1. Elizabethan sweet bags
Lady Eachna ni Clonmakate
Royal University of Meridies
June, 2011

2. What is a Sweet Bag? Small, square, densely decorated purses
Covered in colored silks and metallic threads
Design usually feature floral motifs with coiling stems
Normally have a long, braid handle
Two matching drawstrings that end in large, ornate tassels
Three decorative features along the base
Two features at the top of both corners
Date from late 16th – early 17th C.

3. Example of Sweet Bag
Linen, embroidered with silver-gilt and silk thread in tent, Gobelin and plaited braid stitches

4. What were they used for? Perfume carrier
Used to scent textiles in storage
Worn as a girdle purse
Chatelaine
Object carrier (coins, books, ribbons)
Worn as a status symbol
Gift (i.e. New Years gift list of Queen Elizabeth I)

5. Example with Pin Cushion
Linen canvas, silk and silver thread in tent and Gobelin stitches

6. Who owned sweet bags
Highest echelons of society (according to written records)
Textiles and embroidery were very important in this time period
Bequeathed clothing, textiles in wills

7. When were they made?
Most historians agree Sweet Bags were made in the late 16th – early 17th Century

8. Who made sweet bags? Ladies of leisure Professionals
Collective project made by several people

9. Sweet bag designs Floral designs Coiling Stems Floral Sprigs
Creatures (butterflies)

10. Sweet Bag Designs (cont’d)
Geometric designs (Diaper designs)

11. Other designs Majority of sweet bags are floral and coiling stem style
Several fall outside typical style

12. Designing Sweet bags Designed with intent Design sources
Herbal and emblem books
Needlework books
Samplers

13. Materials used
Flax linen, used as base
Silk
Metal

14. Construction
Linen is stretched onto a frame, and the design is marked on the surface
Outline of the design is worked in tent stitch with black silk
Interior of the motifs are filled with different colored silk using tent stitch
Background area is filled with metal using an Elizabethan ground stitch
Coiling stems are worked with Elizabethan plaited braid stitch using metal thread

15. Construction (cont’d)
After embroidery is complete, raw edges are folded over and gummed
Lining of silk is cut, folded in half, and stitched both sides
Side seams of bag are stitched together along outer edge
Lining is secured inside by stitching along top edge
Decorative twine edging is added to cover the stitching along sides and top of bag

16. Construction (cont’d)
Trimmings are added to top corners, and three decorative tassels are secured into base of bag
Ends of braid handle are stitched to corners
Two drawstrings are inserted through holes pierced in top edge of bag
Two ornate ends are added onto drawstrings

17. Tent stitches Used for motif fillings Often worked haphazardly
Appears on 25 of 35 bags surveyed
Used for motif fillings
Often worked haphazardly

18. Elizabethan ground stitch
On top of linen --Work UP 4 and RIGHT 2
Underside of linen – Work DOWN 2 and LEFT 1

19. Elizabethan plaited braid stitch

20. Resources http://www.careycompany.com/sweet-bags.html
Diby, George Wingfield. Elizabethan Embroidery. Faber & Faber, London, 1963.
Most photographs taken from: