Mary Wigglesworth 1812 ~ printed booklet

£26.00

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The sampler is offered to you in two different formats ~ as a printed booklet and as an instant PDF download. Details of the PDF download can be found HERE.

The name of Wigglesworth stitched so proudly on this beautiful sampler caught our eye, followed by the age of the samplermaker. Aet (aetatis) is an abbreviation often seen on gravestones, meaning “at the age of”. Nicola just had to reproduce and stitch Mary’s sampler as they were both 58 years old.

Mary’s sampler has so much to please the eye and your needle. The sampler has grace and harmony, both in design and colour. The arcaded band at the top of the sampler can be found on many samplers from the 1700s. Mary may have stitched this band in a much earlier sampler worked when she was a child.

Mary was the daughter of Jonathan and Mary Holmes and was baptised on February 24, 1754 in Hampsthwaite, Yorkshire. She was the second daughter to have been named Mary, the first having died before her first birthday. At the age of 10, Mary lost her mother, we suspect in childbirth. Jonathan remarried two years later.

Mary married William Wigglesworth on November 24, 1782 at St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Hampsthwaite. Mary and William were cousins, the Wigglesworths and Holmes’ families having intermarried through earlier generations. The families were connected with Padside Hall, Thornthwaite in the parish of Hampsthwaite.

We do not know if Mary and William had children. They settled in Addingham, a village a short distance from Thornthwaite.

William may have moved to the village to work in the mills. It is possible that Mary found work teaching needlework; it would explain why the sampler was stitched at such a late time of life. The Old School in Addingham was built by Anthony Ward in 1666. The school began as a simple two-roomed cottage, which was eventually expanded into a double-storied building with the lower section, in part, becoming a gaol.

William died in Addingham in 1814 and Mary married Anthony Smith, a cotton spinner on February 19, 1815. We know from their marriage banns that Mary had a fine signature.

The verse Mary chose for her sampler was taken from a hymn written by Charles Wesley.

Mary died in the November of 1820 and was buried on the 22nd of that month at St Peter’s Church, Addingham. We hope that she found her way to heaven with a wise and understanding heart.

The original sampler was stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen with the exception of the word “heart” which is worked in cross stitch over one thread. For those wishing to stitch on Aida the word “heart” could be worked in backstitch or replaced with a small, cross stitched heart. Mary used an uneven linen of approximately 33/30ct and cotton thread.

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. Hands Across the Sea Samplers are on hand to help those stitching our charts. If you need assistance or have any questions, we can be reached via email, address shown below, or the contact page on our website.

Thread Legend

This pleasing sampler has been reproduced using a palette of 12 colours from Au Ver à Soie’s range of Soie 100.3. We have provided conversions for Soie d’Alger and DMC below.

There is currently a global shortage of some shades of silk. We have liaised with Access Commodities, the US distributors for Au Ver à Soie, to identify which shades may be difficult to source. There are 2 shades of Soie 100.3 and 1 shade of Soie d’Alger where we have suggested alternative shades.

 

1 Strand of Soie 100.3 on 46 to 56ct linen

029 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

038 x 1 Apricot ** #039

147 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

152 x 1 Olive green

156 x 1 Tan ~ light

223 x 1 Mauve ~ dark ** #222

274 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

378 x 1 Avocado green ~ dark

494 x 1 Salmon ~ medium

510 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

580 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

681 x 1 Christmas red

 

1 strand of Soie d’Alger on 36 to 46ct linen  

1426 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

2144 x 1 Olive green

2146 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

2634 x 1 Apricot

2757 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

2915 x 1 Salmon ~ medium

2922 x 1 Christmas red

3046 x 1 Mauve ~ dark

3735 x 2 Avocado green ~ dark

3821 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

3823 x 1 Tan ~ light ** #3824 or #4223

3834 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

 

2 strands of Soie d’Alger on 28ct linen         

1426 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

2144 x 1 Olive green

2146 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

2634 x 1 Apricot

2757 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

2915 x 3 Salmon ~ medium

2922 x 1 Christmas red

3046 x 2 Mauve ~ dark

3735 x 4 Avocado green ~ dark

3821 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

3823 x 1 Tan ~ light ** #3824 or #4223

3834 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

 

1 strand of DMC on 40 to 46ct linen

321 x 1 Christmas red

370 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

437 x 1 Tan ~ light

677 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

732 x 1 Olive green

823 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

926 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

936 x 1 Avocado green ~ dark

3011 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

3341 x 1 Apricot

3685 x 1 Mauve ~ dark

3712 x 1 Salmon ~ medium

 

2 strands of DMC on 36ct linen

 

321 x 2 Christmas red

370 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

437 x 1 Tan ~ light

677 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

732 x 1 Olive green

823 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

926 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

3011 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

3341 x 1 Apricot

3685 x 1 Mauve ~ dark

3712 x 1 Salmon ~ medium

 

2 strands of DMC on 28ct linen

321 x 2 Christmas red

370 x 1 Mustard ~ medium

437 x 1 Tan ~ light

677 x 1 Old gold ~ very light

732 x 1 Olive green

823 x 1 Navy blue ~ dark

926 x 1 Grey green ~ medium

936 x 3 Avocado green ~ dark

3011 x 1 Khaki green ~ dark

3341 x 1 Apricot

3685 x 1 Mauve ~ dark

3712 x 1 Salmon ~ medium

Linen

The original sampler was stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen with the exception of the word “heart” which is worked in cross stitch over one thread. For those wishing to stitch on Aida the word “heart” could be worked in backstitch or replaced with a small, cross stitched heart.

Mary used an uneven linen of approximately 33/30ct and cotton thread. The model was stitched on a Zweigart linen overdyed to the shade of Crème Brulée by Tabby Cat Linens. The design area is 249 stitches (w) x 249 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3″ margin for finishing and framing.

 

28ct: Design: 17.79″ x 17.79″ Fabric: 23.79″ x 23.79″

32ct: Design: 15.56″ x 15.56″ Fabric: 21.56″ x 21.56″

36ct: Design: 13.83″ x 13.83″ Fabric: 19.83″ x 19.83″

40ct: Design: 12.45″ x 12.45″ Fabric: 18.45″ x 18.45″

46ct: Design: 10.83″ x 10.83″ Fabric: 16.83″ x 16.83″

56ct: Design: 8.89″ x 8.89″ Fabric: 14.89″ x 14.89″

Stitch Guide

The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all abilities.

The original sampler was stitched with cross stitch over two threads of linen with the exception of the word “heart” which is worked in cross stitch over one thread. For those wishing to stitch on Aida the word “heart” could be worked in backstitch or replaced with a small, cross stitched heart.

 

Cross stitch ~ This is the most popular stitch in counted needlework. When working cross stitch, the top stitch should always lie in the same direction for a neat and uniform finish.

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