This timelessly elegant alphabet sampler takes you on a journey to the heart of the alphabet, where rows of darning stitches mingle with traditional motifs.
In 1857, little Mariette let her needle wander like a gentle breath. From her diligent hands was born a sampler full of delicacy, touched with softness and grace. Its floral border, rich with varied motifs, still seems to whisper the secrets of her young stitcher's heart.
Stitched on 40 count linen. The stitch count is 300 x 217 and the finished size is 15" x 10.85".
This chart is an antique reproduction sampler, with options for the stitcher to customize. I have charted three options for the stitcher to choose from. The last line of this sampler is where the custom choices are. Three options include; the original antique version Prepare to meet thy God", a... Read more about Mary Sidgwick - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from designer: Isabella Hunter was born February 16, 1875 in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. There was a paper originally attached to the back of the sampler with the written words "Isa(bella) & Ma". This suggests that maybe Isa and her mother worked on this sampler together.
Note from designer: George Wishart Creighton was born 22 June 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The words Native American (with emphasis on the capitalization of the N and A) on the sampler refer not to George's lineage but rather to a group of Protestants. We believe that the motif immediately to... Read more about George W. Creighton - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from designer: The only part I left off of the reproduction is the section just below the alphabet. This sampler does have a lot of over 1 & eyelets.
Pattern is stitched on 36 ct Baked Clay from Fox and Rabbit using Classic Colorworks and DMC. Stitch Count 140 x 240. Finished size is 7.78 in wide X 13.33 in high.
Cross stitch pattern from Sambrie Stitches featuring a vintage sampler with the phrase "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He Maketh me lie down in green pastures he leadeth me besides the still waters. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Prepare... Read more about Mary Ann Tunbridge 1860 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "Acquired in England, one might assume that this classic Quaker motif sampler was made at the Ackworth School in Yorkshire. However the influence of the designs promulgated by the Quaker School needleworkers stretched far beyond the confines of the school's walls. This... Read more about Elizabeth Shephard 1820 - Cross Stitch Pattern
A derivative 17th-century canvas work picture. The Adam and Eve legend was a more popular theme on samplers after the early eighteenth century so this example is quite unusual. The pair are not often seen on earlier needleworks, even though most illustrated bibles of the sixteenth and seventeenth... Read more about And All Was For An Appil - Cross Stitch Pattern
This sampler features a lion, a camel, and large colorful flowers. The design was stitched over 2 threads on 40 Ct. linen and is suitable for all skill levels. The stitch count for each design is 244 W x 230 H. The finished piece will measure approximately 12-1/2″ x 11-1/2″.
This Irish Quaker sampler features an alphabet at the tope, verse, bands, and flowers. The verse reads "Great Almighty God above plant in my heart a fund of love, that I my mercies may adore and bless and praise thee evermore."
Note from the designer - "In 1779, the Quaker Friends School at Ackworth, Yorkshire, was established for the purpose of educating young people of both sexes, and instilling the values of their Society; equality, simplicity, peace. Girls received nearly the same instruction as boys. Out of this... Read more about M Quertier 1799 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "An intensely stitched and well-planned sampler, this unusual piece probably originated in Pennsylvania. The allegorical figure hovering over the house could represent Liberty. The unconnected border of floating honeysuckle is unique, as well as the little pastoral... Read more about Rebecca Robinson 1821 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "Designed after a mid-eighteenth century New Hampshire sampler, this piece is delightfully naive with its oversized animals, insects, and birds. Around 1760, the New-Hampshire Gazette began publishing advertisements for girls' schools, placed by female instructresses,... Read more about Susan Singleton - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "Designed after an early eighteenth century tent stitched picture, this expansive needlework scene depicts many episodes in the life of an affluent English family including its elaborate parterre and gardens, a stately brick and stone house, domestic, exotic and wild... Read more about The Manifesto - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This little needlework was likely made as a panel of a "huswif"/aka a "housewife", which was an embroidered, double-sided vertical series of pockets made to hold needleworking supplies. It could be folded up or hung from a peg for swift access to the... Read more about Huswife Circa 1780 - Cross Stitch Pattern
This American sampler was stitched on a loosely woven homespun linen with vegetable-dyed silk threads. Despite its size and simplicity, the design is striking, delicate, and well-balanced. Eunice Morton was born in 1783 in Gorham County, Maine. Sometime in 1809-1810, she married Jesse Harding, and... Read more about Eunice Morton 1794 - Cross Stitch Pattern
A unique four-sided geometric border is the highlight of this American sampler, consisting of nine rows of letters and numerals surrounded by a counted satin stitch sawtooth inner border. The design looks like something that might have inspired the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. I have not been able... Read more about Emely C Newman 1831 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "ANN WHITTAKER created an almost comically theatrical sampler depicting Adam and Eve, angels, pious verses, and elaborate meandering vines beneath dramatic multi-colored draperies and tassels. Hovering over the verse which is framed by large columns, are two angels with... Read more about Ann Whittaker 1790 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "Abigail Ann was born October 27, 1799, in East Caln, Chester County Pennsylvania. Her parents were Joseph and Ann (Wells) Fleming, the fourth generation of Flemings living in the East Caln area. Abigail Ann attended one of the Quaker schools in Chester County but we are... Read more about Abigail Ann Fleming 1816 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This sampler shows a man and a woman beneath an apple tree, reminiscent of Adam and Eve, but in contemporary dress. Possibly of New York origin (the format and background suggest this), this reproduction is stitched on linen with either cotton or silk, with the... Read more about Abigail Gould's Sampler 1796 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This sampler was made in St. Albans, Vermont. A naturalistic four-sided floral border surrounds a central reserve with alphabets and a pictorial scene. The house is so distinctive that it is probably a depiction of Amanda's own home. Made under the tutelage of B.... Read more about Amanda Jewel 1816 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This unusual sampler is probably of Scottish origin. The distinctive French-inspired mansion house and the peacocks are commonly found on Scottish samplers. Adam and Eve are realistically stitched in the Garden, by effectively working two quite simple stitches together:... Read more about Ann Bowden 1811 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "A sophisticated painterly use of perspective distinguishes this pictorial English sampler. An idealized rural scene with a thatched cottage nestled in a fertile valley, with white misted hills rising in the distance, also features a windmill, a flock of sheep,... Read more about Ann Brockbank 1812 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This is a very graceful and finely stitched sampler, an unusual combination for the late date. Nine ethereal female figures, like penitents in an Edward Gorey cartoon, march solemnly about the sampler, paying homage to the house. The huge house appears to be welcoming... Read more about Ann Cottee 1848 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "A classic Quaker sampler from the Delaware Valley, this sampler demonstrates the style and many of the motifs that make them so easy to identify. The inner oval vine-and-leaf cartouche surrounding the alphabets probably originated at the Westtown School in Chester... Read more about Ann Fleming - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This very delicate Scottish sampler with its bold color scheme was designed with a four sided stylized honeysuckle border surrounding horizontal rows of illuminated alphabets and double running stitch motifs. The extensive use of double running stitch lends the sampler... Read more about Ann Forrest 1757 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This is a beautifully balanced, intensely stitched transitional sampler. Worked originally in brightly colored silk threads on a fine tammy (wool) ground, it features a repeating, four-sided carnation border, surrounding five horizontal bands interspersed by lines of... Read more about Ann Hair 1762 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This Dover, Massachusetts, sampler features an unusual border surrounding alphabetical and numerical tests, and a four-line verse often found on early 19th century American samplers. The colors are remarkably well preserved. The maker, Ann Harding (who was actually... Read more about Ann Harding 1821 - Cross Stitch Pattern
In the upper register of this finely stitched English sampler there is featured an unusual vignette of Adam and Eve beneath the tree of life (with a menacing black faced serpent) flanked by mirror image brick cottages, followed by a pious verse:
Note from the designer - "Several band samplers very similar to this one are in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as well as in other important collections. This particular sampler came from the collection of The Scarlet Letter, and is now in a private collection. A... Read more about Ann Scutt circa 1675 - Cross Stitch Pattern
There is so much going on in this fascinating English sampler that it's hard to know where to begin looking. Apart from the somewhat conventional Adam and Eve at the top center, adorable flying cherubs flank them and the apple tree, bearing gold rings and sprays of flowers. The verse is as... Read more about Catharine Metcalf 1836 English Pictorial
Note from the designer - This is the most symmetrical, balanced, counted thread sampler that we have ever charted from. It is also one of the most satisfying, challenging, and beautiful samplers in the world. Originally worked on a fine wool ground, the colors of our reproduction have been matched... Read more about Dorcas Haynes 1720 - Cross Stitch Pattern
This is a pleasantly quirky, colorful sampler likely stitched in the north of England judging by some of the Scottish influences in the design. A four sided strawberry border surrounds an alphabet and a pious verse above a geometric pattern band. Below this is a scenic register with trees, birds,... Read more about Elizabeth Cheetham 1824 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "Elizabeth Eaton finished her sampler on the 21st of July in 1712. She used bold, primary colors suggestive of Scottish influence. The original sampler was stitched with both silk and fine wool threads on linen using cross, eyelet, rice, queen, herringbone, double... Read more about Elizabeth Eaton 1712 - Cross Stitch Pattern
This letterndoek (lettering) form of Dutch sampler appears from the late 17th through the early 19th century. It is easy to recognize by its horizontal shape, and beautifully illuminated lettering, interspersed with various symbolic shapes and Biblical motifs. The color scheme used on so many of... Read more about Dutch Sampler of 1773 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer - "This beautiful. petite, energetic sampler expressed three fine verses and, at the end, one of the truest "signatures" I've ever read on a piece of needlework:
By this ingenous Maids
may see what by the
needl wrought
may be
Note from the designer - "Elizabeth Mansfield finished her sampler in England on 13th June 1792, during the reign of King George III (1760-1820: note the cushioned crown in the upper third, marked on either side by the initials G R for George Rex). The original sampler was stitched on a very... Read more about Elizabeth Mansfield 1792 - Cross Stitch Pattern
According to a note attached to the back of the original sampler, it was probably made near Newtown, Pennsylvania. The attribution at the center is surrounded by a typical Quaker leafy cartouche with opposing flowers and facing birds above. Other characteristic Quaker motifs include eight point... Read more about Elizabeth Mitchell 1828 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer: "A Pennsylvania German sampler that may not be, strictly speaking, a miniature, but is nonetheless small for its type. Typical Pennsylvania German folk culture motifs - birds, trees, hearts, flowers, crowns and stars - adorn it."
Band samplers of the 17th century exhibit the widest range of stitches and techniques. Counted thread stitches on linen were artfully combined with panels of floral, geometric, or figural cut and drawn work- a technique where the background threads of linen are carefully bound, then cut and pulled... Read more about EN 1657 A 17th Century Band Sampler - Cross Stitch Pattern
Note from the designer: "This northern German sampler consists of random symbolic spot motifs, with a simple zigzag border. Religious symbols are commonly found on continental samplers. On this example, we find the wreath carried by angels (the wreath as a symbol for eternal life): the ship... Read more about FAK-MEK 1779 - Cross Stitch Pattern
Fanny Hancock's father, Ebenezer Hancock, was cousin to the famous John Hancock. Born in 1785, Fanny sewed her sampler at age 11. She married Nathaniel Parker of Boston in 1803, and died in 1834. The colors on the back side of her sampler retained much of their original brilliance, and are... Read more about Fanny Hancock 1796 - Cross Stitch Pattern