A sampler made by Miss Waddell while studying domestic science at a college in Glasgow in the 1890s.
This sampler shows examples of button-holing, smocking, lacing, frilling, hemming and pockets and shows that Miss Waddell had mastered a wide range of dressmaking skills at college. Many women learned these kind of skills in order to find a job (perhaps as a domestic servant or a seamstress). Being able to sew also allowed women to make clothes for themselves and, after marriage, their families.
Reference: E.1959.6
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
domestic science, domestic servants, dress-making, dressmakers, samplers, seamstresses, sewing, women's education