CHART PACK: 16 color pages
Jane Butcher 1811 Reproduction Sampler
REPRODUCTION SAMPLER PATTERN, BY Couleur Tourterelle
This English sampler dated 1811 was worked by a 10-year-old stitcher and it is immediately apparent that it is a Norfolk sampler because it includes a number of characteristics that are specific to pieces of needlework originating from the region. Norfolk, with its long tradition of wool, is also one of the regions of England where, from the 18th century on, a rich and specific tradition of needlework flourished.
Jane Butcher’s sampler, includes for example the characteristic chain of star-shaped cartouches, the central one featuring the typical motif of the lying deer. Interestingly it also includes a verse, frequently found in Norfolk sampler, wehere the stitcher thanks her parents for the educations shee receives :
Next unto God, dear Parents I address,
Myself to you, in humble thankfulness,
For all your Care and charge on me bestow’d,
The means of learning unto me allow’d.
Go on, I pray, and let me still pursue,
Those Golden Arts the Vulgar never knew.
Meriem Chauvet, a collector of antique needlework and the designer behind the Couleur Tourterelle reproduction charts, goes on to analyse and pinpoint some interesting calligraphic features of the text. One surprising one is the inversion of letters U and V, also found in other Norfolk sampler. Others include the presence of an alternative form of letter "S", now disappeared.
The sampler includes a number of specialty stitches, all perfectly detailed in the chart, including a mix of cross stitch over 1 or 2 threads, Alegrian eyelet stitches, and rows of Florentine stitch.
While the samplers colors and nice and fresh, the fabric of the original has darkened. Reproducing the piece on lighter linen will give theis remarkable sampler a completely new life.
Reproduction Sampler stitched using Soie d'Alger silk from Au Ver à soie (AVAS) or DMC, with cross stitches worked over 2 fabric threads on 40ct linen. Size 13.4 x 17 inch (34 x 43 cm).
A cross stitch pattern by Couleur Tourterelle.
Chart info & Needlework supplies for the pattern:
Jane Butcher 1811 Reproduction Sampler
Chart size in stitches: 270 x 345 (wide x high)
Needlework fabric: 40ct Permin linen from Zweigart ,in color Lambswool
Stitched size: 13.4 x 17inch (34 x 43 cm)
Stitches: cross stitch over 2 threads, Algerian eyelet stitch, Running stitch, Half-stitch, Florentine stitch
Chart: Color and B&W, includes one-page chart for Digital stitching
Threads: Soie d'Alger silk from Au Ver à soie (AVAS) or DMC
Number of colors: 10
Themes: England, Norfolk, 19th century, alphabet
