Skip to main content
Whitework Sampler
Whitework Sampler
Whitework Sampler

Whitework Sampler

Date1885
Object NameSampler
Mediumlinen
ClassificationsTextiles
DimensionsOverall (Height x Width): 3400 × 380mm
AcquisitionPresented in 1980.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS054047
About MeThis very long plain sewing sampler was made by Mary Helen MacMahon, daughter of an Aberdeen photographer, at the Ursuline Convent in Thildonck in Belgium.

This piece may be considered a sampler in the original sense of the word as it is a record of stitches and display of needlework skills. It features panels of various dressmaking techniques like pleating, darning and tucking as well as panels of cotton knitting, crochet insertions and delicate cutwork, drawn threadwork and tambouring.