Purse Frames

During the Victorian, Edwardian eras and the early 20th century, hand worked petit point became a specialty in France, Austria, and Hungary. The finer petit points held at least 900 stitches per square inch, some micro petit points have been known to consist of up to 3,000 stitches per square inch. The term "micro" represents the smallest and finest stitches. Petit point handbags were worked in superb wools and silks, depicting flowers, landscapes, and scenes from mythology to courtship.

 Today, these highly esteemed works of art are still hand made in Austria with many elaborate micro petit point designs selling in the thousands of dollars, however, their vintage counterparts can be purchased at a much more reasonable cost to the collector, the trick is finding them in great condition.  Antique petit point purses are amongst some of the most gorgeous hand made handbags.

Petit point and needlepoint are embroideries worked on the open spaces of a canvas, using a threaded needle to place stitches across from one opening to the next in a diagonal direction.  Needlepoint stitches are twice the size of standard petit point stitches. Exquisite European needlepoint handbags were characteristic of the early 20th century.

Tapestry handbags were often constructed from earlier tapestry cloth. Both hand and machine woven, the tapestry stitch is raised from the canvas by being worked over two horizontal threads.  Other pieces of tapestry were designed specifically for handbags, so dating these purses can be difficult.  Frames often indicate the age of the purse, although not always conclusively. Imported French tapestry purses are amongst the finer examples that are cherished by today's collector.