This cute little panda purse is the perfect fun accessory for a little girl to wear and put a few things inside. It is about 6 inches long and 4.5 inches wide, and even zips up! The pink zipper and strap make it look a little extra girly. You can choose to keep it all black and white, or add some color. My daughter insisted this purse had to have some pink!
To make this purse, all of the pieces are made separately and then sewn together at the end. Here is the pattern!
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You can also make a cat purse with the panda purse pattern, with a few changes. You can find the Crochet Cat Purse pattern here. Continue on this page for the Crochet Panda Purse pattern.
Materials:
- Worsted weight yarn – You can use any worsted-weight yarn for this project. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in white, black, and watermelon.
- 5 mm (H) crochet hook. These are my favorite hooks! I can crochet for hours without sore fingers!
- Zipper – I used a 7-inch zipper
- 10mm safety eyes
- Yarn needle for sewing pieces together and weaving in ends.
Stitches Used:
- Ch – chain
- Sl St – slip stitch
- SC – single crochet
- SC DEC – single crochet decrease (same as sc 2 tog)
- HDC – half double crochet
- DC – double crochet
Important Notes:
- Magic Circle – Make a circle with your yarn, insert crochet hook into circle and draw up a loop. Chain one and then start making the stitches of round 1 into the ring.
- Joining Rounds – some parts of this pattern are worked in joining rounds, which means that you will be joining the last stitch of the round to the first one with a slip stitch and than chaining 2 before continuing with the next round. Make the first stitch of the next round in the same stitch as the chain 2.
- Continuous Rounds – some parts of pattern are worked up in continuous rounds, which means that you will not be joining the last stitch of the round with the first one. Instead you need to keep track of where each round started and how many stitches you have made because after each round you move right into the next one (with no join). It is useful to use a stitch marker (a piece of yarn works!) to mark the start or end of each round to help you keep track.
Main Purse Pieces (make 2)
Round 1: With white yarn, chain 14, 2 DC in 3rd chain from hook, DC in next 10 stitches, 4 DC in last stitch. Now working on the other side of the chain, DC in next 10 stitches, 2 DC in last stitch. Join with a slip stitch to first DC, chain 2. (28)
Round 2: 2 DC in first 2 stitches, DC in next 10, 2 DC in next 4, DC in next 10, 2 DC in last 2 stitches. Join to first DC, chain 2. (36)
Round 3: 2 DC in first 3 stitches, DC in next 12, 2 DC in next 6, DC in next 12, 2 DC in last 3 stitches. Join to first DC, chain 2. (48)
Round 4: DC in first 3 stitches, 2 DC in next 3, DC in next 12, 2 DC in next 3, DC in next 6, 2 DC next 3, DC in next 12, 2 DC in next 3, DC in last 3 stitches. Join to first DC, chain 2. (60)
Round 5: DC in first 4 stitches, 2 DC in next 3, DC in next 16, 2 DC in next 3, DC in next 8, 2 DC in next 3, DC next in 16, 2 DC in next 3, DC in last 4 stitches. Join to first DC. (72)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail.
Eyes (make 2)
Round 1: with black yarn, chain 5, 2 SC in 2nd chain from hook, SC next 2 stitches, 4 SC in last stitch. Now working on the other side of the chain, SC in next 2 stitches, 2 SC in last stitch. Join to first SC with a slip stitch, chain 1. (12)
Round 2: 2 SC in first 2 stitches, SC in next 2, 2 SC next 4, SC next 2, 2 SC in last 2 stitches. Join to first SC, chain 1. (20)
Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next. Repeat around. Join to first SC.
Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew onto purse. (30)
Insert safety eyes into one of the stitches at the end of your starting chain for the eyes. I had a little gap here because of my starting slipknot, so the safety eye filled the gap. You can place your safety eyes wherever you think they look best.
Nose
Round 1: with black yarn, chain 7, SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each stitch across, chain 1, turn. (6)
Round 2: SC DEC, SC, SC, SC DEC, chain 1, turn. (4)
Round 3: SC DEC, SC DEC, chain 1, turn. (2)
Round 4: SC DEC. Do not chain 1 or turn in this round! (1)
Round 5: SC in each stitch around the nose. Start your first SC in the same stitch as the SC DEC from the last round. Work 2 SC stitches in each corner. Fasten off, leaving a tail to sew onto purse.
Ears (make 4)
Round 1: with black yarn, magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)
Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)
Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)
Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)
Round 5: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)
Fasten off, weave in ends on all 4 ear pieces.
Now you are going to crochet two circles together to make an ear. Lay one circle on top of another, keeping the right sides out. Attach black yarn with a slip stitch, making sure you go through both loops on both ear pieces. SC in each stitch around. Join with a slip stitch to first SC. Fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew onto purse. Repeat for the other two circles so you have two ears.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Now that you have made all the parts of the panda purse, you need to attach it all together.
1) Sew the panda face onto one of the purse pieces.
Use your yarn needle to attach eyes and nose to one of the white oval/purse pieces. Next, stitch on the mouth. You will be able to see your stitches on the back, but this will be inside the purse and not visible.
2) Make the purse pouch by sewing together the white oval pieces.
Weave in your ends on one of the oval pieces only. On the other oval piece, use your yarn needle to bring the yarn up closer to the top/corner by weaving the yarn up through the stitches. This will put the yarn in a better place to start sewing the purse together.
Next, place one of the ovals on top of the other, keeping the front (right) sides facing out. Use your yarn needle to sew through the inner loops only using a whip stitch to attach the ovals together. Make sure your start and end places look even when you are finished. Remember not to sew the top of the bag closed. ?. Do not weave in ends or fasten off. You will use this yarn to sew the zipper also. If you do not have enough yarn here, you can attach a new piece.
3) Attach zipper to top of purse.
I was planning on using a white zipper for this purse, but my 4-year old daughter insisted it had to be a pink zipper. You can really use any color. A white zipper might hide the stitches in the zipper better. Mine are quite visible on the inside of the bag because I used white yarn and a pink zipper, however it is only on the inside of the bag, so it I was okay with that.
Start by tucking in the ends of the zipper piece in at the end of one of the sides of the purse. Use your yarn needle to secure the end of zipper pieces by sewing back and forth through it. Next, continue sewing on one side of the zipper by passing your needle back and forth thorough the inner loops only and through the zipper fabric.
When you get to the other end, tuck in the zipper fabric ends and then sew in back and forth through it to keep it in place. Then continue sewing in and out of the inner loops and through the zipper fabric back across the other side of the zipper. I found it easier to open the zipper to sew this side. That way you can see where your needle is going better and it gives you access to the back of the fabric.
When you are back at the start, weave in ends and cut yarn.
4) Attach ears to back of purse.
Use your yarn needle to sew the ears to the back of purse. I secured the ears by sewing along the end of the purse as well as along the edge of the ear. Weave in ends and cut yarn You are now finished the purse pouch part!
5) Make a strap and sew it on to the purse.
I wanted this strap to fit my 4-year old daughter to wear the purse across her body. I used a measuring tape and decided that 29 inches was a good length. Keep in mind the strap will stretch a bit. I stretched my chain a bit as I was working to make sure it wouldn’t get too long from stretching with purse use.
Row 1: Chain 29 inches (or to desired length). SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across, chain 1, turn.
Row 2: SC in each stitch across, chain 1, turn.
Row 3: SC in each stitch across. Fasten off, leaving a tail to sew strap onto purse.
Sew each end of the strap to the purse below where the zipper is attached. Weave in ends.
Optional Extra: My zipper was a bit tiny, which made it hard for my daughter to open with her little fingers. I used THIS PATTERN and a 3.25mm crochet hook to make a tiny heart and then I attached it to the zipper to make a cute zipper pull.
You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed this pattern and making your own crochet panda purse!
My daughter enjoying her new panda purse!
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