late elizabethan embroidered bag · web viewthe embroidery is mostly floral type, even though there...

Running head: LATE ELIZABETHAN EMBROIDERED BAG 1

Late Elizabethan Embroidered Bag

Lady Eachna ni Clonmakate

LATE ELIZABETHAN EMBROIDERED BAG 2

Purpose

This embroidered bag is the first project I ever completed in the SCA. I had seen

an “Elizabethan Sweet Bag” in a magazine (I believe it was Inspirations, but I have lost it), and

decided I had to make it. It was Stumpwork which is something I had been wanting to try and

was absolutely gorgeous. I made my “sweet bag”, documented it and entered it in an A&S

competition (my first competition!). I was quite disappointed when my project did not receive

very good scores. In particular my documentation received a low score (it was definitely

lacking). This is a picture of that bag.


I decided that it would be fun and informational to take this bag that I had spent so many

hours working on, and do a proper job of documentation, now that I have learned a great deal

about appropriate resources, etc. Even if my documentation was faulty when I first displayed my

work, the bag was beautiful and I wanted to see how it really compares to period bags. So the

purpose of this paper is to properly document this embroidered “sweet bag”. To start I need to

explain a bit about the history of British Embroidery.

Brief History of British Embroidery

Opus Anglicanum

Early Embroidery in Britain dating prior to 1500, consisted primarily of religious

vestments and hangings. Although there are some examples such as the Bayeaux Tapestry,

which was a secular work of art, there are far more examples of religious works. These religious

works contained elaborate gold embroidery encrusted with jewels and was commonly termed

Opus Anglicanum. “The actual beginnings of English embroidery are lost in the past, but that

good quality work was done from earlier times is known from references in deeds and other

writings.”(Clabburn, 1976, p. 99) The actual height of the Opus Anglicum period is 1250-1350

which happens to coincide with the finest architectural and artistic achievements, but it dies out

by the 15th Century. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum (ANON, n.d., p. 1)

“the seventy-five years between its death [Opus Anglicanum] and the middle of the reign

of Elizabeth are at present a blank period from which little has been recovered. Yet about

1570 or 1580 we are abruptly faced with the type of embroidery illustrated here, a fully-

formed tradition, showing an overflowing vitality and, in most cases a considerable

technical competence. Nor is this competence restricted to embroideries we may


reasonably show to be professional; it characterizes the great majority of pieces which

must be household work.”

There are a number of reasons for this sudden interest in elaborate embroidery. As a

result of the importation of silk direct from the Levant and the manufacture of steel needles,

intricate embroidery was suddenly made possible. And it was within the means of the household

embroiderer, rather than just professionals. Additionally, with the more general availability of

velvets, beautiful brocades and damasks, there was a revival, and embroidery increased in

interest. From the mid-fifteenth Century techniques developed in new ways and new techniques.

Especially since with the Reformation great quantities of vestments were destroyed, and the gold

reclaimed, the embroideress’ turned to decorative embroidery (Dean, 1968, p. 21). The Victoria

and Albert Museum book (ANON, n.d., p. 14) pointed out that a wide variety of extant examples

of decorative embroidery remains in their collections from the Elizabethan period. They

represent both furnishing embroideries and costume embroideries, and the publication contains

many illustrations to reflect this variety. The embroidery is mostly floral type, even though there

is great variation in the type of object it covers or represents.

Raised Work

Raised or “embosted” work was developed with the influence of the “broderie en relief”

which was a highly padded and naturalistic form of eccliastical embroidery(Dean, 1968) and a

technique which can be traced back to the 15th Century(Sinton, 2011, p. 10). As a result, the

raised work became popular for domestic and decorative embroidery. Many popular plants were

worked in detached buttonhole stitch, and padding and metal work were found on items such as

guantlets and gloves. According to the Embroidery Guild, (Benn, 1991, p. 12), “the decades


which linked the Tudor and Stuart dynasties in the early seventeenth-century formed one of the

most exuberant periods in the history of embroidery.” And “Elizabethan Embroidery has often

been described as “bursting into flower.” The frivolity of the age, the preoccupation with

gardens and games, are mirrored in the embroidery”. (Bridgeman & Drury, 1978, p. 38)

Design

The size of my piece approximates the size of a Sweet Bag. However, after reading

Sweet Bags An Investigation into 16 th & 17 th Century Needlework by Jacqui Carey (Carey, 2009)

I realized that my bag is not exactly an accurate replication of the typical Sweet Bag. Most

Sweet Bags have very definite characteristics which include: three tassels along the bottom, a

decorative tassel at each side of the opening of the bag, and a braided drawstring that passes

through slits in the bag. The slits are covered with gum to prevent fraying. And most were made

of tent stitch or an Elizabethan fill stitch on a canvas backing. So the bags were tightly woven,

with a flat type of stitch.

This is a sweet bag

which I was fortunate

enough to examine during

a private showing at the

Clothworkers Guild in

London. They maintain the

vast collection of the

Victoria and Albert

Museum, and visitors are welcome to request a showing of items in storage that are not


currently displayed. This sweet bag is dated from 1600-1650 and is made of Embroidered

canvas with colored silk, silver and silver-gilt thread and seed pearls, silk braid, and lined

with silk. It is made of what we would currently call “needlepoint” and was Tent Stitch on

canvas. All examples of sweet bags that I viewed at the V&A (and that Jacqui Carey wrote

about) were very similar. This is very different from what I had made. The stitching was

very “flat”. However, the bag I embroidered is raised stitching (stumpwork).

I did, however, find several examples online of bags that were not the typical sweet bag,

that have survived the ages. The first example is a silver satin bag similar to the bag I made.

It has a background of silver satin with a variety of embroidery in silk threads on the surface.

It is NOT the typical tent stitch on canvas. (Pinterest, 2016)

The next atypical bag I found was made of a purple velvet base with stitching in silk

thread. Both bags are attributed to the late Elizabethan period of 1575-1600. (Pinterest,

2016)


These bags did, however, have the typical three tassels along the bottom of the bag, a

drawstring that was looped through cut insertions in the bag, and the tassels at each end of the

drawstring.

Both designs contained a variety of flowers. As I previously mentioned, the use of

flowers in Elizabethan embroidery was fashionable. “The discovery of new countries with new

plants and animals which were painted by artists further fostered the developing interest in

flowers. These illustrations were used by embroiderers for their designs so that embroidery

during the reign of Elizabeth I could almost be said to ‘burst into flower.” (Clarke, 1996, p. 9)

The predominant decorative style for silk embroidery was the scrolling stem pattern

enclosing flowers. This stem was shaped to create separate areas each filled with flowers and

enriched with a variety of insects and tiny animals to fill all the available spaces.(Clarke, 1996, p.

9) “The development of the ‘tree of life’, as this design is often known, was heavily influenced


by a vogue for oriental design which grew during the seventeenth century. Throughout the early

decades of this century a limited number of Chinese artefacts were imported by Europe: enough

to create a cult, but not enough to satisfy a growing demand. Consequently, European designers

and craftsmen began producing their own work in imitation of Chinese pieces. (Benn, p. 17)

Materials Used

Base Fabric:

I used a gold silk satin damask fabric for the base. This would be totally in keeping with

the 15th-16th type embroidered bag. As I stated on page 3, paragraph 3 of this paper,” silk

brocades, damasks, and velvets were available from the Levant.” This fabric would certainly be

an appropriate background fabric within this time period

Embroidery Threads:

I used mostly Au Ver a Soie stranded silk thread for this project. However, the gold

thread I used was Au Ver a Soie, Bourdon. Stranded silk would definitely be the primary

embroidery thread used in this project. However, the gold thread would have been a thread made

of gold rather than what I used. It would probably be a couching type thread such as what we

currently call Japan thread or a passing type thread, both of which would be made of very fine

strips of gold, beaten to a very fine thickness and wrapped around a silk core. When I made this

bag I was not familiar with those types of threads.

Lining:


The lining was a coral colored silk dupioni. The sweet bags (or bags) that I have seen are

all lined with a type of silk. The coral colored silk dupioni I used would be in keeping with what

would have been used.

Drawstrings:

The drawstrings are ¼” silk ribbon. The traditional material would have been finger

looped or braided stranded silk.

Spangles

The spangles are actually flat plastic sequins (the only ones I could find that were flat). I

have since found sources for more period metal spangles.

Stitches

The stitching is broken up into four (4) areas of flowers: the daffodil, heartsease, English

daisies, and Roses. The stitching instructions were taken from the A-Z of Embroidery

Stitches ( Country Bumpkin Publications , 1999) .

Scrolling Vine

This was the first figure stitched. I did one row of chain stitch in a dark green, and

another row right next to it in a lighter green. The outer edge of chain stitch was then whipped

with the gold thread. The chain stitch is a very basic embroidery stitch that has been used for

centuries. “Examples of chain stitch worked in silk from the Warring States period (475-221

B.C.E.) have been excavated in China. Other extant pieces have been found in the Middle


East.”(Leslie, 2007, p. 41). It was also widely used in the Middle East and the Indian

Subcontinent. Although I was unable to find a specific date for the first use of the chain stitch, it

was used in the Opus Anglicanum pieces prior to 1500. Therefore, the chain stitch is one of the

oldest stitches and was used in the works for outlining during the Opus Anglicanum period.

(Dean, 1968, p. 163)

Daffodils: The outer petals are needlewoven picots in stranded silk. The trumpets are

raised cup stitch in the middle of each flower. ‘Detached lace stitchery is extensively used for

three-dimensional fruit, flowers, tent flap and clothing and over padding to form some of the

birds, beasts and architectural features.” (Benn, 1991, p. 18) Additionally, in the reference

Stumpwork “Although it was not until the mid 17th century that stumpwork reached its peak,


during the Elizabethan period many of the popular plants of the day were worked in detached

buttonhole, an essential stumpwork stitch.” (Sinton, 2011, p. 10) And “Needlelace is probably

the most identifiable stitch within stumpwork and one that was passed down to the Stuart

embroiderer from the Elizabethan period.” (Sinton, 2011, p. 58) From both of the references it

seems clear that although I don’t have a specific example, these needlelace stitches

(needlewoven picots and raised cup stitch) were used in the late Elizabethan timeframe. The

leaves were also stitched in the needlewoven picots in a dark green stranded silk, and were

twisted and anchored in position.

Heartsease: The heartsease is stitched in purple and yellow stranded silk in the same

needlewoven picot as was used in stitching the Daffodils. The leaves were done in a detached

chain stitch (see above in the scrolling vine paragraph).


English Daisies: The English daisies were stitched with bullion knot petals. The center

of the daisy was filled with yellow French knots. I then divided the flower into quarters by

stitching a bullion knot petal. The rest of the quartered area of flower was then filled in with

bullion stitch petals. The bud (in light green) was stitched in bullion stitch to form the bud.

The bullion stitch is another stitch that was used in the late Elizabethan period. “The

bullion stitch is a knotted stitch which originated in China. The oldest extant example is a pair of

silk shoes from the warring period (475-221 B.C.E.). Knots were popular during the Han

Dynasty (200 B.C.E. – 200 A.D.) where highly decorative, finely worked silk costumes were

embellished with the Pekin knots. . Embroideries from China and Western Asia reached the

British Isles, North America, and Western Europe along with other trade goods imported by the

British East India Company in the e1690’s…Westerners became enamored with the texture of

Eastern knotted embroidery.”(Leslie, 2007, p. 102) Therefore, the late Elizabethan embroiderers

would look to the knotted embroidery stitches to add dimension to their work.


Roses: The roses were stitched with the bullion stitch (see English Daisies, above). The

roses are worked by doing a bullion loop and two bullion knots for the center. Outer petals are

worked in bullion stitch, in an offset manner, to form a rose.


Forget-me-knots: The forget-me-knots are worked in a light purple and yellow stranded

silk in a French knot (they are scattered throughout the above pictures). As with the bullion

stitch (a knotted stitch) the knotted stitches were first used in China. And there is great evidence

they were used in the Opus Anglicanum period.

Bee: The bee was stitched with alternating bands of black and gold bullion stitches. The

head and eyes were worked in a French knot. The wings were stitched in a detached chain stitch

using gold metallic thread.

Inside Border: The outer row of the border was worked in a chain stitch, whipped with

gold metallic thread. There was a row of coral stitch worked inside the previous row. Coral

stitch is another knotted stitch that was first used in China (see bullion stitch).


Construction:

The outer bag and lining were stitched by hand using a whip stitch or back stitch

(depended on the area). The side embellishment made as part of the handle was a twisted braid.

It was made in one piece (long enough for both sides and a handle). The braid was hand stitched

to the bag. The bottom was stitched using the Coral stitch.


Drawstrings: I decided not to use slits cut into the bag for the drawstrings. I felt it

would look “odd” and people who are not aware of the typical design of this period bag would

think it was a lazy or less than ideal method of stringing the drawstring. Instead I used dark

green stranded silk to make two needlewoven bars to carry the drawstrings. The drawstrings are

made of ¼” silk satin in a pale gold color that matched the background gold fabric. I did not

make any large decorations at the top (attached to the drawstrings). The typical sweet bag would

have a large decoration at each end of the drawstring.

Tassels: The tassels were added after the construction of the bag was completed. They

were made very simply and were sewn to the bottom of the bag. They were the only decoration

at the base of the bag, though the typical sweet bag would have more decoration. For my next

adventure in making a sweet bag I will make more traditional tassels for the bottom of the bag

and for the ends of the drawstrings.

Summary

In summary, I found that the stitches I used in decorating my bag were all used during the

late Elizabethan period. It does not qualify as a sweet bag, at least not in the typical sense as it

lacked a number of decorations. However, it was very similar to bags of that time period that

had a base of fine fabric (i.e. satin, velvet). The scrolling design, with the different flowers in

each quarter section was totally period. After a great deal of research, it appears the final

product and design were developed during the current modern period and adapted the late

Elizabethan designs to modern design. Now that I am more knowledgeable about Elizabethan

embroidery, I plan to make an accurate reproduction of a period Sweet Bag. I believe I have

done enough research to not make the same errors and to produce a significant product.


References

A-Z of Embroidery Stitches (Reprinted October 1999 ed.). (1999). Rose Park, South Australia:

Country Bumpkin Publications.

ANON (n.d.). Victoria and Albert Museum. In Elizabethan Embroidery (p. 5). [Kindle].

Retrieved from www.Amazon.com

Benn, E. (Ed.). (1991). Treasures from the Embroiderer’s Guild Collection. Brunel House,

Newton Abbot, Devon, UK: E. G. Enterprises, Ltd.

Bridgeman, H., & Drury, E. (Eds.). (1978). Needlework an Illustrated History. 245 rue St-

Jacques, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1M6: Optimum Publishing Company Limited.

Carey, J. (2009). Sweet Bags An Investigation into 16th & 17th Century Needlework. Ottery St

Mary, Devon, UK: Carey Company.

Clabburn, P. (1976). The Needleworker’s Dictionary. New York, New York: William Mmorrow

& Company, Inc.

Clarke, D. (1996). Exploring Elizabethan Embroidery. : Georgeson Publishing Limited.

Dean, B. (1968). Ecclesiastical Embroidery (4th ed.). Portman Square, London W.I: B. T.

Batsford, Ltd.

Dean, B. (1968). Eccliastical Embroidery (4th Impression ed.). Portman Square, London: B. T.

Batsford, Ltd.

Leslie, C. A. (2007). Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com/books/about/Needlework_Through_History.html?

id=pLnWAAAAMAAJ

Pinterest. (2016, (undated)). Rennaissance Bags [Blog post]. Retrieved from www.pinterest.com

Pinterest. (2016, (Undated)). Sweet Bags [Blog post]. Retrieved from www.pinterest.com


Sinton, K. (2011). Royal School of Needlework Essential Stitch Guides: Stumpwork. Tunbridge

Wells, Kent TN2 3DR: Search Press Limited.

Bibliography

Bauer, M (2005), The Embroiderer’s Handbook, Newton Abbot, Devon, David & Charles

Carey, J. (2012), Elizabethan Stitches A Guide to Historic English Needlework, Devon UK,

Ottery St. Mary, Carey Company.

Christie, G. (1920), Samplers and Stitches A Handbook of the Embroiderer’s Art, London. 94

High Holborn, B. T. Batsford Ltd.

Digby, G. W. (1963), Elizabethan Embroidery, London, 24 Russell Square, Faber and Faber.

Mann, K. (1937), Embroidery Design and Stitches, London, W.1., 4, 5 & 6 Soho Square, A. &

C. Black Ltd.

Marsh, G. (2006), 18th Century Embroidery Techniques, Lewes East Sussex, BN7 1XN, Castle

Place, 166 High Street, Guild of Master Craftsman Publications, Ltd.

de Saint-Aubin, C. G. (1983), Art of the Embroiderer, Los Angeles California, 5905 Wiltshire

Blvd., Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Thesiger, E. (1941), Adventures in Embroidery, London, 66 Chandos Place, The Studio

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