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Dutch Samplers Embroidery of the Netherlands by Lucy Lyons Willis Article may be reproduced for personal use ONLY. "Dutch Sampler" pictured to the left designed by Lucy Lyons Willis La Chatelaine Designs |
Some of the loveliest samplers of Western Europe were those created by the embroiderers of the Netherlands. When we see these beautiful embroideries, we tend to think that these women had time to spare to create such exquisite items - imagine initialing every article of clothing in a family as well as the linens! But these tasks had a purpose fundamental to everyday living as well as for the enjoyment of the beauty of the completed piece. Young Dutch girls began their embroidery work by the age of ten. They began with three different styles of samplers which, when completed, would be shown to a future husband to prove what a good wife she would make him. First, she would make an Alphabet Sampler which served several purposes. Since school was not mandatory for girls, this not only enabled her to learn her alphabet but taught her how to initial the linens and clothing in her own home. Small initials were used on clothing and small linens such as towels. The large ornate letters (which we associate frequently with Dutch embroidery) were used on large linens such as sheets. One tradition during the 17th and 18th centuries was for the young woman to initial and embroider the bedsheet she and her husband would use on their wedding night. The sheet would then be rolled up the next morning and stored lovingly in the armoire. It would be taken out and used on the bed for the birth of their children as well as for an ill family member awaiting the doctor's visit. If houseguests stayed the night, they would be given the sheet to use as well. In the 18th century, Monday was "washday' in the villages. The whole town would wash all their clothing and linens together in the river. Some would have the task of washing, some wringing, and some would have the duty of spreading all the clothes on the grass to dry, enabling the linens to be bleached naturally by the sun. Since all items were washed together in this way, initials were necessary (if not crucial!) so the washers could tell whose things belonged to whom. Initials on clothing served another important purpose. They were useful for identifying the very elderly if they happened to loose their way! One ad in an Amsterdam newspaper dated November 8th, 1674, read: "A man found in river and cannot say his name. He is in the hospital, and his hat and underwear have the initials WG." Another ad dated December 15th, 1677, stated that linen bedsheets with the initials "TI" had been stolen out of a house. A reward equivalent to about $12 was offered. The second sampler the young girl would make would be a Technique Sampler called a Stoplet. This sampler would enable the embroideress to learn and illustrate her talents of seaming, darning (repairing clothing) and all sewing required in the management of a household. Usually these samplers were so expertly done that it was difficult to tell one side from the other. It is interesting to note that if a family was very wealthy and the daughter had no talent for sewing, a man would agree to marry her knowing he would receive a large dowry - enabling him to hire someone to sew for his family. The third sampler would be one that displayed designs and motifs symbolizing what the young woman envisioned her lifestyle would be when she became a wife and mother. She would embroider designs meaningful to her (perhaps similar to American girls collecting items for their future life in a hope chest.) This sampler was called The Honeymoon Sampler. Sometimes the girl would stitch all three types of samplers on one piece of cloth which would be kept rolled up and measuring approximately 15 inches by 6 yards! After completing these needlework requirements in her education a young lady was ready to get married. In a wealthy family the daughter was able to stay home and stitch additional samplers and items. The more needlework a young girl had to bring to her own future household signified her coming from a "privileged lifestyle" and that she did not need to work outside the home to aide her family financially. The samplers were stitched on white linen or cream wool, which sometimes was woven by the embroiderer herself. Silk threads were often used as silk had been extensively cultivated in the Netherlands since the 15th century. Cross-stitch was predominately used as well as backstitch, satin stitch and a 12-sided eyelet. Dutch samplers were usually surrounded by a border and filled in with numerous motifs, each with its own meaning. houses with step-gables or cornices appear frequently on samplers and may represent the home of the embroideress. (The house embroidered in the sampler design shown above is from a sampler dated 1801.) Furniture and other objects that are connected with the housewife's domestic duties signify contentment, diligence, domesticity and hospitality. The corner motif in the upper-left corner pictured in the above sampler is from the 17th century and represents the type of motif that was used in the corner of the "knottedoek (literally knotted doek/cloth"} * a square linen kerchief or cloth embroidered in cross-stitch that was used to hold the dowry (100 silver sixpences) when a girl's hand was asked in marriage. The kerchief embellished with a rhyme, was offered to her loosely knotted. If she pulled the knot tight it meant her answer to the proposal was "yes!" One rhyme on a 17th century kerchief read: "Pretty love, pray accept the gift I give you here. Although the gift is a small, You know well enough what I mean - Ian Direks." The tree of life motif pictured in the sampler under the corner motif (and originally had the initials "B" and "J") is from a sheet dated 1717. The religious symbol signifying "In His Service" is from a 1789 sampler. After northern Netherlands broke with Spain in the 16th century and converted to Protestantism, ecclesiastical embroidery came to an end. Roman Catholic worship was tolerated, although not openly, and embroiderers continued to make vestments, altar cloths and chalice veils into the 17th and 18th centuries. They resembled the designs of France and southern Netherlands of high relief and delicate floral embroidery. Throughout my childhood, Holland represented windmills, wooden shoes, tulips and a place far beyond my reach. But as with most things, we have to look underneath to find what is of value. Years of war and occupation have created a people that could produce Rembrandt, Hals and masters artists and writers during wartime and could demonstrate their courage and belief through their "resistance movement." In the book The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck the author begins his first chapter with the sentence "Life is difficult." I do not think that I am alone when I say that his comment is not only an understatement but a profound one as well. I find that in the study of the creative habits of many countries there always seems to run a common thread - the need to create traditions which nurture and sustain, which create foundations that carry us through wars, unhappiness, famine and grief. These "threads" can be stories that teach or entertain, songs that lull us or revive us, or handwork that educates us or allows us to dream. Whatever avenue or creative outlet we choose to pursue, it is these things and these things alone, simple as they seem, that prove to us that even though life can be difficult, it is a joy as well. Lucy Lyons Willis La Chatelaine Designs Copyright 2001 I especially want to thank Tine and Wim Rogman of The Merklappemuseum Hoeve "de Waert" (Sampler Museum) in St. Odilienberg, The Netherlands, for their kind sharing of their vast knowledge of the needlearts; The Royal Embassy of the Netherlands in Washington, DC for introducing me to the Rogman's; and a special thank you to Rudy Heukels who shared his heritage with me. * A special thank you to Caroline Kloezeman who helped me with the spelling and meaning of "knottedoek!" Be certain to visit her wonderful Dutch web site: |
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