Gunnister Purse Replica by Chris Laning

Gunnister Purse Replica

Knitting
September 2007
lightweight shetland yarn
Light Fingering ?
12 stitches = 1 inch
in stockinette worked in the round
US 00 - 1.75 mm
approximately 3 1/2 by 5 inches
Flag of English English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

This is a pattern for a modern replica of the 17th-century knitted woolen pouch found with the Gunnister bog burial, unearthed in 1951. The body called “Gunnister Man” was found in a peat bog in the Shetland Islands, where he probably died in about 1690, based on the dates of a few coins found in this purse.

I adapted this pattern from information contained in A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt and in 17th Century Knitting Patterns by The Weaver’s Guild of Boston (unfortunately out of print).