Bag

From the 1830s Berlin woolwork dominated home embroidery. The patterns were worked in merino wools from Germany on to canvas, and silks were introduced for texture and bright colour contrasts. Thousands of printed charts were imported into England, each square representing a stitch, and many designs for bags and purses were available, as well as for other small objects such as slippers, or watch holders. While much of the embroidery was worked simply and methodically, more complex stitches and patterns were often used for bags. Small, geometric patterns were popular at first, but soon floral motifs became highly prevalent. From the 1830s Berlin woolwork incorporated beads, resulting in compositions of great variety and colour.