Historic Folk Toys: Craft, 'Early American Sampler'

Early American SamplerOur Early American Sampler is a classic, counted cross-stitch sampler kit including a 9-inch by 12-inch piece of 11-count Aida cloth, floss, needle, graph, instructions, and history. (Frame shown is not included.)Historical Background: Samplers were mostly used as a notebook of ideas and stitches in the 16th century. During the 17th century, this was not as important a feature because books were being published featuring models and embroidery motifs. By the 18th century, samplers had become just a piece of decorative art. Today, the sampler is still ornamental, but is generally used to portray ancestral information or personal feelings in rhymes or verse.Cross-stitch is a form of embroidery, indeed one of the oldest forms of embroidery. The ancient Egyptians and Phrygians used cross-stitch. It was also used in Austria, Denmark, the Greek Islands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Turkey. The word "sampler" comes from the Latin word "exemplum" ("model to imitate"). The