My son has a bride as of this spring. Wonderful memories! His bride was stunning; her
dress, beautiful. Everyone so happy.
Of course with such a special occasion, thoughts of something handmade were percolating.The list of ideas included: her veil, a wrap, a purse, the garter, something blue… then finally settling on the money bag and something traditional.
We’ve all heard the tradition of the bride wearing… Something Old, Something New, Something 
Borrowed, and Something Blue as she marries. But LK told me there is another line that is often dropped and I had never heard, …And a Sixpence in her Shoe. A sixpence was traditionally a gift from the Bride’s father to the bride representing prosperity, happiness and love. I’m guessing it as dropped here in the US since a sixpence is an English coin. It’s about the size of a dime, and no
longer minted. No problem. A quick internet search and I easily found sixpence for sale on eBay for $1. (Bought 3 and saved on shipping.) Took less than a week to arrive. I wanted to mount the coin to a card along with the poem. I copied a shoe drawing found on the internet into MS Word, increased the drawing’s transparency and typed the poem over it. Added a border, sized to 4.25” x 5.5” and printed on 100 lb. card stock.
A money bag is a simple project; a pattern is not needed. Think small pillowcase with a drawstring. [Variation: This one has a circular base. I used a small plate as a template.]
Materials needed:
– ½ yard of white satin
– 2 yards of 1/4” satin ribbon for the drawstring
– 10 yards of 1/8” satin ribbon for embellishment
– White thread
– Optional: Cardboard cut in a circle to fit the base of the bag
Step 1: Cut fabric to 24” x 20”. Fold in half so piece measures 12” x 20” and sew a seam on the long side.
Step 2: Use a 7” plate as a template, adding a 1/2” seam allowance. Cut 3. (one for base, 2 to cover cardboard)
Step 3: Sew 1 circle to the bottom of the bag. Adjust base to fit the bag’s circumference.
Step 4: Turn down the top edge of bag and stitch to avoid fraying.
Step 5: Make a small eyelet buttonhole by machine or by hand 6” from the top edge opposite the side seam. This is for one of the openings for the drawstring. The other opening is created by opening the side seam by a few stitches.
Step 6: Casing and Bag top – Turn down 3” to the inside of the bag. Stitch around close to finished edge and again ½” above to form a casing for the drawstring being careful to stitch just below and
above the eyelet buttonhole.
Step 7: Add Ribbon to casing – On the right side, open side seam between stitch lines of the casing for the drawstring. Cut ¼” ribbon in half and feed through one of the openings all the way around the
bag. Tie ends together in the same knot. Repeat starting and ending from the other opening.
Step 8: Trim cardboard to fit the bottom of the bag. Cover cardboard in fabric and sew together. Place in bottom of the bag.
Step 9: Make 20 small bows using the 1/8” wide ribbon. [Note: I made 4 rows of 5
bows. Make a pattern you like.] Pin to the bag. Hand stitch each in place. Make something. It may someday pass down to her daughter and she’ll think of you.
Ah, tradition!
Carolyn Hanson is a local knitting and crochet designer, teacher and fiber artist. She can be contacted at cchanson3@gmail.com.