift Ideas and When to Make This

The Melodica Coin Purse makes a wonderful gift for a whole range of people and occasions, and because it knits up so quickly — most knitters finish the body in two to four hours and install the zipper in another thirty minutes — it is the kind of thing you can decide to make on a Wednesday and have ready to give on Saturday.

It is an especially lovely gift for music teachers, music students, and musicians of all kinds. It works beautifully as a stocking stuffer, a birthday present tucked inside a larger gift, or a small thank-you for someone who has done something kind for you. Fill it with guitar picks and a folded-up concert ticket stub for an extra musical touch.

It also makes a wonderful first colorwork project for knitters who are ready to move beyond solid-color work but are not yet ready to tackle a full stranded colorwork sweater or hat. The small scale means mistakes are easy to fix, the floats are short and manageable, and the finished result is satisfying enough to motivate you to try something more ambitious next.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

The colorwork panel is puckering. This almost always means your floats are too tight. Try going up a needle size for the colorwork section only, or make a conscious effort to spread your stitches out on the right needle before forming each float. Blocking will help, but prevention is better.

The purse is wider than 4.5 inches. Your gauge is looser than the pattern calls for. Try going down a needle size and re-swatching. Alternatively, you can remove a few stitches from the cast-on (in multiples of two) to compensate.

The zipper gaps when closed. This usually happens when the top edge has been bound off too loosely and the fabric stretches beyond the length of the zipper. A firm bind-off or a slightly smaller needle for the top border rows will prevent this on future versions. For the current project, you can ease the fabric to fit the zipper by pinning more carefully before sewing.

My colorwork keyboard looks blurry or unclear. The most common culprit is yarn that is too fuzzy — the halo of the fibers bleeds between the colors and blurs the contrast. Switch to a smooth, tightly plied yarn for the clearest results.

A Few Final Thoughts

There is a reason that small knitting projects have such enduring appeal. In a hobby that often involves months of work before you can see the finished thing in its entirety, the quick project is a gift — not just to whoever receives it, but to yourself. The Melodica Coin Purse gives you all the pleasures of