Bags and pouches were used for many things. This photo shows an Arapaho paint pouch. The beadwork covering this item is done in a pattern called “lazy stitch”, meaning that several beads were strug at a time and set into rows. Even putting 10 beads on at a time, it would still take a considerable amount of time to complete the task.
That’s not all that decorates this pouch; can you see the delicate tooling on the leather? Did you notice the larger, faceted beads in cobalt at the bottom of the bag?
