Hands Across the Sea - Ann Borrett 1646

Ann’s beautiful band sampler is highly decorative and even though  she “rovght” her sampler three hundred and seventy-four years ago, the colours are still intense today.  A vibrant red, a peacock blue, a deep navy blue and a mouth watering selections of greens delight the eye.

The first two bands of Ann’s sampler also appear in the band sampler stitched by Jeane Vally in 1646. Jeane’s sampler is in the Goodhart Collection at Montecute House and is featured in the book “The Goodhart Collection” on page 88.

Band samplers were the traditional “test pieces” worked by young girls. Ann’s sampler or “sam cloth” is a visual catalogue of stitches and comprises of neat rows of patterns that are suitable for repeating motifs to adorn garments and household items. The alphabet at the bottom of Ann’s sampler and her inscription demonstrate her ability to mark household linen.

Whilst we cannot trace Ann in family history records, we believe that she was probably a very young girl when stitched her sampler. It was only thirty years earlier that William Shakespeare died. 

Thread Legend

The model for Ann’s stunning band sampler was stitched using Weeks Dyeworks (Zweigart-based) 40ct linen in Straw with a palette of 11 Au Ver à Soie silks from their Soie d’Alger range. The skein quantities listed are based on 1 strand of Soie d’Alger on 40ct fabric. We have provided conversions for Soie 100.3 based on 1 strand of silk on 46ct linen and DMC based on 2 strands of cotton on 36ct linen.

The original sampler was stitched on linen that was approx. 58/60ct.

Ann stitched her sampler over 3 threads of linen with stitches that are reversible. If you prefer, your sampler could be executed over 2 threads.

Soie d’Alger /  Soie100.3 /  DMC ~ Colour Description

542 x 1 /  776 x 1 /  3822 x 1 ~ Straw ~ light

1011 x 1 /  217 x 1 /  950 x 1 ~ Desert sand ~ light

1424 x 1 /   510 x 1 /  336 x 1 ~ Navy blue

1725 x 1 /  601 x 1 /  3765 x 1 ~ Peacock blue ~ very dark

1812 x 1 /  621 x 1 /  928 x 1 ~ Grey green ~ very light

2133 x 2 /  325 x 1 /  471 x 2 ~ Avocado green ~ very light

2135 x 2 /   491 x 1 /  3345 x 2 ~ Hunter green ~ dark

2223 x 1 /  199 x 1 /  733 x 1 ~ Olive green ~ medium

2643 x 2 /  135 x 1 /  3830 x 2 ~ Terracotta

2936 x 2 /  524 x 1 /  498 x 2 ~ Christmas red ~ dark

4531 x 1 /   080 x 1 /  822 x 1 ~ Beige grey ~ light

 LINEN SIZES

The design area is 155 stitches (w) x 180 stitches (h). Please note that each stitch is over 3 threads of linen. Our calculations have included a 3″ margin for finishing and framing.

28ct: Design: 16.61″ x 19.29″ Fabric: 22.61″ x 25.29″

32ct: Design: 14.53″ x 16.88″ Fabric: 20.53″ x 22.88″

36ct: Design: 12.92″ x 15.00″ Fabric: 18.92″ x 21.00″

40ct: Design: 11.62″ x 13.50″ Fabric: 17.62″ x 19.50″

46ct: Design: 10.11″ x 11.74″ Fabric: 16.11″ x 17.74″

56ct: Design: 8.31″ x 9.65″ Fabric: 14.31″ x 15.65″

52/62ct: Design: 8.94″ x 8.71″ Fabric: 14.94″ x 14.71″

Alternative sizes for stitching the sampler over 2 threads of linen.

28ct: Design: 11.07″ x 12.86″ Fabric: 17.07″ x 18.86″

32ct: Design: 9.69″ x 11.25″ Fabric: 15.69″ x 17.25″

36ct: Design: 8.61″ x 10.00″ Fabric: 14.61″ x 16.00″

40ct: Design: 7.75″ x 9.00″ Fabric: 13.75″ x 15.00″

46ct: Design: 6.74″ x 7.83″ Fabric: 12.74″ x 13.83″

56ct: Design: 5.54″ x 6.43″ Fabric: 11.54″ x 12.43″

52/62ct: Design: 5.96″ x 5.81″ Fabric: 11.96″ x 11.81″