Go to a thrift store and buy a cheap, ugly, 100% wool knit hat. Felt the hat. (Look up felting instructions on internet.)
Sew straps and zipper into hat in coordinating colors, total cost: $3.00.
Use purse, and when people ask if you made it, say "Yes!"
The one I have here was not a "cheap" or "ugly" thrift store hat to begin with -- my friend C. knitted it. Then she felted it and hated the results. I rescued it from the trash and made the purse you see here.
I used inexpensive nylon webbing by-the-yard from a craft store for the straps and bought a zipper in the exact same color.
(And C., whenever anyone asks me if I made it, I always tell them that you did the knitting, of course.)
