My 13th Century Pouch

19th Nov, 2005

My obession with wool embroidery continues. I had a bit of green wool left over from my tunic, so I thought I would make myself a pouch. I've made one using the same design for Lady Gro Torstensdotter. Although I love the colours that I used for that one, I didn't want to do a direct copy, though I might do that as well (cool to think of matching pouches half way around the world from each other!). It needed to have red and yellow, the colours of my heraldry in it, adding the green background would make it more historically accurate (the original is actually on dark green wool, not black) and also mean it was made in the colours of my Barony.

Seal bag on a charter from 1280 of Edward I

So, of course I couldn't find the original pattern I'd used and I didn't want to muck around printing it out again, so I used another old transfer technique - I put the spare black piece of wool I have with the pattern on it up against the new wool. I then tack stitched over the pattern, when complete I then drew over the line using chalk. Once the general pattern was drawn (the scroll boarder without trefoils and the central shield shape), I pulled the threads out and added the trefoils freehand.

We had to go to a BBQ, it was 30 degrees but I wanted to get started. I finished the central shiled pattern with three crescents on it in about an hour and a half and then another couple of hours on the body of the pouch. The scroll and trefoils are worked in stem stitch using Appletons wool and the red infil stitching is split stitch, again in Appletons wool.

The shield is red pure wool (from a cannibalised jacket from the op-shop). I've shown the whole piece so you can see the shape of the pocket. The crescents are worked in stem stitch in Appletons wool. The shield will be appliqued onto the background of the pouch. In the original, the shield is placed into a cut out section in the ground, in a technqiue known as intarsia. I am still deciding if I will do that or just applique straight onto the ground. There is a slight puckering at the top of the crescents. I am hoping that this will decrease with pressing. The shield section took about an hour and a half to work.

23rd Nov, 2005

Finished the front side of the pouch. Decided to do the back as well. I have to decide whether to put another shield with my heraldry on it or put my Baronies populace badge on it. I'm leaning towards populace badge at the moment. Next decision is to I do the red portion as applique or needlework?

26th Nov, 2006

Got another few hours done on the pouch. Filled in all the red for the back side of the pouch. Did it at a BBQ.

27th Nov, 2006

Ironed the shield and cut it to shape. Then stitched it in place and then stem stitched around the edge of the shield. Up to about 14 hours on it so far now. Just need to work out what to do with the back.

1st Dec, 2005

Second shield is done.

2nd Dec, 2005

Shield is on and outling finished.

Even with wool, ironing can be our friend, below is a before and after of the pouch.

3rd Dec, 2005

The pouch is now lined and the eyelets finished. They took a couple of hours. I really makes a difference when you use the right stitch. The hanging string took a little while, I did that while watching the Six Wives of Henry VIII, the David Starkey show. It was the last episode. So the pouch is basically done, I just have to dry and get some tassels from Spotlight tomorrow to put along the bottom.

7th Dec, 2005

Couldn't get the tassels, but it's close enough to done to post the last images!