Friday, April 3, 2026

Same Pattern in 2 Different 17th Century Embroidery Samplers

When looking at Margaret Barber's English embroidery sampler circa 1661-1663 at The Met, a pattern stuck out to me that I had seen it before elsewhere! 

 

 This pattern is found at the very top of Barber's sampler.

  

That's because it's the same pattern found on Mildred Mayow's English embroidery sampler circa 1633 at the V&A Museum. This pattern is also found on page 100 of my latest book: 16th to 18th Century Double-Running Stitch Embroidery Patterns

 

 

On Mayow's sampler, the pattern is near the bottom.