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

If you’ve been knitting for a while, you already know how satisfying small projects can be. They travel well, work up quickly, and give you that wonderful sense of completion without a multi-month commitment. Coin purses sit right at the sweet spot of all those qualities — they’re practical, adorable, and endlessly customizable. Whether you’re looking for a beginner-friendly introduction to working in the round or a chance to experiment with colorwork on a small canvas, knitted coin purses deliver on every front.

This roundup brings together more than ten coin purse knitting patterns, ranging from the simplest garter stitch pouch to intricate stranded designs with personality. For each pattern, you’ll find guidance on skill level, yarn recommendations, construction notes, and tips to help yours turn out beautifully. Let’s get into it.

Why Knit a Coin Purse?

Before we dive into the patterns, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate why this tiny project deserves a permanent spot in your knitting rotation.

Coin purses are one of the best gifts you can knit. They’re universally useful, suitable for any age, and personal enough to feel thoughtful without requiring the same investment as a sweater or blanket. A small skein of leftover yarn from a bigger project can become something genuinely beautiful and functional. Many knitters keep a coin purse project on hand for waiting rooms, commutes, or those odd fifteen-minute pockets of time that are too short for anything more complicated.

They’re also a fantastic way to practice techniques you’ve been hesitant to try. Working a zipper into a knitted piece feels intimidating the first time, but when the project is small, the stakes are low. The same goes for colorwork, short rows, or any number of finishing techniques that can feel daunting at a larger scale.

Now, onto the patterns.

1. Classic Stockinette Coin Purse

This is the go-to starter pattern, and there’s good reason it remains so popular. You knit a simple rectangle in stockinette stitch, fold it in half, seam the sides, and sew in a snap frame or zipper. The finished result looks clean and polished, especially when you choose a yarn with good stitch definition.

Skill level: Beginner

Yarn: Any DK or worsted weight yarn works well here. A smooth wool or wool-blend shows the stockinette fabric at its best, but cotton is equally lovely and has the added bonus of being a little more structured.

Construction notes: Cast on around 24 to 30 stitches depending on your gauge and how wide you want the purse. Knit in stockinette until the piece measures roughly 8 to 10 inches — this gives you enough fabric to fold in half and still have a purse that fits a handful of coins plus a small card or two. Bind off, seam the sides, and finish with a metal kiss-lock frame or a simple zipper.

Tips: Block the piece before finishing. Stockinette has a natural tendency to curl at the edges, and a good block will make seaming and frame installation much easier.

2. Ribbed Coin Purse

Ribbing adds wonderful elasticity and a satisfying texture. A 2×2 rib (knit two, purl two) across the entire piece gives the purse a snug, structured feel and a very professional look with minimal effort.

Skill level: Beginner

Yarn: This pattern particularly benefits from a wool with good memory, since the rib will bounce back nicely each time the purse is opened and closed.

Construction notes: Cast on a multiple of four stitches and work in 2×2 rib until the piece reaches your desired length. The elasticity of the rib means the finished purse will hold its shape around whatever you stuff inside it. A zipper closure keeps things simple and shows off the texture beautifully.

Tips: If you want the rib columns to align perfectly on both sides of the purse after seaming, plan your stitch count carefully before casting on.

3. Garter Stitch Coin Purse with Button Flap

Garter stitch is the most forgiving fabric in knitting — it doesn’t curl, it’s squishy, and it looks great in just about any yarn. This version adds a small flap that folds over and fastens with a button, giving it a charming, old-fashioned envelope feel.

Skill level: Beginner

Yarn: Chunky or bulky weight yarn makes this version especially quick and gives the garter ridges a wonderful bold look. Cotton works very well here, too.

Construction notes: Knit a rectangle in garter stitch, but make the piece slightly longer than a standard coin purse — roughly 10 to 12 inches. When you fold it up, the extra length at the top becomes your flap. Add a buttonhole near the tip of the flap (a simple yarn-over followed by a knit-two-together will do) and sew on your button.

Tips: Use a button with a bit of visual weight — a large wooden button or a vintage glass button elevates this simple design considerably.

4. Colorwork Stranded Coin Purse

This is where things start getting exciting. Stranded colorwork on a tiny canvas is not only manageable — it’s genuinely fun, because you can see the full repeat of your pattern almost immediately. Fair Isle motifs, geometric borders, or even simple two-color checks all look stunning on a coin purse.

Skill level: Intermediate

Yarn: Fingering weight yarns are ideal for colorwork coin purses. They create a beautiful, tight fabric when held against your floats, and the fine gauge means your small motifs will be crisp and clear. Choose colors with strong contrast for the best effect.

Construction notes: Work in the round on a small set of double-pointed needles or a short circular needle. Cast on enough stitches for your circumference — 48 to 60 stitches at fingering weight is a good range — and work your colorwork chart until the purse reaches the desired height. Knit a simple bottom using a three-needle bind-off or a grafted Kitchener stitch join. A zipper sewn along the top opening finishes the piece cleanly.

Tips: Keep your floats loose. On a small circumference, tight floats are especially likely to pucker the fabric. Spread your stitches out on the needle before stranding across the back.

5. Intarsia Coin Purse with Custom Motif

Where stranded colorwork works best in the round, intarsia is worked flat and allows you to place a single bold motif — an initial, a small animal, a geometric shape — right in the center of your purse.

Skill level: Intermediate

Yarn: DK or worsted weight in a smooth, light-colored background yarn with a contrasting color for the motif. Smooth yarns make intarsia easier to execute neatly.

Construction notes: Work flat on regular needles. Plan your motif on graph paper or a knitting chart software first. Each color section uses its own small butterfly of yarn, twisted at the joins to prevent gaps. Seam, add a frame or zipper, and you’ll have a coin purse that looks like it came from a boutique shop.

Tips: Weave in ends carefully on the wrong side. Intarsia can leave quite a few ends, but taking the time to secure them well means the inside of the purse will stay tidy.

6. Seed Stitch Coin Purse

Seed stitch — alternating knit and purl stitches in a checker pattern — creates a beautifully textured, reversible fabric that doesn’t curl, making it ideal for a coin purse that will see daily use.

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate (the stitch pattern itself is easy, but maintaining consistency requires a little focus)

Yarn: Almost any smooth yarn will work, but variegated or semisolid yarns can compete with the texture. A solid or tonal colorway is usually the most flattering choice.

Construction notes: Cast on an odd number of stitches so that every row begins and ends with a knit stitch. Work seed stitch until your piece reaches the desired size, then fold and seam as usual.

Tips: Place a stitch marker or use a row counter to keep track of your rows. It’s easy to accidentally slip into ribbing when you’re working quickly.

7. Cabled Coin Purse

Cables on a coin purse look incredibly luxurious while taking only a short time to complete. A simple four-stitch cable running down the center of the purse is elegant. A more complex allover cable pattern makes a stunning gift.

Skill level: Intermediate

Yarn: A plied wool or wool-blend in a solid color shows cables at their very best. Anything too fuzzy or too loosely spun will obscure the definition you’ve worked hard to achieve.

Construction notes: Work flat, centered around your cable pattern. Allow for the fact that cables pull in the fabric somewhat, so cast on more stitches than you think you’ll need. A simple four-stitch rope cable crossed every four rows is a perfect starting point. Seam, add a zipper, and the finished purse will look wonderfully tactile.

Tips: A cable needle is your best friend here, but once you’re comfortable with the pattern, you may find you can work the cable crossing without one.

8. Knitted Coin Purse with Metal Frame

A metal kiss-lock frame transforms a knitted pouch into something that looks and feels genuinely vintage. These frames are widely available online and come in gold, silver, antique brass, and other finishes. The technique for attaching them is simple, though it does require a large-eye tapestry needle and a little patience.

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Yarn: Medium weight yarn in a sturdy fiber — wool, cotton, or a wool-cotton blend — holds its shape well around the frame.

Construction notes: You can use almost any flat or in-the-round coin purse pattern as the base. The key is to match the top opening of your knitted piece to the width of the metal frame. Sew the knitted fabric to the frame using matching thread or a thin strand of the project yarn, stitching through the holes or loops in the frame’s edge.

Tips: Before sewing, pin the fabric to the frame to make sure the fit is even all the way around. An uneven attachment will cause the frame to sit at an angle when closed.

9. Colorblock Coin Purse

This design uses simple color changes to create a bold, modern look with no colorwork charts required. Divide your coin purse into two or three horizontal color blocks and work each section in a different yarn.

Skill level: Beginner

Yarn: DK weight in two or three high-contrast colors. Solid colors work best here because the impact comes from the color contrast rather than texture.

Construction notes: Work the piece flat in stockinette, changing colors by picking up the new yarn at the side edge. No need to cut and rejoin — simply carry the unused yarn loosely up the side if the color blocks are close together. Seam the sides and add your preferred closure.

Tips: For a very clean color change line, slip the first stitch of the new color section rather than knitting it. This tightens the transition and prevents a loose, sloppy line where colors meet.

10. Tiny Tapestry Bag Coin Purse

Tapestry knitting, similar to intarsia but typically worked in the round with multiple yarns caught into the fabric, allows for dense, intricate geometric patterns. Think Peruvian-inspired diamonds or Scandinavian snowflakes worked in miniature.

Skill level: Advanced beginner to intermediate

Yarn: Fingering or sport weight cotton or wool in two or more colors. Cotton is particularly popular for tapestry knitting because it doesn’t stick to itself, making it easier to manage multiple strands.

Construction notes: Work in the round, carrying both colors across every round and catching the non-working yarn every few stitches so that no floats hang loose on the inside. This creates a dense, almost woven-looking fabric. Finish the bottom with a sewn seam or three-needle bind-off and install a zipper or frame at the top.

Tips: Because tapestry fabric is so dense, it will be stiffer than other knitted coin purses. This is actually an advantage — the purse will stand up on its own and hold its shape beautifully.

11. Double-Knit Coin Purse

Double knitting produces two layers of fabric simultaneously on a single set of needles, creating a reversible piece with a pattern on both sides. It sounds complicated, but once you get the rhythm, it moves quickly and the results are extraordinary.

Skill level: Intermediate to advanced

Yarn: Fingering or DK weight in two contrasting colors. The pattern on the outside will be the mirror image of the pattern on the inside, making every side equally attractive.

Construction notes: You’ll work with both colors held together at all times, alternating between knitting the front layer stitches and purling the back layer stitches. Plan your pattern with this in mind — whatever is the main color on the outside will be the contrast color on the inside. Bind off both layers together using a three-needle method to close the bottom, and add a zipper at the top.

Tips: The stitch count for double knitting is double what it looks like on the needles. Keep this in mind when selecting your frame or zipper.

12. Lace Coin Purse

A delicate lace panel elevates a coin purse into something worthy of a special occasion. A simple eyelet pattern or a more elaborate leaf or shell lace motif adds elegance without requiring fine yarn if you’d rather work in a heavier weight.

Skill level: Intermediate

Yarn: Fingering weight in a smooth, plied fiber shows lace most beautifully. Mohair or hairy fibers tend to obscure the pattern. A silk blend adds wonderful drape and sheen.

Construction notes: Work a flat panel using your chosen lace chart, then seam and finish as for any flat coin purse. The lace panel can cover the entire purse or be used as an accent on the front face only, with a plain stockinette back.

Tips: Block the finished piece aggressively and use blocking wires or pins to open up the lace to its full potential. A coin purse lace panel will block quickly since the fabric is so small.

General Tips for Finishing and Closing Your Coin Purse

No matter which pattern you choose, finishing makes all the difference between a coin purse that looks homemade and one that looks handcrafted — there’s a real distinction. Here are the finishing principles that apply across almost every design.

Zippers are the most secure closure and are easier to install than most knitters expect. Use a zipper that’s close in length to your purse opening. Baste it in place with pins or wonder clips, then sew it using a whip stitch or backstitch through the zipper tape and the top edge of your knitting. Matching thread to your yarn color makes the stitching nearly invisible.

Metal frames give coin purses an antique, boutique quality that’s hard to beat. The frame dictates the size and shape of your purse, so purchase the frame before knitting and match your gauge accordingly.

Snap closures are the quickest option and work beautifully on flap-style purses. Sew a flat snap onto the inside of the flap and the corresponding piece onto the front of the purse body.

Lining is optional but worth considering. A small piece of cotton lining fabric sewn inside your coin purse prevents coins and keys from snagging on the knit fabric and gives the interior a finished look. Cut your lining slightly smaller than the knitted piece so it doesn’t pull or bunch.

Yarn Substitution Advice

Most of these patterns are small enough to be completed from a single skein, and many can use yarn left over from larger projects. When substituting yarn, always prioritize matching the gauge rather than the suggested yarn weight — two yarns labeled DK weight can knit up very differently depending on their fiber content and twist.

For coin purses specifically, durability matters. The purse will be handled frequently, stuffed in bags, and subjected to the general friction of daily life. A wool or wool-blend will felt slightly with use, which actually strengthens the fabric over time. Pure cotton stays crisp and is machine washable. Acrylic is the most durable and easiest to care for, though it has less natural elasticity.

Making Coin Purse Patterns Work for You

One of the quiet joys of coin purse knitting is how easy it is to make a pattern your own. Swap one cable pattern for another. Change the colorwork chart to feature your recipient’s initial. Work a standard rectangle in a novelty yarn that would be overwhelming in a