Conserving a Victorian Era Scottish Sampler- Textile Conservation Treatment

Apologies to Jane Brydie for calling her Jane Bird the entire video. Still a short, relatively painless conservation treatment.
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Images-
[1]- Sampler (detail), Mildred Mayow, 1633, England. Museum no. T.194-1927. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O7...
[2]-Sampler, Eliza Hodges Oliver, American, 1829, MMA, 2016.540 www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
[3] Linen sheet, dated 1791. (Whitby Museum, Costume Collection, COS17). Photo: Viveka Hansen. www.ikfoundation.org/itextili...
[4] Sampler, M.W., Scottish, 1791, Private Collection www.antiques.com/classified/An...
[5] Sampler, Emma Slater, British, 1825, MMA, 1993.492.1 www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
[6] Darning Sampler, Ester Smith, American, 1814, MMA, 57.122.49 www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
[7] Sampler, Elizabeth Ross, 1833, Scottish, Private Collection, madelena.com/archive-details-...
[8] Leslie B Durst with Greenocks Ann Wredes sampler dating from c. 1846, Photo-Neil Hanna Photography
[9] Sampler, English or Scottish, late 18th century, MMA, 57.122.370 www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
Sources
Ring, Betty. Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850. Vol. Volume 1. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
---. Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers & Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850. Vol. Volume 2. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
Wyld, Helen. Embroidered Stories: Scottish Samplers. National Museum of Scotland, 2018.
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[@Judoka26]

The glue might have been rabbit skin glue, considering it's reaction to water and the brittelness.
Thank you for the glimpse into your work 😊

[@debrabolduc9928]

Thank you for this peek into an interesting process, so great to see someone young with such a passion for textiles! I have a family heirloom sampler dated 1827 which was badly framed, broken glass, bad backing also. I've had it restored by a museum recommended textile restorer working in her lab in Montreal, Canada. Quite a lot of back and forth as she kept me updated on her progress with the sampler. Once she had it mounted, it was reframed properly with acid free everything, UV screening museum quality glass, and a wonderful frame to do it justice. Roughly $3000. CAD all told, but it will last another 200 years now! 🤩

[@jackiejames4551]

It was very interesting how you took care of the sampler.

[@conniesbookshelf]

this was such a fascinating glimpse into conservation, thank you for sharing it with us! i'm fairly sure the 'small mammal' in question is a dog? most commonly the main two small animals i've seen on scottish samplers are dogs and rabbits (and there's already a rabbit!)😊

[@gwynnethhall4725]

Hi, I wonder is a light coloured backing behind the sampler would reduce the dark cast created by the mount? Would you use muslin!
Gwynneth

[@JuanCarlos-cv4lg]

I don’t understand, it looks worst than before?

[@jessicav2031]

The water bath part was legit terrifying! What about wrinkling and shrinking? Were these pieces originally washed and pressed after they were completed? If it has wrinkles or part is shrunk more than the rest, does it just have to stay that way?

[@costumeandconservation]

Normally with historic textiles, shrinking is not an issue as it has been washed, under tension, and/or aging for a while. This is sometimes a concern with tapestries but almost never with samplers.
As for wrinkles, we take care to keep it as flat as possible in the bath and more importantly, while drying (which I did not show in the video). If wrinkles did happen, I would use some local humidification (steamer or a damp cloth) to ease them.

[@arealkiwilady]

I think they're definitely dogs! The tails aren't enough to be squirrels

[@costumeandconservation]

And we have to ask the eternal question, dog sized bird or bird sized dog.

[@arealkiwilady]

@@costumeandconservation Bird sized dog. Pocket sized, for your convenience.