Alms bag?

I started working on an alms bag. It definitely is smaller than what I wanted.

I needed a leather bag to carry my stuff in if I am not going to be wearing a belt. Alms bags seem to be the right thing. I thought about a cute little embroidered number. I am very hard on my clothes. I am as attentive to my clothing as an average 8 year old boy playing in a creek. What the heck. I have to stay busy and I need something that does look period.

I have decided what I really need is a good bag to wear all the time and a bigger and more organized bag for small crafts and things you always need at events. I also want to make a new feast bag. I liked my feast bag better than a basket because it was 100% washable and it was perfect to throw dirty dishes in.

Back to the alms bag. I wanted to use black leather and red linen. I have a cherry red linen that has a weight of 7.1 ounces per yard. I am going to be using that for a nice viking underdress. I thought the alms bag would be great as a later project. You know, after I made the dress. I couldn't wait. I cut off a fat quarter to work with. I have been studying lots of pictures and I was looking for a leather bag. I have zero documentation on this style in leather. There are serveral extant pieces that are silk or linen with embroidery in this general shape. This is a perioid piece as far as I know.

I drew out the design on some taped together pieces of printer paper. I drew a back with a lid and a front. This was a stupid mistake. In my first illustration, you can see that I cut the back and the front as two seperate pieces. When I looked again at the illustrations, I realized I would not get the crisp, perfectly pointed corners on the bag. The second illustration is how I should have cut the bag. It is the way I will do the next one.

I cut one piece out of red linen and one out of black garment leather. I then sewed up the linen as a lining and the leather as the outer. Then I ripped it out. What the heck. This was going to be flashy perioid piece and not something great because I already made it too small, out of leather and I messed up the design. I sewed each lining to each leather piece instead. I had an idea.

After sewing them, I pressed them and then sewed the bottoms together. The design may be wrong but it won't be horrible. Notice that the sides are not sewn together? That is because I am going to sew the sides together with red thread for a more striking effect.

It turned out just about the way I envisioned it so far. At this point I am pleased with the effect. The strap is externally attached with room for pilgrim's badges. I have stashed away a few so I am very excited about sewing them onto the bag.


This is what it looks like folded over? See that weird thing on the bag? It is a pewter wreath of roses. I think it used to be on a scented candle holder. The candle holder broke a few years ago and I haven't thrown away that pewter thing. It is one of those things you constantly find in your junk drawer and go 'wtf? What is that and why do I have it?' I stuck it on the bag because for some strange reason, that thing had migrated onto my desk. Obviously, that muse of freaky SCA projects is busy reorganizing my house.