One long sampler – How Long and Why?

One long sampler – How Long and Why?

Fiber and Textile Arts / Hand Embroidery / Samplers / Work in Progress

Let’s play a guessing game but first let me fill you in on the back story.

Over the last couple of days you may have noticed an increased interest in samplers. For years I have made and kept samplers as a personal reference and teaching aid. I love them. I always make them 15 cm (6 inches) wide and long like a band sampler. Length changes depending on the fabric I have to hand but never the width. They are kept either rolled up or pinned to my wall.

For a long time I have thought about stitching them together in chronological order so they become one long sampler. Yesterday I finished doing just that!

Band sampler roll on the table

This is what they ended up looking like. In order to turn the sampler on the table I have folded the corners to a point. Join me in a guessing game. How long is it? The first correct answer left as a comment will win a batch of hand dyed threads from me.

Band sampler on table

There are some good reasons for stitching these samplers together. There is the practical aspect of being able to travel with a pile of teaching samples as this way they are lighter and more compact – think about how heavy they would be if this amount of teaching samples were housed in plastic slip files in folders. This is what it looks like when wound up.

Band sampler roll

I have placed them in chronological order as then I can see various developments in both skill and style over the years. It make a nice personal history. They are worked on a number of different fabrics. Linen, aida and cotton are all represented on a number of different counts from 25 count linen to 38 count. I plan to just keep adding to the roll so this sampler will be forever a work in progress.

Annie Whitsed and I get together every week to stitch. Yesterday as we had fun taking photos of this sampler we dreamed up this guessing game.

Annie and me photographing the Band sampler roll

I do have another reason to stitch them together like this. It is a very logical and practical reason. Can you guess why? The first correct answer left as a comment will win a batch of hand dyed threads from me.

As a hint the table is a large table built by Jerry and not a standard size. So it can be deceptive if you try and judge the size using the table as a guage. This is what it looks like spread on the floor to see it.

Band sampler roll loosely laid out

So there are two questions guess either one correctly and you have won a prize. What is the prize? Nothing too great but I thought the readers who win might like a batch of my hand dyed threads.

Can you guess how long is this sampler?

Can you guess why I stitched them together like this?

If you guess the answer to either or both questions leave your answer as a comment.

Monday morning my time here in Australia I will tell you the answers so you have till then to join in. . .

112 Comments

  1. I guess 18 feet and you stitched them all together so you could roll it up and prevent creases. What a wonderful piece of work to have your progression through the years. As pretty as they are, I’m not a huge fan of making samplers, but this is inspiring.

    Kate

  5. My guess – 310 inches. And I’d say you’re planning on trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Sampler Ever… or at least beat the length of the Bayeaux Tapestry – only 2,931 more inches to go!!

    Mary Corbet

  7. I’d say 9.1 metres long. Stitched together so that if a student asks about a particular stitch then you can show them how to use it in different applications and what it looks like individually.

    carol

  8. Wow…my guess is 3850mm
    Anyway, congrats at such wonderful
    persistence in what must have taken a
    great deal of patience.
    CQMadhatter
    p.s. Tell Jerry he did a splendid job!

    cqmadhatter

  9. Hi Sharon

    My guess is 47 1/2 feet. The challenge really should be “how many hours did it take to make all these samplers?”. Very impressive.

    Are they rolled with the idea of being able to unroll and show your progress and greater skill as you progressed through the years?

    Hugs and hi from

    FredaB

    Freda Butler

  11. I would say the reason for sewing them together is twofold, to see your progression as a stitcher & to see the progression of stitch variations. You are the master at taking a stitch & making it different. I would think that someday it would be nice to know how that stitch came to be.

    Length, hmmmm 23 feet long.

    Christine

  13. I’m guessing 90 inches. I know for me, it would be a matter of keeping track of all the samplers and not losing any of them in my stash, as well as not forgetting which stitches I have done….you probably don’t have those problems, though.

    What a great idea, to keep a consistently sized running sampler–great as a resoure and teaching tool!

    Deb

  14. About 42 feet?

    And to have a sort of chronological record of how your work has progressed through the years? (that, or you have a very tall stairwell you wish to display it in)

    Laurie Brown

  19. 22.5 feet long
    a few guesses for use
    you wanted to make a hay roll or as I like to call them jelly roll : )

    for the guiness book of records…the longest sampler

    or just because it is a great way to transport them for show n tell

    what fun! thanks! oh and i love the idea of consistency with a long term project

    kate

  21. I think it is 400″ long and I have no idea what you will use it for other than what you’ve already talked about. I love the idea of keeping the samplers all the same size (width), and just keeping them is remarkable to me…I must become more disciplined about keeping a sample that I’ve made.

    Quiltgranny Sharon

  23. Hi Sharon, I think it is 26 feet 6 inches long and the only reason I can think of for sewing it together is for displaying it looped over bamboo as the chinese do with long strips of fabric !!!!

    Stephanie

  25. My figuring was close to Debbie’s using 18-19 inch wide chairs (cheated, looked them up on Sears). But I’m going to drop down a bit and say 31 feet (372 inches) (944.88 cm).

    My guess is that having them rolled up will protect them from fading, dust and other damage.

    Deireth

  26. My guess is 42 feet long
    Why? For a book. I remember a knitting sampler done by Suzannah Lewis for a book. She knitted samples form a museum collection and put it into one long piece. The book had the instructions for every section of the extra long scarf.

    Vicki W

  27. Fabulous work Sharon. I think your scroll is 480 inches ling. Joined together so you will always know where the samples are ……..I should do that with some of my “stuff” for which I am always searching haha.

    sewcrazy

  32. My guess is 41 feet long and they are sewed together to make sure all the edges and backs are “finished”; the fabrics won’t unravel, no one can see your knots, etc…and there won’t be ‘pulls’ from the back-side threads catching on things as they are handled and transported.

    goodworks1

  37. I don’t have a guess yet for either question but I absolutely love the idea of keeping the width of samplers consistent and then sewing them together in a scroll like this. Brilliant!

    Actually, a reason for sewing them together might be to make it easier to transport to classes or whatever. I would think a roll like that would be easier to handle and lighter weight than notebooks full of puffy pages (and certainly more durable than anything framed).

    Sue in western WA

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