Object Number: Na751

Collection: Applied Art

Object Name: sampler

Description: Sampler, plain sewing. White cotton in 3 main sections; frill, cuff, button Exhibition label: Worked by Gertrude Emily Cook (daughter of Sir Ernest Henry Cook, Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1921) while at Domestic Science College in Bristol, 1901-1904. From the mid-nineteenth century plain sewing was considered an essential accomplishment for young girls, particularly those who were intending to go into service or to become teachers. As part of their training they had to work a series of samplers demonstrating techniques such as patching, darning, seaming, hemming, binding, gathering, tucking, piping, marking, making buttonholes and loops and openings.