Heather Martin

Cross stitching is an old and time honored craft that has evolved from profession of standing for both men and women to a hobby enjoyed by women and men worldwide.  Cross stitch through history has been a way for those who were talented to earn a living and a way for the rich to monogram and decorate their clothing.

In the early days of cross stitch, circa 1500, this descendant of embroidery was often found in the closets of lords, ladies, kings, queens, and all sorts of noble men. Cross stitched clothing was a way to pronounce your station in life as well as to mark clothing to be returned to its rightful owners after cleaning or in case of theft. Those who performed the necessary task of cross stitching articles of clothing, in addition to house hold decorations, were considered to have a highly prized skill.

Cross stitching samplers in the early years of cross stitch also doubled up in their usefulness by preserving patterns before the printing press was invented. Samplers were created from any and all developed patterns, thus documenting the pattern so others could faithfully reproduce it in the future.

These days cross stitching is more of a hobby although one of the time tested traditions of cross stitch, the sampler, has carried on through the years.  Long ago a cross stitch sampler was a way to display your talents, rather like a cross stitch resume would be considered today.

If you displayed your stitches, thus demonstrating the expertise you possessed in this craft, with an outstanding sampler full of complicated stitches and great designs you were more likely to be hired to work for those who could pay and appreciate your work.

Although today there is no real need for a resume to announce your abilities in cross stitch, samplers are still a popular way to practice the different styles of stitches, as well as display your abilities.

Cross stitching a sampler present day is a much more productive way to practice your stitching as you will end up producing a finished cross stitch work you can still display instead of just practicing your stitches on a scrap piece of fabric.

Samplers are the oldest form of needle craft although today creating a cross stitch sampler is a fun way to practice your hobby; usually a cross stitch sampler consists of:

• the various stitches you have learned
• several characters to show the stitches put into action
• the letters of the alphabet, and sometimes several versus from the Bible.

The cross stitch samplers often feature a border that not only frames the work and shows movement in the lines but adds a flowing elegance to your craft too.
 
As you begin your cross stitch sampler you will find you have many options to choose from.  There are designs that include all the traditional features, given above, or you can create your own by picking and choosing from smaller characters, a border, and a set of alphabet letters.  When creating your own cross stitch sampler, you obviously have the freedom to add your own personality in a number of ways:

• perhaps with the characters you love
• a sympathetic or complimentary style of lettering, quite possibly your favorite
• a border that shows uniqueness
• plus add any verses you may cherish whether they are from the Bible or simple quotes from a favorite author.

When you have chosen the different patterns and pieces that will collectively make up your sampler, you must them apply them to your chosen material or find a fabric that suits the size of the counted cross stitching pattern that you have designed.

After you have completed the creative design element of your own sampler, we'll move on to stitching your masterpiece in part 2 of this article.