Mary Parsons 1780
$15.00
A reproduction sampler from the collection of The Unbroken Thread
Mary Parsons was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in 1770. We believe she was the daughter of a fuller in the woolen mills of England. By the time she was 10 years old, her family had moved from the city of Leeds to the town of Dewsbury, Yorkshire. There, Mary was sent to school where she stitched her charming sampler. Mary’s sampler is one of only three known samplers to contain a maze as part of the design. She also included a colorful Noah’s Ark and a number of tiny motifs at the end of the rows of the verse she chose to embroider. As I worked this reproduction, it was easy to imagine Mary working diligently to finish each row of letters so that she could finally stitch the little pair of glasses or short flowered vine. Her verse speaks to many of us who may, as a child, have shared a secret with a friend, only to have it told without permission to someone we didn’t want to know our secret. We can only wonder why Mary chose this verse. The PDF download includes both color and black and white charts. We’ve also included extensive information about Mary, her life and family and about the other samplers that include mazes as part of their design.
Thread Colors
| d’Alger | 100.3 | DMC | Color description |
| 524 | 022 | 831 | Mustard – medium |
| 4214 | 702 | 400 | Brown – medium |
| 2242 | 148 | 3821 | Yellow Beige – medium |
| 2146 | 274 | 732 | Khaki Green – dark |
| 1434 | 356 | 931 | Antique Blue – medium |
| 1432 | 309 | 3841 | Pale Blue/Grey |
| 2756 | 714 | 598 | Pale Blue/Green |
| 945 | 499 | 321 | Christmas Red – dark |
| 2931 | 177 | 407 | Salmon/Shell Pink – light |
| 2632 | 93 | 758 | Desert Sand |
| Noir | Noir | 939 | Black |
Fabric sizes
28 ct. Design: 11.14″ x 16.64″ Fabric: 19.14″ x 24.64”
30 ct. Design: 10.4″ x 15.53″ Fabric: 18.4″ x 23.53”
32 ct. Design: 9.75″ x 14.56″. Fabric: 17.75″ x 22.56”
36 ct. Design: 8.67″ x 12.94″. Fabric: 16.67″ x 20.94”
40 ct. Design: 7.8″ x 11.65″. Fabric: 15.8″ x 19.65”
46 ct. Design: 6.78″ x 10.13″. Fabric: 14.78″ x 18.13”
56 ct. Design: 5.57″ x 8.32″. Fabric: 13.57″ x 16.32″
Stitches Used
The sampler is worked mainly in cross stitch. There is a small area which uses eyelet stitches. The entire border is done in satin stitch.
The model was stitched on Legacy Linen 37 count Corn Tassel using Au ver a soie 100.3 thread. The original color of the linen on Mary’s sampler is close to DMC color 613.