My own history

I just found this purse, which I made when I was about 14:

Embroidered braids to hide seams

Embroidered braids were used to cover the seams of 14 th century embroidered purses. Frieda Sorber explains this technique in this book:

Ceulemans, C. (1988), Tongeren. Basiliek O.L. Vrouwe Geboorte. I. Textiel van de vroege middeleeuwen tot het Concilie van Trente, Leuven: Peeters

Isis wrote a comprehensive "how to instruction", including pictures: click here.

tassels: 13th century - mid 14th century

These tassels were made for a member of The Liebaart. I used:

• Aurora fine 2 ply spun silk in blue and red
• yellow embroidery: Devere Yarn, 1200 dernier filament silk
• linen core
  
• size: ca 2, 5 * 6 cm
  

This type of tassels were used in the 13th and 14th century, until ca 1350. Pictures of similar tassels can be found in:

• Hoving, T., Husband, T., Hayward, J. (1975), The secular spirit: Life and art at the end of the Middle Ages: New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art v

• Schneider, J. (1975), Textilien. Catalog der Sammlung des Schweizerischen Landesmuseums Zürich, Zürich: Verlag Berichthaus

• Wilckens von, L. (1991), Die textilen Künste. Von der Spätantike bis um 1500, München, Verlag CH Beck

For online pictures, click here (insert LM 1825 a, LM 1825 b), here or here.

14th century embroidery patterns

These patterns were used for decorating 14th century purses and wall hangings. You can find pictures of purses embroidered with this type of patterns, from The Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, in these books:

• Ceulemans, C. (1988), Tongeren. Basiliek O.L. Vrouwe Geboorte. I. Textiel van de vroege middeleeuwen tot het Concilie van Trente, Leuven: Peete

• Schmedding, B. (1978), Mittelalterliche Textilien in Kirchen und Klöstern der Schweiz, Bern: Abegg-Stiftung

• Staufer, A. (1991), Die mittelalterlichen Textilien von St. Servatius in Maastricht, Bern: Abegg-Stiftung Riggisberg

There are pictures of German wall hangings decorated with these patterns in e.g.

• Schuette, M., Müller-Christensen. S. (1963), Das Stickereiwerk, Tübingen: Wasmuth

• Wilckens von, L. (1991), Die textilen Künste. Von der Spätantike bis um 1500, München, Verlag CH Beck

• white DMC linen floss
• red and green Au ver a soie silk
• 9*15 cm
• original in Victoria & Albert Museum, London
  
• chart by Wymarc

• red, white, blue and green Au ver a soie silk
• 8*16 cm
• original in Victoria & Albert Museum, Londen
  
• chart by Wymarc