Arts and Crafts

United Mission to Nepal

In Nepal, many women carry a small purse called a tyli, which they tuck into their clothing around the waist. It is a simple drawstring bag, but with the additional benefit of color coded strings so that it is easy to open and close by matching the colors.

Tyli

Materials needed:

Heavy fabric, but not a tightly woven one
Medium weight crochet thread
Small fabric scraps in different colors
Needles
Thread
Sewing machine
Iron
Ironing board

Using the pattern below, cut out two pieces of fabric for the purse. If the flat edge cannot be placed on a selvage, turn the edge under and sew it to keep from unraveling.

Place wrong side of fabric together and sew around the curved sides with the sewing machine. (You may wish to have one person operating the machine, doing all the purses.) Turn right sides out.

Cut two pieces of crochet thread 20" long. Starting at one side (by the seam), begin stitching the crochet thread around the open edge of the bag (about 3/8" from the edge.) If the edge has been turned under, stitch below it so that it has only one layer of fabric to pull through. A running stitch should be used, going in and out of the fabric at 3/8" intervals. When you have sewn all the way around, knot the ends of the thread together about an inch in from the end. Double knot it for a large end.

Now start at the opposite side of the purse and run the other crochet thread around the bag. Stitch 1/8" below the first thread, going in and out at the exact same intervals. Go all around the bag and knot the ends as before.

Unravel the ends of thread. Cut two triangles of the same fabric using the pattern below. Iron under all the edges. Wrap a triangle tightly around the knot, enclosing the thread ends, and whip stitch into place. Do the same to the other end.

Now cut two pieces of crochet thread 8" long. Stitch one through one side of the purse, between the two draw strings. It should simply loop in and out around the seam, as it will be used only to pull the purse open. Double knot it close to the seam (outside the purse), then knot it again about an inch from the end. Do the same on the other side. Unravel the ends of these two threads, cut two triangles of a different color fabric than used earlier, and cover the thread ends in the same way.

At this point, you should be able to close your purse by pulling on the first triangles, and open it by pulling on the second. Your tyli is now ready to use--why not use it to collect money for global missions!