Cross Stitch Samplers are wonderful gifts for weddings and births.
The term sampler comes from the Latin exemplum meaning 'an example to be followed, a pattern, a model or example'.
Samplers are different examples of stitches.
It is generally believed that sampler stitching was carried out by young girls to encourage skills in stitching for use in later life.
A sampler would probably have a variety of different stitches, and would be kept by the girl as a reference for future work.
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It would normally have been the particular individuals first attempt at stitching.
If you are interested in the early history of samplers, a search on google will turn up many entries.
Since I have worked quite a few wedding samplers and birth samplers, I have given them their own page.
The rest are listed here.
Needlework is one of the earliest forms of sewing and has documented since nearly 600 BC.
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Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry the 7th is most famously credited with the first form of cross stitch.
She was famous for her “blackwork” which is said to have been the precursor to modern cross stitch.
“Blackwork” was found on most of Catherine of Aragon’s chemises and underclothing and soon became a popular technique for embellishing garments in the 1500-1600’s.
The oldest British sampler was made in 1598 by Jane Bostocke - it's inscription commemorates the birth of a child.
Cross stitch was popular in China during the Tang Dynasty.
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As it was her role to make and embellish beautiful clothes for her family, at this time, a woman's worth was closely tied to her stitching ability.
Many people believe blackwork to be the origin of cross stitch.
This craft is believed to have been brought to England in the 16th century by Catherine of Aragon when she married Henry VII in 1509.
Before the Industrial Revolution it was still the woman's role to make clothes for her family, and so the ability to sew was a necessity.
Linen was very expensive and every square inch would be used up, thus the sampler was invented.
Samplers were intended to teach young women to sew, as well as used to help young girls to memorise numbers and the alphabet.
Cross-stitching is the process of making a single cross or “x” into hooped fabric to create a stitch.
The hoops were to stabilize the fabric.
The first cross stitch patterns are recorded in the late 1500’s, but the invention of the printing press really helped paper cross stitch patterns along.
Traditionally, cross-stitch was used to embellish items like undergarments, household linens, tablecloths, dishcloths, and doilies almost like labels.
Samplers were also popularized during this same ear and were made using cross-stitch motifs.
These samplers were a way of not only teaching hand-sewing, they were also a method of teaching and reinforcing reading, writing and arithmetic.
Young girls could practice and learn their letters and numbers while stitching each of them individually.
They ranged in sizes from small to quite large and many took young girls years to complete.
People didn't have access to printed patterns for thousands of years.
Today we often take printed patterns for granted, but they are a very useful resource and creating beautiful stitched pieces of art would be difficult without them.
The first recorded printed pattern book was published by Johann Schonsperger in Germany in 1523, and others quickly followed throughout Europe, mainly in Italy and France.
In the beginning samplers were usually done on linen or cotton, but in the late 1890’s aida cloth was invented and helped to increase the craze of cross stitch samplers even more.
The first fabric specifically made for cross stitch was made by a German company, Zweigart, in 1890.
DMC (Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie), founded in 1746, are now the best and most loved brand of thread in the world.
We also use DMC thread and needles in all of our kits!
Cross stitch as we know it today started in the 1960s.
Today, technology has also come into the cross-stitching world in a way so that modern “flossers” can use many different types of threads and even make their own patterns up using computer software.
The last few years have also brought a new generation of stitchers.
These stitchers are involved in true departure from the traditional designs associated with cross-stitch.
This current trend is known for more postmodern or tongue-in-cheek designs that feature retro images with contemporary, feminist sayings added to them.
A nod to the old, but bringing the personality and grit of a new generation to the stitching community.
There are two kinds of cross-stitch that are very popular today-the first being “stamped cross-stitch”.
Stamped cross stitch is manufactured, having the pattern already stamped, in color, onto the aida cloth itself.
With the pattern already stamped on, one simply follows the color patterns with cotton thread (usually 1 or two strands) on the cloth to create small x’s that eventually make a scene or a picture.
This type of cross stitch is usually sold in kits with all the matching thread colors provided to create the stamped pattern.
The second type of modern cross stitch is called counted cross stitch.
For example, row #1 might start 5 squares in from the edge, and then have 10 black x’s in it.
Как вышивать крестиком. Видеоурок для начинающих. Cross stitch for beginners. Пушка Наталья. Урок 1
Examples of Historic Samplers and Their Stories
Here are some examples of historic samplers and their stories:
Rebecca Ballinger's Sampler (1830)
Rebecca was born on March 22, 1814, to William and Lydia Smith Ballinger in Pipe Creek, Maryland.
The family moved to Ohio in 1819, and Rebecca stitched her sampler under the tutelage of Ann Thorn in Jefferson County.
