Author Archives: mrshufton

First project of 2014 – white work reticule

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2014 is going to be the “year I finally learn to embroider” so I thought this would be a great place to start ye old blog – as a novice!

First up on the docket is a practice piece: A white work – or white-on-white embroidery – reticule. There are many styles of white work out there, but I am drawing on inspiration from the little purses so lovingly embroidered by girls in the first quarter of the 19th century.

Here are some extant examples of white work that inspired me for this project:

Since I’m a beginner, I chose to use less expensive materials for this project. I used some white cotton fabric I had left over from a petticoat project and some DMC perle cotton (the kind of embroidery thread you can kind at the big box sewing supply stores), linen for the lining, and cotton twill tape – 1/4 inch for the drawstrings and 3/4″ for the casing.

Most cotton embroidery threads (and sewing threads) you find today are mercerized – a process that makes the fibers stronger. This process was not invented until 1844. So obviously a truly accurate repro from the first quarter of the 19th century would use un-mercerized embroidery threads. I’m saving my cash until my satin stitches don’t look like peeling bark on a tree, so I’m using the easy to get stuff for now.

Here are my project photos. Ta-da! Not great, but not bad for a freshman effort. I learned A LOT I can apply to my next embroidery project.

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Notes on Construction

I used basting (or running) stitches to outline the shape of my reticule before stretching each side to the embroidery frame. I completed all embroidery before cutting out the reticule. I also kept the center point of my designs farther to the bottom since once the bag is drawn up anything too far to the top will get squished.

From the extant examples I studied, the outside of the reticule was frequently two pieces attached by some kind of open work stitch. I used a herringbone stitch on my bag. The linen or cotton lining on the inside wasn’t necessarily the shape of the outside purse, so in my project I did the same simple linen liner.

In extant examples the drawstring casing was frequently just the outside pieces drawn up and either back-stitched or sewn with very fine running stitches to create a casing. I decided to go with something sturdier (knowing my modern contents would unravel that sucker pretty fast), so I pinned twill tape on the inside and back-stitched from the front pieces, catching the top and bottom edges of the tape. I also placed the bottom stitching line about 1/4 inch above the bottom edge of the tape, and then attached the linen purse lining underneath with a very fine hem stitch. In all reality, I made my purse more tidy on the inside than it would have been.

The trick to a drawstring bag is to have two drawstrings that loop all the way around. The loop of each drawstring should go in on one side, and then back through the other so that each string comes out on the same side.

I made the tassels out of the same cotton perle thread I used for the embroidery.

Embroidery Resources

You can find all kinds of wonderful embroidery threads, books, tools, and other goodness from Hedgehog Hand Works for more accurate reproductions. (I ordered one of every kind of white embroidery thread and size they have for my next white work project!) I also picked up Early American Embroidery Designs – An 1815 Manuscript Album with over 190 patterns, reproduced from an actual pattern book made by Elizabeth M. Townsend.

I found these two blogs very helpful for background info, resources, and excellent embroidery tutorials:

Mary Corbet’s Needle and Thread (She’s written a lot about white work!)

Sarah’s Hand Embroidery Tutorials Picture Guide to Embroidery Stitches

So there it is, my first 2014 project done and my first blog post. 🙂