Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Simply Samplers: Easy Techniques for Hand Embroidery
    Simply Samplers: Easy Techniques for Hand Embroidery
    Simply Samplers: Easy Techniques for Hand Embroidery
    Ebook191 pages37 minutes

    Simply Samplers: Easy Techniques for Hand Embroidery

    By Cheryl Fall

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A sampler is a project made from a "sampling" of different stitches or different motifs. Once the learning tool that helped generations of girls master basic needlework skills, this traditional project is still a great way to learn and practice embroidery skills—as well as a creative way to add color to a ro
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStackpole Books
    Release dateAug 15, 2014
    ISBN9780811760683
    Simply Samplers: Easy Techniques for Hand Embroidery

    Read more from Cheryl Fall

    Related to Simply Samplers

    Related ebooks

    Crafts & Hobbies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hand Embroidery Workshop

      Jul 31, 2019

      Hand Embroidery Workshop
      4 min read

    • Article

      Embroidered Peacock Feathers

      Jan 3, 2020

      Embroidered Peacock Feathers
      4 min read

    • Article

      Faby’s Masterclass

      Oct 4, 2021

      Designed especially for stitchers who are keen to learn some new techniques and set themselves fun new challenges, welcome to this month’s workshop, which focuses on turkey work – a technique that achieves a fun pom-pom style finish. I aim to cover a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Templates

      Apr 12, 2023

      Templates
      1 min read

    • Article

      Secret Escape

      Apr 13, 2022

      Secret Escape
      6 min read

    • Article

      Into The Woods

      Aug 31, 2022

      Into The Woods
      5 min read

    • Article

      Be Yourself

      Aug 11, 2021

      Be Yourself
      1 min read

    • Article

      We Love

      Jan 18, 2023

      We Love
      3 min read

    • Article

      Anything Grows…

      Aug 10, 2021

      Anything Grows…
      1 min read

    • Article

      Geometric CATS

      Apr 3, 2019

      • 30cm ( 3/8yd) white cotton/linen blend fabric (background) • DMC Stranded Embroidery Cotton – Very Dark Cranberry (600), Medium Yellow (743), Dark Cornflour Blue (792), Mediterranean Sea (4022 – variegated) • DMC Perle No 12 – Black (310) • Anchor

      2 min read

    • Article

      Stitch Guide

      Mar 15, 2023

      Stitch Guide
      5 min read

    • Article

      We Love

      Aug 11, 2021

      We Love
      2 min read

    • Article

      Templates

      Sep 8, 2021

      Templates
      1 min read

    • Article

      Spring Show

      Jan 17, 2024

      Spring Show
      3 min read

    • Article

      Embroidered BOTANICALS

      Mar 27, 2020

      Embroidered BOTANICALS
      1 min read

    • Article

      Midnight Flight

      Dec 9, 2020

      Midnight Flight
      4 min read

    • Article

      Butterfly Gallery

      Jul 22, 2020

      Butterfly Gallery
      5 min read

    • Article

      Paradise found

      Mar 22, 2021

      Take a few steps back from the frame and you could be forgiven for mistaking Carol Thornton’s finished cross stitch piece for a photograph. Worked mostly in whole cross stitch, with a few fractionals in some of the flower heads and front door, the de

      2 min read

    • Article

      We Love

      Oct 6, 2021

      We Love
      2 min read

    • Article

      Landscape Artist

      Apr 13, 2022

      Landscape Artist
      2 min read

    • Article

      Dragonfly Biscornu

      Nov 30, 2021

      Dragonfly Biscornu
      1 min read

    • Article

      Embroidered Evolution

      Jan 30, 2020

      Beyond embroidery designer Alice Selwood’s studio in central Cornwall are windswept fields, traditional granite farmhouses and the picturesque remains of former mine buildings. Inside her converted barn it is, however, a different story. Like an enti

      3 min read

    • Article

      All I Want For Christmas

      Nov 23, 2022

      All I Want For Christmas
      5 min read

    • Article

      We Love

      Jan 6, 2021

      We Love
      3 min read

    • Article

      Bloom Where You Are Planted

      Apr 5, 2022

      Bloom Where You Are Planted
      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Simply Samplers

    4.5/5

    7 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Wonderful book, as the name implies this has some terrific samplers. The instructions are clear and the projects are simple but very doable for the beginning stitcher.

    Book preview

    Simply Samplers - Cheryl Fall

    This book is dedicated to my stitching friends. They are a continuing source of encouragement, inspiration, needlework fellowship, and a good laugh now and then.

    Contents

    Preface

    Supplies and Tools

    Basic Techniques

    Sampler Projects

     1.   Spanish Lace Sampler with Matching Scissor Fob

     2.   Mini Alphabet Sampler

     3.   Antique French Sampler

     4.   Nine Squares Sampler Pillow with Ornaments and Coaster Set

     5.   One-Off Sampler

     6.   Counted-Thread Square Sampler

     7.   Trick or Treat Sampler

     8.   Counted-Thread Band Sampler

     9.   Christmas Balls Sampler and Pillow Set

    10.  Hanukkah Sampler

    11.  Pineapple Sampler

    12.  Schoolhouse Sampler

    13.  Seasonal Samplers

    14.  Shamrock Sampler

    15.  Smile and Be Happy Sampler

    16.  Pumpkins on the Square

    Stitches Used in the Projects

    Finishing Touches

    Recommended Resources

    Glossary

    Color Conversion and Metric Equivalent Charts

    Acknowledgments

    Visual Index

    Preface

    What is a sampler? When most people think of samplers, they think of cross-stitch projects featuring an alphabet and traditional motifs. But a sampler is so much more! In a nutshell, a sampler is a sampling of different stitches or different motifs stitched on fabric to form a pattern or learn a particular technique.

    At one time samplers were used as a learning tool to teach young girls the needlework skills necessary for daily living, including darning, mending, and general sewing, as well as ways to add decorative embroidered elements to basic household items. The most common decorative embroidery techniques taught while working a sampler included cross-stitch, counted-thread stitches, darning stitch, and surface embroidery stitches.

    In this book you will learn to work an assortment of sampler types, from colorful modern band samplers to traditional alphabet samplers, in a variety of techniques. You’ll build your stitch repertoire with each new technique you learn, much as young girls did in the past.

    This book contains 24 different sampler designs that you can stitch, including smaller projects inspired by their larger and more involved counterparts. Full-size patterns are provided for the surface samplers, and detailed charts or diagrams are included for the counted-thread projects. Diagrams for all of the stitches used in the projects are provided as well, starting on page 73, and you can finish your projects using the basic finishing instructions in the final chapter.

    So pack your workbag, select your project, and grab your floss . . . it’s time to stitch!

    Fabrics

    The projects in this book are made using fabrics that you can find readily at your local needlework shop, hobby and craft chain, or sewing store, or through online sources. The types of fabric you will use are Aida, evenweave, and plainweave.

    Aida is a fabric that is specially woven for cross-stitch, with a weave that contains an even number of vertical and horizontal squares per inch. It is available in a wide variety of counts—the number of squares—per inch. The fabrics used in this book range from 11 to 16 count. Refer to the project instructions for the count used in each sampler.

    Evenweave fabrics have an even number of vertical and horizontal (warp and weft) threads per inch in a plain weave. They are used for the counted-thread projects in this book, as well as some of the cross-stitch samplers. When working cross-stitch on evenweave, the pattern will state the number of threads to cross when working the stitches.

    Plainweave fabrics are tightly woven evenweave fabrics with threads that are too close together to count. These firmer fabrics are used for the surface-embroidered samplers in this book.

    All fabrics should be edge-finished with machine zigzag stitching around the edges to prevent fraying while you’re

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1