Rose ‘Sweet’ Bag Embroidery Kit

Create your own piece of textile history with this Rose design sweet bag embroidery kit inspired by original 17th-century sweet bags—small, ornate pouches once used to carry scented herbs or dried flowers.

In this kit, you will have access to fine needlework of the early modern era through an all-in-one convenience, whether you are an historic reenactor looking for a portable living history project, an embroidery enthusiast seeking to learn or refine historical techniques, or a heritage craft enthusiast looking to relax creatively.

This sweet bag embroidery kit includes everything you need to stitch an authentic reproduction:

• Pre-printed linen ground fabric
• Silk lining fabric
• Silk and metallic threads in period-accurate colours
• Decorative cord, bead and tassel materials
• Historical stitch guide with diagrams (based on extant museum embroidery design)
• Full instructions with notes on 17th-century techniques for assembling the bag

What Were Sweet Bags

Used both practically to mask unpleasant odours and symbolically, as expressions of refinement, courtship gifts, or tokens of affection. These bags were often intricately embroidered with silk and metallic threads, reflecting the high status of their owners. They were part of elite fashion and domestic culture, especially in England, and often appear in household inventories, portraits, and museum collections.

Symbolism of the Rose embroidery design:

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the rose, was never just a pretty motif. It was a sophisticated emblem with personal, religious, political, and moral meaning, especially suited to intimate and decorative embroidered textiles like sweet bags. While white inferred purity, blue was widely associated with faithfulness and constancy, making it a fitting choice in gifts or tokens of affection, like sweet bags, where it symbolised enduring love or friendship. Blue also evoked the heavens, representing grace, purity, and divine protection. Deep blue silk threads were costly, signalling wealth and refinement, especially when paired with gold or silver in high-status embroidery.