Silk frame purse

I wanted to try my hand at creating the smocking which can be seen in many medieval paintings when purses such as this are depicted.

I purchased the bronze bar from Medieval Designs, an online shop based in Italy. (great service from them as well I must add!).

The purse outer is a silk brocade; the lining linen. It has been hand-sewn, the fullness gathered using smocking. The top edge, where the bag has been attached to the suspension wire, has been further strengthed with a fingerloop braid. (This particular bar did not have holes in the suspension wire, as some historic examples seem to have). Inside, there are two small coin purses attached to the front edge, again finished with fingerloop braids.
The drawstrings for the inner purses are finished with vintage bone beads - I was lucky enough to find a rather large string at auction and they seemed perfect for this purse.
The purse is finished with 3 knops - all of which are of padded linen, fininished with rows of the vintage bone beads and include carnelian beads at the centre. The silk used for the braids has all been hand dyed.