Sampler Exemplar

            Sorry for the long hiatus.  Last post, I talked briefly about the history of samplers.  However, since this is not only a history blog, but a reenactment blog, the next step was, obviously, for me to make my own.

            As I mentioned in the earlier post, the current image of a sampler is of a young girl’s first embroidered piece.  While this is not the only purpose that samplers were used for, I decided to make mine as if it was an early piece of work.  To that end, I stuck with simple stitches and bold, rainbow colors. 

            The size for the sampler was decided so that it could be framed and displayed.  While this might not have been an ultimate goal of a sampler a hundred years ago, it makes it more attractive today.  Therefore, I chose an 8x10 inch size, so that it could fit easily into a frame.  I then measured and cut plain white cotton to the proper size—this did include extra to allow me to mount it.

I decided to have a Biblical quotation be in the center of the work-again, this was quite a common theme for young girls.  I chose “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might,” from Deuteronomy 6:5, simply because it is one of my favorites.  It also has a slightly moralizing message, and would be considered appropriate for a young girl.  To transfer the words, I typed up the passage, printed it and then traced it on to my fabric.  This, obviously is a modern method of transferring, but it worked well here because the fabric was thin enough to read the letters easily.  It was also the simplest way, if not the most historically accurate.  I used a water soluble transfer pen for all markings.  Here is the cloth with the words traced. 

Next, I needed to stitch the words.  First, I inserted the fabric into a hoop to help hold it firm and prevent pulling while I stitched.  I chose a royal blue for the lettering, as a strong color that would show up well.  For the letters, I used backstitch, which is probably the most basic of all embroidery stitches.  It is a simple stitch, probably one of the first a girl would learn, and also very well suited to such work. 

Once the quote was completed, I turned my attention to the border.  In keeping with my desire to use simple stitches, I decided on a basic cross stitch.  Again, this is one of the fundamental embroidery stitches and is exactly what the name seems to imply.  Two small stitches are made, one crossing over the other, creating an x shaped stitch.  It is commonly used to fill large areas.  To insure even stitches, the number of threads under each stitch are often counted, when the fabric allows for it.   I used red, yellow and green in a symmetrical pattern. (This desire for symmetry is why the purple that appears in the earlier photograph of the colors I was going to use does not appear in the finished piece.)  The top and bottom blocks are one inch by two inches and the side blocks of green are an inch and a half wide.  There are not the same number of stitches in each block, although effort was made to keep all stitches the same size. 

Although all stitching was done, the sampler was not quite finished.  As can be seen from the photographs above, it was quite wrinkled.  Much of this was the result of the hoop used to hold the fabric firm.  Therefore, it had to be ironed before anything more could be done. Note that the sampler is ironed upside down.  This helps prevent damage to the stitching.

Once the sampler was ironed, it needed to be mounted.   For this purpose, I used a piece of cardboard (the flat pieces that come in amazon.com boxes are perfect), cut to size.  I then placed the cardboard on the back of the fabric, pulled it tight and fastened it down.  

We have a sampler.  Obviously, it is not framed yet.  While I did order frames, and they have arrived (one of the reasons for the delay in this post), they turned out to be defective.  One corner is not fastened properly.  Therefore, I can not show the final, final product.  Here, however, is the finished sampler, sans frame: 

Once a non-defective frame has arrived, the completed sampler will be for sale in my etsy shop.

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The History of Samplers

            The image conjured up by the word “sampler,” at least in the context of textiles, is that of the first piece of embroidery done by a young girl.  Therefore, what better way to start an embroidery blog then with the history of samplers?

            This classical image is both true and not true.  Samplers probably developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as mentions of them are found before the seventeenth century.  An early mention comes in the work of the English poet laureate John Skelton, who lived from 1460 to 1529.  Another early reference comes from Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, which was written in the late sixteenth century.  However, no actual examples from these periods survive.[1]

            These earliest samplers were not intended primarily as teaching tools.  Rather, since printed patterns were both expensive and rare, they developed as a way to record and copy the various designs and stitches.[2]  Furthermore, they were not exclusive to embroidery, but knitted and crocheted samplers were also produced.[3]

            It was during the eighteenth century that the function of samplers began to shift from a pattern repository to the more familiar teaching tool.  The materials used changed (from linen to cheaper fabric).  As the transformation continued the quality of work became much lower, with less sophistication in the stitches used.  Cross stitch, probably due to its simplicity, became the primary stitch used.[4]

            Samplers were a teaching aid in more ways then one.  Not only did they instruct in the rudiments of embroidery but they were also used, through choice of subject matter, to teach more general subject matter.  Often moralizing poems or quotes were used.  Maps could also be embroidered, then to be used for the teaching of geography.[5]

            As the nineteenth and then twentieth centuries progressed, sampler making gradually died out.  This is probably attributable to the rise in affordable sewing machines[6] as well as the prevalence of ready made clothing.  With fewer and fewer women learning to embroider (and it no longer being considered an essential skill), the need for samplers has declined.

            Here are some examples of English Samplers.  In addition, an exhibit, now closed, recently displayed twenty-three samplers from the Brittish Isles.

Check back soon for the next post, which will have my description and preliminary design for an example sampler.

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[1] John G. Phillips, Jr. “A Special Exhibition of Samplers” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Vol. 25, No. 4 April 1930.  pg 100

[2] Ibid.

[3] Edith A. Stanton “First Efforts of An Infant’s Hand” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin New Series, Vol. 17, No. 3 Nov. 1958. pg 99

[4] “A Special Exhibition of Samplers” pg 101-102

[5] Ibid. pg. 102

[6] “Samplers Through the Centuries” Simply Samplers <http://www.simplysamplers.org/content/pages/a-history-of-samplers.php>

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Welcome to this blog!
I make (and sell!) hand embroidered objects.  Here, you will find the history of types of embroidered objects, as well as my experiments in reproducing these items.  If they turn out well, you might even be able to buy them!
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