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
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
This English sampler was made in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, featuring the Sheffield General Infirmary, a verse, a fashionably dressed man and woman, and a collection of animals in the lawn in front (sheep, fox, squirrels, rabbit, dog), all surrounded by a four sided berry border.
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
Adapted from an English sampler dated 1783. The original sampler from which this piece was adapted measures 15 1/2" x 12 1/2", and was stitched over one thread of linen on approximately 50-thread-count glazed linen. The house on the left alone, which measures 71 by 62 squares on the graph,... Read more
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
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
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
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."
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
This sweet little American sampler features two little houses above alphabets and a short verse:
Would you be wise
Each moment prize
It is surrounded on four sides by a double sided satin stitched sawtooth border. Stitches used include cross, outline, stem filling, counted... Read more
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
Note from the designer: "This naive Adam and Eve sampler might have been made in Maryland around 1810. At first I believed that the sampler was either English or Irish, judging by the unusual surname, until, in my research, I came upon the gravestone of a Fanny H. Peachey, born 24 November 1799,... Read more
Note from the designer: "The characteristic that readily identifies the origin of this sampler is the distinctive vine and rose border, configured such that a leaf on one side and a rosebud stem on the other give the illusion of a double vine. It is almost always found executed in cross stitch... Read more
Note from the designer: "This sampler was probably made in Rhode Island, a poor sister, perhaps, to the magnificent creations coming out of the girls' schools in Newport, Providence and Bristol at this same period, but bearing some similar "signatures". The squat, long-tailed bird at the... Read more
This sampler features two uncommon verses taken from the book Sentences and Maxims Divine, Moral and Historical, in Prose and Instruction of Human Life: and Particularly for the Improvement of Youth in Good Sence and correct English by George Shelley, published in London in 1712.
Note from the designer: "Who would love this world or prize whats in it
that gives and takes and chops and changes every minute.
This brilliant English traditional band sampler comes from the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Drawing on traditional sampler motifs of the 17th... Read more
"Jesus permit thy Gracious name to stand as the first effort of an infant hand. And while her fingers on the canvas move, engage her tender thoughts to seek thy love. With thy dear children, let her have a part and write thy name thyself upon her heart."
Note from the designer: "This American band sampler was originally worked in Lynn, Massachusetts. Hannah Breed is mentioned in Bolton and Coe's authoritative book American Samplers. Rows of lettering are intermixed with a row of sheep and cows, a verse, and floral bands. The verse says:
Note from the designer: "Hannah Mosher was born March 12th, 1786, in Hollis, New Hampshire, the fourth and last child of Abijah and Hannah Mosher. On March 7, 1813, she married the Rev. Walter Chapin of Woodstock, Vermont. Apart from this sketchy biographical information, found in the History of... Read more
Note from the designer: "From Dover, Massachusetts, comes Harriot Boardman's sampler, originally worked on a distinctive green linsey-woolsey found only on some North Shore samplers. A three-sided sawtooth border surrounds alphabet and numeral tests with geometric cross bands, two deer with... Read more
Note from the designer: "A beautiful meandering four-sided floral border in an unusually rich color palette surrounds this traditional Scottish sampler, also featuring a beautiful arcaded floral band at the top and a substantial mansion house in the lower register. Trees, tulips and flying birds... Read more
Note from the designer: "This Scottish sampler features many distinguishing characteristics of samplers made in that country, most notably the arcaded pansy band across the top third, the four-sided floral border with double running stitch flourishes, and the famous mansion house. Of this large... Read more
Displaying the traditional color scheme of Scottish samplers, this beautiful and delicately stitched piece also employs a variety of interesting counted thread stitches including queen, doublerunning, four-sided, back, counted satin filling, cross, Algerian eyelet, and cross over one (petit... Read more
This is a very finely stitched classic Scottish sampler featuring three complete rows of beautifully illuminated letters, an arcaded floral band as well as other traditional motifs including peacocks, birds drinking at the fountain of life, feather trees and family initials. A four sided berry... Read more
Note from the designer: "This densely worked sampler displays exquisite detail and contains many of the most popular needlework motifs of the seventeenth century. The flowers are realistically shaded to achieve a natural look."
Finished size on 35 count linen is 7 1/4" x 25... Read more
Rose's unusual middle name should have provided some clues about where she was born, and where she lived, but the name "Shenamon" is elusive despite my efforts to discover its origins as well as hers. It is spelled many different ways when researched (including Shinimon and Schinnamon which... Read more
This design was excerpted from the top of an early nineteenth-century English sampler. It features an unusual and amusing hunting scene with a solo hunter on horseback pursuing a single hapless stag with a pack of ten spotted hounds on its trail.
The verse reads:
Give me O Lord thy early... Read more
This English sampler comes from the collection of the late Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Jarrett, who established Witney Antiques. It was featured in one of their exhibition catalogs in December 1996 titled "All Creatures Great and Small."
The work is extremely fine and accomplished,... Read more
This mid-eighteenth-century Scottish band sampler features many classic seventeenth-century patterns, executed in cross, eyelet, double running, counted satin, back, and queen stitches.
The virtually unfaded color was reproduced from the front of the sampler. Six pattern bands precede... Read more
The original sampler is a charmer, and can you believe Felicie was only 7? As always, my charts come with a little essay about the antique, and my thoughts about what make the sampler special, in this case, those beautiful, organic borders, the color palette, the airy space contained within, and the... Read more
Cross stitch pattern from La D Da featuring a vintage sampler!
Stitched on 30 count Cocoa by Weeks Dye Works, using either Weeks Dye Works or DMC threads. Stitch count is 168 x 191. Finished size is 11.2 in wide X 12.73 in high.
Cross stitch pattern from Chessie & Me featuring a lovely reproduction sampler!
Pattern is stitched on 36 ct Bramble linen from Picture this Plus using Belle Soie and Gloriana silks with DMC conversions. Stitch counts are 79 x 197, 55 x 73, 41 x 63, and 29 x 43. Finished sizes are 4.4" x 11", 3" x 4", 2.25" x 3.5", 1.6" x 2.4".
Cross stitch pattern from Sassafras Samplers featuring a lovely sampler!
Stitched on your choice of fabric using either Soie d Alger or DMC threads. Stitch count is 232 x 285. Finished size is 12.89 x 15.83 for 36 count fabric.
Cross stitch pattern from Sassafras Samplers featuring a lovely sampler!
Stitched on 36 count or higher fabric using either Needlepoint Inc, DMC, Or Soie threads. Stitch count is 201 x 819. Finished size depending on fabric choice.
Cross stitch pattern from Sassafras Samplers featuring a lovely sampler!
Pattern is stitched on the fabric of your choice but something close to 36 ct Parchment from Weeks Dye Works is recommended using your choice of red thread. Stitch count is 417 x 414. Finished size on 36 ct is 23.17" x 23".
Cross stitch pattern from Sassafras Samplers featuring a lovely sampler!
Pattern is stitched on 36 ct Straw from Weeks Dye Works using Soie d'Alger threads with DMC and NPI conversion. Stitch count is 126 x 137. Finished size is 7" x 7.61".
This sweet reproduction of my antique sampler and would make a great addition to your sampler wall or a box top! Cross Stitch over Two only. I have included photos of the framed and and unframed sampler and discussed the framing techniques. Pattern is stitched on the fabric of your choice using Soie... Read more
Cross stitch pattern from Hands Across The Sea Samplers featuring a design that was released at a 2025 workshop for Mrs Parkman's Academy of Needlework. The text reads: "How sweet to wait upon the Lord while he fulfills his gracious word. To seek his face and not in vain. To be belov'd... Read more
Selina is a beautiful sampler most likely in the 1860s. The quote reads "Whats in thy mind let no one see unto thy friend no secret show for when thy friend has turned thy for then all the world thy mind will know".
Pattern is stitched on 36 ct Cream and Sugar from Fiber on a Whim using silk floss. Stitch count is 381 x 381. Finished size is 21.25" x 21.25".
Step back into the 19 century with this exquisite sampler, originally stitched on stitched in 1847 with wool on canvas. This historic French sampler is filled with deep symbolism and artistry. The design is rich with religious motifs, including sacred hearts, crosses and devotional emblems. ... Read more
This adorable vintage sampler reproduction is from Ann Lambeth, age 10, in 1798.
The model is stitched on 38 count Legacy Linen Himalayan Fog 1 over 2 with
Silk N Colors from The Thread Gatherer. It is framed with a premade 5" by 7" frame. Stitch count is 72 x 108 and the finished size is 3.79" x 5.68".
This antique sampler is inspired by a french designer with Christian imagery.
The model was stitched on 36 count Summer Khaki linen from Zweigart, with 1 ply of Weeks Dye Works Hand Dyed Cottons. Stitch count is 260 x 171 with a finished size of 14.44" x 9.5".
Stitched on 36 ct Sanguine from Weeks Dye Works with one ply of sampler threads from the Gentle Art. Stitch count is 189 x 273 and the finished size is 10.5" x 15.17".