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| Chatelaine
Every year I go to to the Liberty Antique Show in Liberty, NC. This all-antique show is held twice a year, in spring and winter. It takes all day to walk the grounds and visit any and all booths with crochet, lace or hand embroidery. There are over 1,000 booths!
The item shown above was in a booth with a tag that read: “Child’s Purse” I knew right away what it was – definately not a child’s purse. The top band continues on to the back. It was originally put over the wrist to hold thread while crocheting lace. What I didn’t know was the name.
Posting the above picture on FaceBook started a great debate for the name. At first someone said it was a Misers Purse. After doing a little research I found out that Miser”s Purses originated in the early 1900′s. These purses almost looked like stockings because they were long like the purses shown below.
The next guess was a reticule. Reticule typically refers to a drawstring pouch popular in the 1800′s.
Finally Tammy on FaceBook came up with the most likely name for this bag – a Chatelaine. Chatelaines were worn by many housekeepers in the 19th century. The name chatelaine derives from the french term châtelaine used to mean the female owner, or wife of the owner, of a large house. Originally the chatelaine was designed to have all the tools necessary for the woman of the household to sort out any problem she may encounter in her day. I found this Vintage Chatelaine Crochet Pattern at http://www.blogger.com/goog_574491619  So basically I think a Chatelaine is a bag carried in a hands-free way and used to carry small notions necessary to do any needlework including thread for crochet.
The pattern for the Chatelaine above will be available June 2011 at MaggiesCrochet.com Maggie Weldon |
