From the article:
Upstairs and Downstairs Bags for Needlework and Sewing

See also:
Upstairs Bag for Needlework and Sewing

Bags to hold and carry sewing implements have been around for centuries. Although the contents and construction of the bags may have differed according to class or station, the purpose remained the same: to hold sewing accessories or needlework supplies for transport and convenient use.

The “upstairs” bag is knitted of silk to hold skeins of embroidery threads for fancywork; it would accompany the needleworker on social occasions. As fashions in the new twentieth century became close-fitting and slim, needlework tools could no longer be carried in the capacious pockets of a previous era.

The cotton “downstairs bag,” although knitted in the same style, might have been made at home before the owner went into service and filled with treasured tools from a far-off family. It carries utilitarian needles and thread for mending, sewing on buttons, and making or repairing garments. Domestic servants were expected to do their own mending, and keep their respective uniforms up to the standards of the house.