Recently in one of my posts I mentioned ordering some sweet bag designs. I also broke down and ordered two books from Amazon. The book shown is really more about embroidery, Embroidered Bags and Purses. I have never really attempted embroidery, but I think the book will be a great reference as it is well illustrated both with photographs and drawings. There are lots of diagrams on how to construct a bag and the specialty stitches used, which should be really helpful!
The main impetus for this recent interest in Elizabethan designs was spurred by wanting to read up on Spanish Samplers. I pulled out a book by Thomasina Beck (which I also mentioned recently), and there are chapters on needlework through the ages. The Elizabethan stuff really caught my eye, which made me start looking around for other information/charts. The other book I ordered, Elizabethan Cross Stitch, by Barbara Hammet is a bit more of a modern interpretation of the style. It does have a nice short section at the end of motifs, which could be adapted to your own designs.
And I also discovered some lovely designs by Sharon Cohen. I ordered four new charts from Wyndham Needleworks, and they came this weekend. I definitely want to try my hand at making a sweet bag such as this one or something similar. I have actually made two "modern" sweet bags. You can see them in my picturetrail album. They also have a modern feel to them, but they were really fun to make! Now, of course, I will have to look at some sampler places and see what sampler reproductions were made at that time. I have always shied away from these designs as they seem much more complicated than other things I stitch, but I am certainly willing to give it a try. I do plan, however, on sticking with my original plan of working on my Spanish Sampler first, though!