A(needlework) sampler is a piece of embroidery produced as a demonstration or test of skill in needlework. It often includes the alphabet, figures, motifs, decorative borders and sometimes the name of the person who embroidered it and the date. The word sampler is derived from the Latin ‘exemplum’ – an example.
Sampler by Margaret Barnholt, age six, 1831. This needlepoint may be printed from your home computer for a doll's house. You will need to resize it to a smaller version however, before printing it. |
The oldest
surviving samplers were constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries. As there
were no pre-printed patterns available for needleworkers, a stitched model was
needed. Whenever a needlewoman saw a new and interesting example of a stitching
pattern, she would quickly sew a small sample of it onto a piece of cloth – her
‘sampler’. The patterns were sewn randomly onto the fabric as a reference for
future use, and the woman would collect extra stitches and patterns throughout
her lifetime.
16th Century
English samplers were stitched on a narrow band of fabric 6–9 in (150–230 mm)
wide. As fabric was very expensive, these samplers were totally covered with
stitches. These were known as band samplers and valued highly, often being
mentioned in wills and passed down through the generations. These samplers were
stitched using a variety of needlework styles, threads, and ornament. Many of
them were exceedingly elaborate, incorporating subtly shaded colors, silk and
metallic embroidery threads, and using stitches such as Hungarian, Florentine,
tent, cross, long-armed cross, two-sided Italian cross, rice, running, Holbein,
Algerian eye and buttonhole stitches. The samplers also incorporated small
designs of flowers and animals, and geometric designs stitched using as many as
20 different colors of thread.
The first
printed pattern book was produced in 1523, but they were not easily obtainable
and a sampler was the most common form of reference available to many women.
The earliest
dated surviving sampler, housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,
was made by Jane Bostocke who included her name and the date 1598 in the
inscription. However, the earliest documentary reference to sampler making is
recorded in 1502 The household expense accounts of Elizabeth of York record
that: ‘the tenth day of July to Thomas Fisshe in reward for bringing of
concerve of cherys from London to Windsore … and for an elne of Iynnyn cloth
for a sampler for the Quene’.
A border was
often added to samplers in the 17th century, and by the middle of the 17th century
alphabets became common, with religious or moral quotations, while the entire
sampler became more methodically organized. By the 18th century, samplers were
a complete contrast to the scattered samples sewn earlier on. These samplers
were stitched more to demonstrate knowledge than to preserve skill. The
stitching of samplers was believed to be a sign of virtue, achievement and
industry, and girls were taught the art from a young age.
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