Really REALLY old sampler

[B. Newman]

Just took in a sampler that was done in 1786 :eek: by a girl of 14 years old. It is so fragile that I'm almost afraid to breathe on it. It is stitched to a paper backing. They are both deteriorating in the same places. (Some bug's lunch perhaps?)

My thought is to encapsulate it in mylar. Any other ideas short of calling on Rebecca's services?

Betty

[Framerguy]

Hi Betty,

Unless somebody comes up with a better idea (now who would decide THAT??), I think you have a good plan. Those old samplers are very scary to me. I have only had the pleasure?? of doing 2 of those and both were in pretty good shape.

One of the customers said that hers belonged to her great-grandmother and was originally bought for .04¢! Her grandmother said that HER mom did the piece for practice to learn to do needle work that was used back then to adorn shirts, blouses, and skirts that were bought or made out of yard goods bought at the local general store. Pretty neat story, I thought.

Good luck with it.

Framerguy

[fttom]

Yeah, neat story to you both. Bet, ship it off to Rebecca, post haste, if not sooner. However, if the customer just won't pay for that,(Now, why she wouldn't, beats me) VVEERRYY carefully stitch it, with linen thread, to some very much washed muslin. (PS. Glad it's you and not me! :eek: )

I just went back and read what you wrote. Mylar sounds good, too.

[Jim Miller]

Size? Weight?

Many of those old textiles are so fragile that stitches would shred right through the weave.

A conservator is your best bet, and I'm sure Rebecca would do it right.

If the cost of conservation treatment is out of the question, then be careful. If the textile has much surface texture, clear film isn't the best choice.

In that case, you could use Stabilitex (polyester) or Crepeline (French silk). Both of those fabrics are extremely fine mesh -- almost invisible if the right color is chosen -- and might provide good overall support. (Both are available from Talas in NYC.) I suggest a 4-ply rag/alpha mount board attached to a reinforcement of 4mm polyflute with 3M #889 double-sided tape. Lay on the textile & cover it with the fabric; stitch all around it with cotton thread; you could add some stitches in the center section for added support.

[Rebecca]

Oh Lucky you Betty!

Do you need to remove the paper, or can you leave it on (as far as looks go I mean). If it's that fragile it might be too tricky to get the paper off. But mounting will be easier without the paper.

My worry about Mylar is 1) static pulling fragile fibers off (silk can be REALLY bad for that) and 2) uneven support if the piece is 3-D ish.

Can you do a padded backboards and just insect pin the edges in place? I hesitate to go into the whole spiel again, for fear of boring everyone to death but if you want me to I'll track down the thread for you. Then you could just use spacers to lift the glass up, leaving a bit of the backing fabric showing, or do window mat(s).

Merry Christmas.

Rebecca

[EllenAtHowards]

...clear film isn't the best choice...
Did you EVER think you would hear (read) these words coming from Jim Miller's mouth (computer)? hehehe

[fttom]

Posted by Rebecca: Do you need to remove the paper, or can you leave it on I just remembered a couple of very old Japanese pieces that I did, must have been 15-20 years ago that, when I really got into them, the paper was glued all over to the silk. Bet, be careful!

[Frank Larson]

Back when I had a retail shop I had a couple of ladies who collected antique samplers. They didn't have the "big bucks" to spend on the best examples so the ones I got to frame were quite often on the ratty side. I had to come up with a technique that allowed the entire piece to be supported including the areas around the holes. Sometimes bugs had eaten the fabric but left the stitches in place. I have been known to take threads off the edges of the fabric and reweave them into the stitches to help hold them in place. What a pain.

Anyway, the way I liked to handle these was to evenly stretch a piece of fabric over a strainer large enough so I could stitch through the sampler without the strainer getting in the way. I tried to use the same type of fabric and color as was used for the sampler, i.e.: linen, cotton, silk etc. I also used thread to match. When stitching I made it a point to only stitch in a straight line and to take a couple of extra stitches in the fabric beyond the sampler but not tie off the thread, just cut it off leaving a little extra on the back side. Stitch about every 1/2" on the edges and 1" in the center. I would also stitch around the holes. Don't pull tightly on the stitches. You don't want to cut the fabric of the sampler.

Now you have a nice flat sampler squared as best you can and stitched to another stronger piece of fabric. If you were going to mat the piece (rarely done) you could have made the strainer the final size and just stick some mats to it and fit into the frame. Most of my customers wanted the sampler to fit directly into the frame, no mat, no extra fabric showing. So at this point measure the sampler and cut the fabric off the strainer. Restretch the piece around 8ply ragboard about 3/8" larger than the sampler using whatever method you're fond of to fasten it. Leave about 3/16" of fabric showing around the sampler.

The reason I always left the stiches loose instead of tying them off was if I pulled a little tight at this point the threads would pull loose a little instead of cutting through the sampler or causing a pucker (make sense?). I liked to finish up with museum glass and 1/4" deep spacers. The extra 3/16" fabric around the edge allows room for the spacer so it doesn't crush the sampler.

I used to charge pretty good for this, the REAL collectors never even flinched (wellllll, maybe a gulp or two) and always came back.

[preservator]

From your description it sounds as if this textile
has seen far too much light and should be stored
in the dark from now on. While modern needle work
porjects are ideal for framing, so that their makers can enjoy them, textiles that are as antiquated as the one you have should be passed on
to the future with mininal exposure to light.

Hugh

[PurplePerson]

At the risk of sounding dumb, I would like to know what a strainer is.

I looked this up in "search", and a bunch of people I never heard of, simply discussed using them.

[preservator]

A strainer is a stretcher that is fixed at the
corners. Usually used to reinforce a modern, narrow frame.

Hugh