Free Knitting Pattern: Melodica Coin Purse

A sweet, music-inspired mini bag that’s perfect for beginners and seasoned knitters alike

There’s something quietly magical about a project that comes together in an afternoon and ends up being exactly the thing you didn’t know you needed. The Melodica Coin Purse is one of those projects. Inspired by the cheerful rows of keys on a melodica — that little keyboard instrument you probably remember from music class — this small but charming purse features a simple striped pattern that mimics the alternating black and white keys of a keyboard. The result is graphic, modern, and genuinely fun to knit.

Whether you’re looking for a quick gift, a stash-busting project, or a first foray into colorwork, this coin purse checks every box. It works up quickly in worsted weight yarn, requires no fancy techniques, and closes neatly with a zipper that you can sew in by hand. Tuck it in your pocket, clip it to your bag, or give it to the music lover in your life. However it gets used, it’s going to be used a lot.

Let’s get into everything you need to know to make your own Melodica Coin Purse from start to finish.

About This Pattern

The Melodica Coin Purse is knitted flat in two separate panels, which are then seamed together on three sides and finished with a zipper along the top. The “keyboard” design is created using simple two-color stripes worked in stockinette stitch, with short vertical stripes in a contrasting dark color added afterward using duplicate stitch or intarsia — whichever method you prefer.

This pattern is a great introduction to colorwork because you’re not juggling two colors at once on the needles. You knit the main striped background first, then go back and add the dark key accents. It’s a low-pressure way to practice color placement without the tension challenges of traditional stranded knitting.

The finished purse measures approximately 4.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall, which is just the right size for coins, lip balm, a couple of cards, AirPods, or any other small essentials.

Skill Level

Beginner to Intermediate. You should be comfortable with knit and purl stitches, basic shaping, and seaming. Duplicate stitch is easy to learn and full instructions are included below.

Materials

Yarn: You’ll need two colors of worsted weight yarn (approximately 10–15 yards of each color is plenty). This is a wonderful stash project — even partial skeins work beautifully. The sample shown uses an off-white or cream for the main color (representing the white keys) and a deep charcoal or true black for the contrast color (representing the black keys).

Needles: US size 5 (3.75 mm) straight or circular needles. If your gauge is naturally loose, you might want to go down to a US 4. The fabric should be firm enough to hold its shape as a bag.

Notions: One 5-inch zipper in a coordinating color, a tapestry needle for seaming and duplicate stitch, scissors, a ruler or tape measure, and optionally a small zipper pull or charm to attach to the zipper tab.

Gauge: Approximately 20 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch. Gauge is not critical for this project, but a tighter gauge will give you a sturdier bag, so err on the side of going down a needle size rather than up.

Abbreviations

Throughout this pattern, the following abbreviations are used:

CO — cast on
BO — bind off
K — knit
P — purl
St(s) — stitch(es)
RS — right side
WS — wrong side
Rep — repeat
MC — main color (cream or white)
CC — contrast color (black or charcoal)

Pattern Notes

Before you begin, a few things worth knowing. First, the panels are knitted with the MC only during the main body of the work. The stripe sections are created by switching to CC yarn and working full rows in that color, as described in the pattern. The “black key” accents — the shorter rectangles that sit above the white key sections — are added later using duplicate stitch. This makes the knitting itself very straightforward.

Second, when switching colors, you don’t need to cut the yarn every time if the colors are changing frequently. You can carry the unused color up the side of the work by loosely twisting the yarns at the beginning of every other row. However, because the stripe changes in this pattern are fairly spaced out, you may find it easier to simply cut and rejoin. Either approach works.

Third, if you’ve never done duplicate stitch before, don’t worry. It’s introduced in detail in the finishing section of this pattern, and it truly is as easy as it sounds. You’re essentially tracing over existing stitches with a new color of yarn, which creates the illusion of a knitted design without requiring you to handle two strands at once while knitting.

The Pattern

Cast On

Using MC and your preferred cast-on method, CO 24 stitches. The long-tail cast on is recommended because it creates a neat, slightly stretchy edge that seams well.

Main Body (Make 2 Panels)

You’ll knit two identical panels. Work as follows:

Rows 1–4: Work in stockinette stitch (knit on RS, purl on WS) using MC.

Rows 5–6: Switch to CC. Knit both rows (this creates a garter ridge on one side, which gives a clean stripe). Switch back to MC.

Rows 7–10: Continue in stockinette stitch using MC.

Rows 11–12: Switch to CC. Knit both rows. Switch back to MC.

Rows 13–16: Continue in stockinette stitch using MC.

Rows 17–18: Switch to CC. Knit both rows. Switch back to MC.

Rows 19–22: Continue in stockinette stitch using MC.

Row 23: Bind off all stitches in MC. Leave a tail of approximately 12 inches for seaming.

Reading the Stripe Design

When you look at your finished panels, you’ll see horizontal bands of dark color separated by wider bands of light color. These horizontal bands represent the rows of black keys on a melodica keyboard, and the light sections between them represent the white keys. The panels will look a little abstract at this stage — almost like simple graphic stripes — but once you add the duplicate stitch accents in the finishing steps, the keyboard illusion comes together beautifully.

Finishing

Step One: Block Your Panels

Before seaming, lightly wet block or steam block both panels so that they’re flat, even, and the same size. Pin them to a blocking mat or a folded towel, measure them to make sure they’re identical, and allow them to dry fully. Blocking makes a significant difference in how neatly the seams come together, so don’t skip this step even if you’re eager to move on.

Step Two: Add the Duplicate Stitch Accents

This is where the melodica keyboard pattern really comes to life, and it’s easier than it looks. You’ll be working duplicate stitch to add short vertical rectangles of dark color within the light stripe sections, positioned to look like the black keys of a keyboard.

For duplicate stitch, thread your tapestry needle with a length of CC yarn — about 18 inches is a comfortable working length. Look at one of your panels. In the first wide MC section (rows 1–4, the area below the first CC stripe), you’ll add three dark key accents. These are each 2 stitches wide and 2 rows tall, positioned as follows: one accent starting at stitch 4, one starting at stitch 10, and one starting at stitch 16. This gives you three evenly spaced “keys” across the width of the purse.

To work duplicate stitch, bring your needle up through the base of the stitch you want to cover — this is the point of the V shape at the bottom of a knit stitch. Insert the needle from right to left under the two strands of the row above (the legs of the stitch above your target stitch). Pull the yarn through gently, then insert the needle back down into the same base point where you started. You’ve just covered one stitch. Repeat this for adjacent stitches to fill in your block of color.

Work the same three-accent group in each of the wide MC sections. In the space between your CC stripes, you should have enough rows to place a rectangle of 2 by 2 duplicate stitches sitting roughly in the upper third of the light section, just as the black keys of a real keyboard sit higher than the white keys and only extend partway down.

When you’ve finished adding all the accents, weave in your ends on the wrong side of each panel.

Step Three: Seam the Panels Together

Hold your two panels with wrong sides together (or right sides together if you prefer an inside-out seam — both work, just consistently choose one). Using your tapestry needle and a length of MC, use mattress stitch or whip stitch to seam along the bottom edge and both side edges, leaving the top edge open. Pull your seams firm but not so tight that they pucker the fabric.

Mattress stitch gives the most invisible seam and is worth learning if you haven’t already: working from the right side, pick up the horizontal bar between the first and second stitches on one edge, then the corresponding bar on the opposite edge, alternating back and forth. When you draw the yarn tight every inch or so, the seam essentially disappears.

Weave in all remaining ends inside the bag.

Step Four: Install the Zipper

Installing a zipper in a knitted bag sounds intimidating the first time, but it’s really just a matter of whip stitching the zipper tape to the inside of the top edge. Here’s how to do it neatly.

Open the zipper all the way. Fold the purse so the top opening faces up, and place the zipper inside the bag with the zipper pull at the top. You want the zipper teeth to sit just below the top edge of the knitting, and the zipper tape (the fabric strip on either side of the teeth) to overlap onto the inside of the bag.

Using a length of yarn or sewing thread in a matching color, whip stitch the zipper tape to the inside of the bag along both sides of the zipper — top side and bottom side. Take small, even stitches through the zipper tape and through the knitted fabric, but try not to let your stitches show on the outside of the bag. If you use yarn that matches your MC, any stitches that do show through will be barely noticeable.

When you reach the ends of the zipper, fold the excess zipper tape to the inside and secure it with a few extra stitches to keep it from poking out.

Close the zipper and check how it looks from the outside. A neatly installed zipper makes the finished purse look polished and professional.

Step Five: Add a Zipper Pull (Optional but Delightful)

A small charm, a tassel, or a loop of yarn tied through the zipper tab adds a lovely finishing touch and makes the purse easier to open with one hand. A tiny music note charm is particularly fitting, but anything you love works — a small bead, a bit of braided yarn, a key ring charm from a craft store.

Variations and Customizations

One of the things that makes this pattern so enjoyable is how easily it adapts to different ideas. A few directions you might consider:

Color Swaps: The cream-and-black combination is classic, but don’t stop there. A pastel blue with white for a sky-and-cloud feel, a deep burgundy with rose gold for something rich and warm, or even a rainbow of stripes with a neutral background all work beautifully. You could even make the background dark and the key accents light for an inverted piano effect.

Size Adjustments: To make a larger pouch — something that could hold a phone or a small wallet — simply cast on more stitches and work more rows. The stripe pattern scales naturally. For a wider purse, increase your cast-on in multiples of 6 (since the design repeats across every 6 stitches). For a taller purse, add more MC rows between your CC stripes or add an additional stripe section altogether.

Yarn Weight: This pattern works in fingering weight yarn on smaller needles for a delicate, finely detailed version, or in chunky yarn on bigger needles for a bolder, more casual version. If you change yarn weight, adjust your needle size accordingly and keep in mind that your gauge — and therefore your finished dimensions — will shift.

Lining: For a more polished interior finish, cut a piece of fabric (quilting cotton works great) to match the dimensions of your panels, sew it into a small pouch shape, and tack it inside the bag by hand before installing the zipper. A lined coin purse holds its shape better and protects whatever’s inside from snagging on the knitted fabric.

Intarsia Instead of Duplicate Stitch: If you’re comfortable with intarsia colorwork and want to add the key accents while knitting rather than afterward, you can do that too. Simply work the dark key rectangles as intarsia blocks during the main body rows, using a separate small bobbin of CC yarn for each block. The finished look is identical; it’s just a matter of which method feels more comfortable.

Yarn Suggestions

Because this project uses such a small amount of yarn, it’s the perfect candidate for leftover skeins from bigger projects. Nearly any worsted-weight yarn you have on hand will work. That said, if you’re buying yarn specifically for this project, a few especially nice options include Paintbox Yarns Simply DK (which leans a touch lighter than true worsted but works beautifully on size 5 needles), Lion Brand Wool-Ease in any cream or natural colorway, Cascade 220 Superwash in any two contrasting colors, or Knit Picks Swish Worsted, which comes in a gorgeous range of both neutral and saturated tones.

For a more special version — something gift-worthy — consider a merino or merino-blend yarn, which gives the finished purse a softer hand and a more refined look. Malabrigo Rios is a particularly luxurious choice that drapes beautifully and comes in dreamy colorways if you want something that feels less “craft project” and more “heirloom accessory.”

Tips for Success

Keeping your tension consistent throughout both panels is the most important thing you can do for a tidy finished product. If you notice your knitting getting looser as you go — which often happens when knitters relax into a project — make a conscious effort to keep your yarn snug as you wrap it. Alternatively, just block thoroughly and your panels will even out.

Take your time with the seaming. Rushed seams are the most common source of disappointment in small knitted bags. Work in good light, lay your panels flat on a table rather than holding them in your lap, and go slowly enough to keep your stitches even.

If this is your first time installing a zipper, practice placing it before you sew anything permanently. Lay the zipper inside the bag, pin it in place with a few sewing pins or locking stitch markers, and look at how it sits from the outside. Make any adjustments before you commit a single stitch. A few minutes of positioning saves a lot of frustration.

A Few Last Thoughts

The Melodica Coin Purse has become one of my favorite quick knits because it manages to feel both playful and practical. It’s the kind of project that makes people ask, “Wait, you made that?” when they see it — and then ask you to make one for them too. The keyboard graphic is recognizable enough to be charming without being kitschy, and the small size means you can experiment with colors or techniques you might not commit to on a larger project.

It’s also a genuinely great project to teach. If you have a beginner knitter in your life who has mastered the basic stitches and is looking for their first “real” project — something with a clear purpose and a satisfying finished object — the Melodica Coin Purse is exactly what they need. The construction is simple, the finishing is forgiving, and the result is something they’ll actually use and be proud of.

I hope you love making this little purse as much as I loved designing it. If you make one, I’d love to see your version — feel free to share it in the Craftdrawer community. Happy knitting.

Pattern and text © Craftdrawer. This pattern is free for personal use. Please do not reproduce or distribute the pattern text without permission, though you are of course welcome to sell finished items made from this pattern.