About Samplers

Samplers endure through time and can identify us as the stitcher long after the other artefacts of our lives have dispersed into anonymity or dust. The samplers we make now will carry some of the intrigue of the antique ones which we admire today for both their monetary and intrinsic value. These days, samplers are not usually made because our skill at needlework is a requirement for employment. We make samplers because we want to create something out of our own skill and patience in a world full of commodities.
To make a sampler for someone is giving of oneself as well as a special gift.

There are many stitches used historically on early samplers which would have been used on costumes and decorative items. Some samplers were worked entirely in marking cross stitch so that they were also as beautiful on the reverse, each cross requiring several stitches! This stitch would be used for marking expensive household linens.
In some early samplers the sombre mood and punishing fineness of the stitches creates the impression of hardship. Premature deaths occurred frequently in families and were often the reason for a sampler to be made.
Other samplers are in the opposite extreme and show the grandness of a house and symbols of wealth. In between these are the religious samplers and those stitched in orphanages. A whole domestic history is written in stitches spanning the social classes.

By the early 19th century cross stitch was used predominantly and samplers had become a decorative item in their own right, made to be framed, not simply a workbox reference as they were originally.
These are the samplers which my designs are styled on and some are reproduced from.
Cross stitch, eyelet stitch and back stitch are the only stitches used in my designs. No ½ or ¼ cross stitches which would appear to be a modern invention.

We have the luxury of stitching as a recreation, our fabrics are woven perfectly. We don’t have to substitute an inappropriate colour because the supplies ran out. It’s easy to get new needles which can be gold! We have lamps, daylight bulbs, magnifiers and lots of pattern books. Samplers are rarely made by children now but frequently made for children. I love the naivety of  a child’s sampler and regret the fact that we are not so forgiving of our own little errors in stitching.

 We still weave our thoughts and times into our samplers. Although we are imitating and reproducing a tradition of folk art, we are giving clues to the present day and our samplers also may be studied historically some time in the future. A letter written by the stitcher and a photograph enclosed within the frame will be a treasured discovery after the passing of time.

Samplers have been written about in depth and lots of books and catalogues are available.
Museums sometimes hold surprisingly large collections of samplers in their archives which have been donated in the interest of their preservation and as a result are seldom seen. Exposure to light can be detrimental so exhibitions are kept to a minimum.
Museums are the custodians of these collections on our behalf and it is possible that you may be allowed to view them by appointment with the Textiles Curator.