Jane Banister 1855

£26.00

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Jane’s beautiful Welsh sampler is a delight for the eye, the more you look at her the more you will see! With a wonderful palette of 32 colours Jane filled her sampler with traditional Welsh motifs contained within a stunning floral border. Roses, lilies and convolvulus in full bloom graciously sweep around this beautiful sampler.  Jane diligently stitched pretty vases of flowers such as Ragged Robins from the Lychnis family, and Auriculas in the Primula family, two sailings ships, birds and butterflies abound, and two beautiful bowls of fruit.

The moment we saw Jane’s cats we knew that Hands Across the Sea Samplers had to reproduce this sampler for ailurophiles to stitch. Cats appear in two scenes. To the bottom left a cat quietly watches two “merchs fach” (young girls) contemplate their day but it is at the bottom right where they really make their presence known.  Two very large silver tabbies are seen frolicking with a ball in the garden. For us they are the highlight of this wonderful sampler.

We know of one other sampler that is reminiscent of Jane’s.  The sampler was stitched by Mary Martin and was finished one year after Jane’s in 1856.  We have found a Jane Banister and a Mary Martin in the 1848 births records of the registration district of Bangor, Caernarvonshire, Wales. Bangor lies on the coast of North Wales near the Menai Strait which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland. We have found Jane in the 1841 census return and Mary in the 1851 census return. Both censuses note that the girls were born on the Island of Anglesey. On August 15th, 1870 in Brymbo, Denbighshire Jane married Samuel Roberts. The 1881 census records that they had four children and were living in the village of Llay, not far from Wrexham.

Jane’s sampler is what Welsh sampler lovers affectionately call a “Welsh Woolly”.  Numerous 19th century Welsh samplers were stitched with wool on Penelope Canvas, a double thread canvas ground. During the Victorian period Berlin woolwork a type of embroidery worked in worsted wools imported from Germany, was hugely popular.  Printed patterns books became readily available and it is probable that Jane’s needlework teacher used the patterns from such books in her classroom.

Whilst there are 18th century Welsh samplers in museums and private collections the majority of surviving documented Welsh samplers were stitched in the later half of the 19th century.  As the century progressed Victorians realised that people from all levels of society needed to be able to read and write, and education became more important. The Church of England became active in education and erected “National Schools” which taught children reading, writing, arithmetic and religion. Sewing and stitchery became an integral part of a schoolgirl’s education and much classroom time was spent practising stitches.

 

The reproduction of Jane’s beautiful needlework has been a team effort. Her sampler has been painstakingly charted by Sandra Moffitt, her booklet produced by Nicola Parkman and the model lovingly stitched by Leona Sweeney. At the very core of Hands Across the Sea Samplers there is a team of needleworkers who are passionate about antique samplers and being able to share those samplers with you.

Thread Legend

The sampler has been reproduced with Au Ver à Soie d’Alger silks and the skein quantities calculated based on 1 strand on 36ct fabric. We have provided conversions for DMC based on 2 strands . The original sampler was stitched on Penelope canvas closest in colour to DMC shade 422 and measuring approximately 25” x 26.75”.

Soie d’Alger / DMC

F02 x 2 / 712 x 2 ~ Cream

111 x 1 / 775  x 1 ~ Baby blue ~ very light

163 x 1 / 823 x 1 ~ Navy blue ~ dark

525 x 2 / 831 x 2 ~ Golden olive ~ medium

943 x 1 / 321 x 1 ~ Christmas red

1026 x 2 / 498 x 2 ~ Christmas red ~ dark

1744 x 1 / 518  x 1 ~ Wedgewood ~ light

1812 x 2 / 504 x 2 ~ Blue green ~ very light

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

2242 x 1 / 3046 x 1 ~ Yellow beige ~ medium

2522 x 2 / 677 x 2 ~ Old gold ~ very light

2535 x 1 / 728 x 1 ~ Golden yellow

S2578 x 1 / 3773 x 1 ~ Desert sand ~ medium

2641 x 1 / 353 x 1 ~ Peach

2642 x 1 / 352 x 1 ~ Coral ~ light

3421 x 1 / 3072 x 1 ~ Beaver grey ~ very light

3713 x 1 / 3013 x 1 ~ Khaki green ~ light

3714 x 1 / 3364 x 1 ~ Pine green

3721 x 1 / 524 x 1 ~ Fern green ~ very light

3725 x 1 / 935 x 1 ~ Avocado green ~ dark

3734 x 2 / 3012 x 2  ~ Khaki green ~ medium

3812 x 1 / 422 x 1 ~ Hazel nut brown ~ light

3841 x 1 / 648 x 1 ~ Beaver grey ~ light

3844 x 1 / 646 x 1 ~ Beaver grey ~ dark

4141 x 1 / 3772 x 1 ~ Desert sand ~ very dark

4245 x 1 / 420 x 1 ~ Hazel nut brown ~ dark

4523 x 1 / 3064 x 1 ~ Desert sand

4921 x 1 / 3755 x 1 ~ Baby blue

5022 x 1 / 503 x 1 ~ Blue green ~ medium

5023 x 1 / 502 x 1 ~ Blue green

Blanc x 1 / White x 1 ~ White

Noir x 1 /  310 x 1 ~ Black

LINEN SIZES

The design area is 309 stitches (w) x 319 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3” margin for finishing and framing.

28ct ~ Design: 22.07″ x 22.79″ Fabric: 28.07″ x 28.79″    30ct ~ Design: 20.60″ x 21.27″ Fabric: 26.60″ x 27.27″

32ct ~ Design: 19.31″ x 19.94″ Fabric: 25.31″ x 25.94″    36ct ~ Design: 17.17″ x 17.72″ Fabric: 23.17″ x 23.72″

40ct ~ Design: 15.45″ x 15.95″ Fabric: 21.45″ x 21.95″    46ct ~ Design: 13.43″ x 13.87″ Fabric: 19.43″ x 19.87″

Stitch Guide

Jane executed her beautiful sampler in cross stitch over 2 threads, there are a small number of cross stitches over 1 thread that appear on some flower heads. They could be “tweaked” so that they are stitched over 2 threads thus making the sampler suitable for Aida. There are some 49,955 cross stitches it total and just like the longest journey that begins with a single step, so does Jane’s sampler begin with a single stitch. The sampler is suitable for all levels of ability.

Cross Stitch is made up of 2 stitches  worked over 2 threads. Make all your stitches cross in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.

Video

A finish by Rose Heck

Jane Banister 1855 stitched by Kim Dalziel

Chart Corrections

Please note that there is not a conversion available for NPI silks.