Through the post this morning (9 September) came an unexpected donation from Aagis van Haarst-Dierop (thank you very much for thinking of the TRC !), the mother of a former TRC volunteer, Joke Muller - van Haarst. It is a darning sampler that Aagis thought her grandmother had made in the early 20th century. She was a needlework teacher and may have made it during her teacher training course. But we suspect it may have a very different tale behind it!
Darning sampler with a wide variety of darned patterns. The initials MB are worked towards the top, while the date of 1826 is towards the lower edge. The Netherlands (?), 1826 (TRC 2024.2672).
Basically it is a school darning sampler (TRC 2024.2672) made of linen. More specifically the ground material is made from hand spun and woven linen in an uneven, plain weave. It is covered, literally, in a wide variety of darning patterns in imitation of plain weaves, open weaves, not to mention twills, diamond twills, damask patterns, checks, etc. Most of these patterns were worked in coloured silk threads, but some were in linen threads of various thicknesses. Some of the linen threads are red, blue, green and pink, while others are in white. It also has the initials MB and the year 1826.
Detail of darning sampler TRC 2024.2672, with the date of 1826 in the centre.
The use of coloured threads was not to make something ‘pretty’ or artistic, instead it was designed to show the teacher that the girl had understood a range of weave structures and could reproduce them and hence she could mend different types of clothing and household textiles and objects.
Embroidered sampler, Leiden (?), the Netherlands, 1765 (TRC 2020.3687).These are useful and practical skills and a deliberate form of sustainability that was regarded as a life skill that every girl should learn, There were also some mended areas on the sampler that showed a slightly higher level of skill, where the patterns had been worked in white thread, so suitable for ‘actually’ mending white damask table cloths, napkins, and so forth.
Another intriguing detail is a small panel towards the lower edge of the cloth. It was decorated with patterns worked in square eyelets (‘Algerian’ eyelets). It took a little while, but we were able to make out a date, namely 1826. So instead of an early 20th century teacher training piece, it is likely to be the work of a young schoolgirl, with the initials MB, from the early 19th century.
Sampler from c. 1914, with 12 different types of darning, the Netherlands (TRC 2023.0437).It is worth noting that the TRC Collection includes various Dutch darning samples and samplers, including some 18th century pieces, namely TRC 2020.3687, from 1765 and TRC 2016.1983, from 1781. They were both very neatly and precisely worked.
There are also some early 20th century school darning samples and samplers, such as TRC 2017.0108, from 1898; TRC 2014.0341, from c. 1910; TRC 2018.0471 from 1913, and TRC 2023.0437 from 1914.
A complete hand knitted sock that has been mended in sixteen different manners using red and white yarn, the Netherlands, c. 1913-1915 (TRC 2024.0874.10).These examples only include a small number of darns, as the girl was learning the theory and practice of darning. I have never seen a sample or sampler with so many different patterns all in one piece as the one we received today.
I should also add that the TRC Collection also includes some school darning practice pieces in the form of hand knitted and darned socks. TRC 2019.1940 dates from the early 20th century; TRC 2024.0874.10 dates from 1913-1915.
Finally, I want to show a delightful painting by Wybrand Hendriks (c. 1820) of a sleeping man and a woman darning socks. Marital bliss.
Interior with a sleeping man and a woman darning socks, by Wybrand Hendriks, c. 1820. Courtesy Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 9 September 2024
