A rural English scene is one of the beautiful features of Sarah Borton’s sampler. A farmer and servant are busy building hayricks; a very important chore on a farm. The farmer’s wife is drawing a bucket of water from the well. A meandering strawberry outer border surrounds this charming sampler. There are four different alphabets stitched in cross stitch, Algerian eyelet, and satin stitch along with a dividing honeysuckle border. Other stitches used are French knots, stem stitch, chain stitch and four sided stitch. The main feature of Sarah’s sampler is the pretty freehand wreath that contains the verse. Sarah stitched two crowns on her sampler with the initials K and E. It was a common practice in some schools in England and Scotland to stitch rows of crowns and coronets with a single letter underneath. “K” for King, “D” for Duke and “E” for Earl etc. Thread Legend The sampler has been reproduced with Au Ver à Soie d’Alger silks and the skein quantities calculated based on 1 strand on 36ct fabric. We have provided a DMC conversion based on 2 strands on 36ct fabric. The model was stitched on 40ct Lakeside Linen Sand Dune. Soie d’Alger / DMC Noir x 1 / 310 x 1 ~ Black 2642 x 1 / 352 x 1 ~ Coral – light 1842 x 1 / 368 x 1 ~ Pistachio green – light 1841 x 1 / 369 x 1 ~ Pistachio green – very light 3733 x 1 / 370 x 1 ~ Mustard – medium 3823 x 1 / 437 x 1 ~ Tan – light 1846 x 1 / 500 x 1 ~ Blue green – very dark 3726 x 1 / 520 x 1 ~ Fern green – dark 1744 x 1 / 597 x 1 ~ Turquoise 4535 x 1 / 611 x 1 ~ Drab brown 2522 x 1 / 677 x 1 ~ Old gold – very light 3812 x 1 / 738 x 1 ~ Tan – very light 2516 x 1 / 780 x 1 ~ Topaz – ultra very light 525 x 1 / 832 x 1 ~ Golden olive 4246 x 1 / 869 x 1 ~ Hazel nut brown – very dark 4123 x 1 / 898 x 1 ~ Coffee brown – very dark 2145 x 1 / 3011 x 1 ~ Khaki green – dark 4524 x 1 / 3045 x 1 ~ Yellow beige – dark 3715 x 1 / 3052 x 1 ~ Green grey – medium 3725 x 1 / 3362 x 1 ~ Pine green – dark 2915 x 1 / 3712 x 1 ~ Salmon – medium 4535 x 1 / 3790 x 1 ~ Beige grey – ultra dark 621 x 1 / 3822 x 1 ~ Straw – light LINEN SIZES The design area is 258 stitches (w) x 304 stitches (h). Our calculations have included a 3” margin for finishing and framing. 28ct – Design: 18.43″ x 21.71″ Fabric: 24.43″ x 27.71″ 32ct – Design: 16.13″ x 19″ Fabric: 22.13″ x 25″ 36ct – Design: 14.33″ x 16.89″ Fabric: 20.33″ x 22.89″ 40ct – Design: 12.9″ x 15.2″ Fabric: 18.9″ x 21.2″
