I bought the "American Duchess Guide to 18th century dressmaking" when it was released, but I haven't really been into any big 18th century projects this year. When I made my roundgown and chemisette for I used the book for inspiration, and then I felt the need to make a new reticule. There were some weird accessories in the 1790's and I wanted something more than just a soft bag with a drawstring. I picked their "Sundae best" reticule, on page 221.
I used some cream silk satin for the soft part, and the cardboard for the bottom structure was from a moving box. I thought about what I would use for the bottom part, and then realised that it would be fun to be able to call it a "snow cone" if I kept to a winter theme. I didn't have any exta silk, so I took some grey high quality poly satin, and then for trim I used a silver etallic braid.
The silver braid was fraying a lot, but that made it possible for me to cut off a piece of braid and use the strings to make the tassle.
Overall the instructions in the book were easy to follow, I think there is one typo in the pattern, asking you to cut two pieces of fabric to cover the cardboard, when you need 4, but otherwise it was really good. The reticule is handmade, mostly because it was a nice little project to work on while watching TV. The finished bag is roomy, but the silk ribbons were narrow enough that they cut into my wrist when I wore my phone in the bag. I could probably use some wider ribbons for that.
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