| Materials Required: | A piece of silk or ribbon, 5 inches wide by 7¾ inches long, |
| 1 bunch of crystal beads, No. 4-0, the same colour as the silk, | |
| 1 skein of No. 4-0 beads of a contrasting colour, | |
| A spool of letter A sewing silk of the same colour as the silk, | |
| A No. 11 needle, | |
| A yard of inch-wide ribbon the colour of the silk. |
Fig. 55
The daintiest little silk bag may be made by any small daughter for mamma or a dearly-loved aunt to carry a bit of lace work or some other treasure. A piece of soft ribbon five inches wide and seven and three-quarters inches long in a pale shade of lavender makes a charming bag. A network of lavender crystal beads of the same shade, with a pearl or gold-lined crystal bead at the point of each diamond-shaped mesh, gives the finishing touch of daintiness (see Fig. 55). Start by threading a fine needle with a piece of sewing silk the colour of the bag. Fasten the end by taking one or two small stitches near the left side of the strip of silk at about two inches from the lower edge. String six lavender beads, one pearl and seven lavender beads, and take a stitch a quarter of an inch from the beginning and on a line with it. Now run the needle down through the last bead strung (see Fig. 56), and string six more lavender beads, one pearl and seven lavender. Another stitch is made a quarter of an inch from the last one, the needle is run down through the last bead, and it goes on in this way until a row has been made across the piece of silk. The bag is then stitched up the sides and around the bottom on the wrong side and turned right side out. Bring the needle attached to the beadwork down through the six lavender beads and one pearl one, at the left side of the first half diamond made, and string six lavender, one pearl and six lavender beads. Pass the needle through the next pearl bead on the right in the row above and string another six lavender, one pearl and six lavender beads to make another half diamond. So it goes on around the bag. This row and all the other ones are only attached to the row above, not to the silk. The last row of netting should reach a little below the bottom of the bag. A twisted fringe is then made as follows: Run the needle down through the beads on the left side of the first mesh in the row just finished, through the pearl bead at the point, and also pass it through the pearl bead on the back of the bag which lies just beneath it. String thirty lavender beads and pass the needle up through the beads on the right side of the first mesh and down again through those on the left side of the second mesh. It runs through the pearl bead at the point of the mesh and the one under it at the back of the bag. String thirty more beads and twist the thread on which they are strung once around the right side of the loop just made. The next loop is made in the same way—passing the needle up through the beads in the right side of the second mesh, down through those in the left side of the third one, and through the pearl bead at the point of the mesh at the front and the one below it at the back. Thirty more beads are then strung. When you have made this fringe all across the bottom of the bag, fasten the end of the silk by sewing it two or three times through the bottom of the bag. Finish the top of the bag with drawing strings as follows: Turn in a hem three-quarters of an inch wide at the top of the bag and baste it. Hem it around neatly with the lavender sewing silk and make a casing for the drawing strings to run through, by putting a row of backstitching a little over a quarter of an inch above the bottom of the hem. There should be two little holes made on each side of the bag on the outside of the hem between the stitched seam and the bottom of the hem. They are put there so that the ribbon drawing strings can run into the casing. You can make them with an ivory or metal piercer called a stiletto, or any other tool that has a sharp round point. The neatest way to finish these holes is to sew the edges over and over with a needleful of sewing silk. Half a yard of narrow ribbon should be allowed for each drawing string. Thread it in a bodkin, or ribbon needle, which is run into one of the holes at the side of the bag, through the casing at the lower part of the hem, all around the bag and out of the hole beside the one where it went in. Now tie the ends of this drawing string together, thread the other one through the bodkin and run it into a hole on the opposite side of the bag, through the casing all around the bag and out of the little hole beside the one where it went in. The ends of this piece are also tied, and then the bag is done.
Fig. 56