Item: A Lady’s 15th Century Purse
By: Lady Penelope de Bourbon, Ansteorra
Materials:
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Deep pile velvet (cotton) for the main body
Silk dupioni for the lining
Cotton thread for the cording and for sewing
Freshwater seed pearls and small glass seed beads
Overview:
Many paintings and illuminations portraying daily life in the middle ages show women wearing small
fabric purses that hang from the belt. Some are plain, some ornate, and all of them rather different from
the more rugged and utilitarian bags worn by men.
These drawstring bags are simply constructed, but a number of the extant ones I came across in my
research had very fine ornament in the form of embroidery, beading, tassels, metalwork, or some
combination of the above. The fabrics are luxurious but suited to be sturdy enough for regular use, such
as silk, velvet, and supple animal skins. Because the basic form seems to be constant and the details are
where the great variation lies, I chose a simple shape and chose materials and ornament in keeping with
what my research had turned up.
Research:
I looked at a number of paintings, portraits, and illuminated manuscripts from the late 14th through mid15th centuries to get an idea of the range of bags and pouches used. They were hard to find in formal
portraits, but relatively easy to see in works depicting daily life. The book Purses in Pieces (Goubitz)was
an immense help in providing a wealth of information on interpreting the fragments and remnants of
bags, explaining construction methods, and
making what I was seeing in the paintings
take shape as tangible objects.
While looking online for images and
information about existing bags, I found
this late 14th century example (Crowfoot et
al, plate 16) from London, made of deep
pile silk velvet. It is rectangular, drawstring,
and its edges are bound with tablet
weaving. I decided to reproduce this bag,
with a few minor changes to add ornament
and substitute for materials or construction
methods unavailable to me.
How It Was Made:
There are several common shapes for bags and purses in the middle ages. I chose the trapezoidal form
for this project because it is less bulky, less obtrusive, and far better suited to holding the modern
conveniences we keep on our persons, like cell phones and billfolds.
I drafted a couple of different patterns, finally settling on one large enough to allow an adult hand to fit
inside with a few necessities. I cut out the silk and velvet pieces, then sewed the silk lining with a simple
running stitch. Next, I carefully turned in the edges of the velvet pieces and mitered the corners, then
basted those down with small running stitches to minimize fraying and make for a cleaner finished seam
in the end. Seed pearls were sewn into the corners in a trefoil pattern, accented with the smaller glass
beads. All sewing was done by hand.
The drawstring cord is an eight strand round braid in green and cream done with the kumihimo method.
A cord made with finger loop braiding or a lucet would have been a more authentic choice than was the
Japanese braiding style. I don’t know how to do either of those, so I went with what I know, particularly
since it makes such a pretty and sturdy cord.
As I am only a fledgling weaver, I looked for an
authentic alternative to tablet weaving to bind
the pieces of the bag together. Simple sewing
lacked the decorative element I wanted, so I
went with the embroidered braiding method
seen on this French bag from 1340 (Medieval
Silkwork). I have seen it used on many
reproduction bags for ladies, but before this
example had not seen it on an existing find. The
method is very simple and makes for an
attractive finish to the seam similar to
decorative cording or piping. I used a tutorial
from the Medieval Silkwork blog to learn how to
do it.
As a final step, I attached simple tassels made in
the same cream and green cotton thread as was
used for the cording and seam finishing. I
adorned them with more pearls.
The seaming around the top of the purse was
done with a buttonhole stitch, and it was
complete.
Bibliography:
Crowfoot, Elisabeth, Frances Pritchard, and Kay Staniland. Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 4,
Textiles and Clothing c.1150–1450. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2001.
Goubitz, Olaf. Purses in Pieces: Archaeological Finds of Late Medieval and 16th-century Leather Purses,
Pouches, Bags and Cases in the Netherlands. Stichting Promotie Archeologie, 2007.
Medieval Silkwork. Images of bag from Wawel Cathedral Museum: http://msilkwork.blogspot.com/2011/07/ca-1340-french-pouch_14.html Tutorial on embroidered braiding
technique: http://m-silkwork.blogspot.com/2007/04/finishing-seams-of-14th15th-century_29.html