Darning Sampler

Darning samplers hold special appeal to collectors and needleworkers today thanks to their strong graphic quality and the very impressive skill they display. Household textiles and clothing were expensive and treasured by all strata of society. An understanding of weave structure and the ability to use this knowledge to prolong the life of valued fabrics was considered an important skill and needlework teachers would cut squares out of the ground fabric and teach their students to replicate specific patterns. 

Most known darning samplers date from the mid-18th to the early 19th centuries. This very fine darning sampler is dated 1715 and it is one of the earliest that we have known. Nine very large, darned squares were completed in different weave patterns and the center section demonstrates mending as well. The date and initials appear with a crown and finely worked vase of flowers, flanked by tiny red birds.  

This sampler is published in Miller's Samplers and How to Compare and Value by Stephen and Carol Huber (Octopus Publishing, 2002), on page 76 and described as, "an excellent example of the intricate work of a very skilled young needlewoman." It was valued at $4000 to $5000. A copy of this book accompanies the sampler.

The sampler is in excellent condition and has been conservation mounted into a black and gold frame. It is from the collection of noted textile conservator Frances Faile.