<b>Object Type</b><br>Small purses were made in enormous numbers by women and girls at home in the first half of the 19th century, either for personal use, as a gift or to be donated to a worthy fundraising cause. The variety of needlework or 'fancy work' techniques employed included knitting, as in this example, netting, crochet, embroidery on woven silk and on net, and painting on satin and on velvet.<br><br><b>Materials & Making</b><br>This purse has been knitted in different shades of silk, with beads threaded through some of the stitches. It would have been worked on fine steel needles; by the early 19th century knitting needles were being manufactured of so fine a gauge that they were little thicker than ordinary sewing needles. The elaborate texture and colouring of the purse epitomises the fashion for exploring the full creative possibilities of fine knitting, with inventive patterns and stitches.