On Tuesday 17 January 2006 10:18 pm, Dawn wrote: > I've been looking at recreating some accessories from the 17th century, > and I found this great site for purses. > > http://www.museumofbagsandpurses.com/eng_1600.html > > I'm interested in numbers 3 and 6. #3 looks like it's made from a flat > rectangle folded in half. Would that be correct?
That would be one way to do it; fold the rectangle up and seam up the right and left sides. > Could it be open on > top, or would there be some sort of fastener? Does anyone have and idea > what size something like this would be? I've seen pictures of very similar 16th c pouches that were, in fact, open on top, and this one looks as though it is too. As for "did it have a fastener," your example looks as though it might have a drawstring--look at the top left-hand corner. Size? Not very big. They were "sweetbags"--i.e., a kind of period sachet that you carried about to ward off nasty odors. They were popular as gifts. Here's one from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts--theirs is 9 cm by 9 cm --yes, that less than 4 inches on a side: http://www.mfa.org/collections/search_art.asp?recview=true&id=119729 Here's a site that describes one method of making one. http://www.bellomarisco.com/sweetbag.php Just for fun, here's a picture of one given to Elizabeth I as a New Year's gift--sadly, no size information is provided: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/site/request/setTemplate:singlecontent/contentTypeA/conWebDoc/contentId/6089/viewPage/3 > #6 looks like it is made from 4 half-football shapes, probably lined, > with drawstrings. I think you're right, though I think of it as more like a Viking cap with a drawstring around the edge. :-) > There is a similar bag on the following page, > (http://www.museumofbagsandpurses.com/eng_1700.html) heavily > embroidered. Can anyone tell me what kind of embroidery that is? It kind > of looks like cross stitch to me. > > Yet another in that style here: > http://www.witneyantiques.com/flat.items/embroidery17lg.htm > > But I can't make out the type of stitches used. I suck at hand work, but > I can do basic stitches if I know what they are. > It looks more like petit point to me, or even tapestry weave, but I'm no expert at handwork either. Sorry! -- Cathy Raymond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Physics is like sex; sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it."--Richard Feynman _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
