August, 1918 
23 
material commonly known as 
tammy cloth, boiling cloth, 
and sampler canvas. 
The Stitches 
The stitches used are cross 
stitch, tent, and bird’s eye, 
while for borders, satin stitch 
and French knots were used, 
as they made less angular out¬ 
lines in floral design. The old¬ 
est samplers show linen thread 
only, while silk and wool were 
used later on. Perhaps the 
most interesting stitch was 
known as cushion stitch, for 
the reason it was first used in 
embroidering church kneeling 
cushions. This must not be 
confused with the tapestry or 
goeblin stitch. In 1784 double 
cross stitch was used, also laid 
stitch as some baskets on a 
sampler dated 1818 will show. 
The designs were not En¬ 
glish but gathered from every 
part of the globe. For the first 
one hundred and fifty years 
these were carefully followed 
out, the colors being soft 
shades of green, pink, blue and 
brown. Then the workers be- 
ow [he maid whom eVcirrg year? iwprv* 
** §od the object cl her vyarmesf love 
^LLfcful bo'->iv evccejful as- ifiev jfoc 
ef book her neodle «. nc J pen divide 
> n lor 
*'** w *n receive (h)/? (oul oI rnms? 
*ee» 
** Slay# o/i S ed *4 Worked j 6 2'3 
ye |k e lord sJ fis> 
Work? 
gan to fashion their own 
thoughts on canvas, using more 
brilliantly colored silks. 
To Determine Age 
The age may be determined 
by knowledge of the designs 
and ornaments used at certain 
periods. The earliest were 
merely records of different 
stitches used in embroidering, 
to be enlarged later by those 
designed for use and beauty. 
These were signed and dated, 
mottoes and texts being intro¬ 
duced later and afterwards 
verses. Then came the precept 
worked on canvas with a bor¬ 
der. The most common orna¬ 
mentations were the rose, car¬ 
nation and wild strawberry. 
The last is so common that in 
an exhibit in a small New 
England town out of thirty 
shown twelve bore the straw¬ 
berry vine either as border or 
dividing line between alphabet 
and inscription. 
In the earlier Georgian peri¬ 
od we find deep red and green 
used, while at the commence- 
(Continued on page 48) 
Sally Glass, a student at the 
Dames School in Salem, 
showed her proficiency in a 
sampler with the alphabet, a 
verse, an elevating injunction 
to praise the Lord, all of 
which is enclosed in a deco¬ 
rative border 
The memorial sampler, while not so com¬ 
mon, represents a development in the 
combination of embroidery and prints. 
George and Martha Washington are 
shown in the urns 
Originally the possession oj President John 
Quincy Adams, this embroidered picture is 
a sample of petit point embroidery, a rare 
style of sampler 
The material is satin and the flowers are 
worked in natural colors of silk. Black 
painted glass sets off the picture. It was 
used originally as a firescreen 
A needlework “mourning piece”, embroid¬ 
ered by Eliza Gould, laments the passing of 
George and Martha. The inserts are col¬ 
ored “Doolittle” engravings 
