Sweet Bag!

So, my copy of the book arrived. It's helpful, especially the finishing details at the end, describing the drawstring and tassel construction. Jacqui Carey does a nice job of describing the pieces she's looking at, but I would have liked more explanation for some of her conclusions, particularly when they conflict with "accepted" scholarship. Also, I think some of the embroidery diagrams are a bit confusing, especially when it doesn't illustrate how to start the stitch.

I decided to go with a 5 flower motif- one in each corner, and one in the center. This is found on extant sweet bags, as are the flowers I've chosen. I'm using two strands of silk floss, and the flowers are outlined and will be filled in using tent stitch. I drew the design freehand from period images, and transferred it to the fabric using a lightbox.

The same image is repeated on both sides- there is a fold on the bottom, and the sides are stitched together, so right now the top and bottom halves are opposites. I used a water-soluble pen to transfer my design, so I could alter it if I was unhappy with the placement of the motifs. In period, the design would have been inked onto the fabric.

The flowers are honeysuckle, rose, borage, pansy (viola), and a carnation (pink, gilliflower). I plan to do the borage, gilliflower, and pansy in blue and purple shades, and the rose and honeysuckle in pinks and roses.