About Cross-Stitch Antiques
People who appreciate the time and effort put into cross-stitch sometimes collect these antiques and enjoy learning their history. Cross-stitch antiques, such as samplers, display the education of young women prior to the 19th century. Cross-stitch and embroidery were often the only way to decorate fabric items. Begin to build an antique collection by learning about cross-stitch antiques and their significance to the people who created them.
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History
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Cross-stitch is one of many stitches used in embroidery. There are examples of embroidery from almost 2000 years ago, though the craft became widespread in the 16th century. Printed patterns are a part of cross-stitch and have been since the early 16th century. Many people think of samplers when thinking of cross-stitch antiques. Samplers were common up into the early 19th century. After the invention of the sewing machine, cross-stitch declined until the 1960s when people began cross-stitching as a hobby.
Function
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Decorating clothes and linens was often done with cross-stitch. Placed on samplers were the stitches the person knew, such as the cross-stitch and its variations. Handed down in families, samplers were teaching tools. Using samplers as a portfolio was common when applying for a job. Letters and numbers stitched on a sampler taught children the alphabet and how to count, as well as teaching them embroidery. Today, some people use cross-stitch antiques as décor or as part of an antique collection.
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Significance
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The sampler was significant to young women before the 19th century. Young women often displayed their talent through samplers. Displaying samplers was not just for other women but also for the benefit of potential husbands. Seeing a well-stitched sampler would convey to a man that training in the domestic duties expected of a woman of the time was completed.
Benefits
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A woman who could cross-stitch could decorate many items in her home. Clothing would become more elaborate as would household items, such as bed linens, curtains and footstool coverings. Having cross-stitch antiques that consist of any of these items will help you decorate your home with items that may be distinct from the mass-produced products others have.
Features
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Cross-stitch antiques have several features. Samplers are the most common cross-stitch antiques though it is possible to find antique linens or footstools that have been cross-stitched. Found on long strips of linen, early samplers, called band samplers, would have had every space filled. Later samplers held the alphabet or numbers. Others cross-stitched Bible verses or maps. Stitching nature motifs was common on many samplers. These motifs were often of trees, birds or flowers and balanced with the words, unlike just filling the space horizontally with a band sampler.
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Resources
- Photo Credit M. Kaye Hash
