Scholten & Baijings Harks Back to Dutch Sampler Stitching for Maharam
In the 17th and 18th centuries, darning samplers helped young Dutch women flaunt their embroidery skills. When Maharam senior vice president of design Mary Murphy spotted a few of these samplers at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, “I saw a connection to Scholten & Baijings,” she recalls. Carole Baijings and Stefan Scholten had never heard of them but tracked down two antiques, from which three patterns emerged: Darning Sampler, a small-scale woven blend of recycled polyester, cotton, and solution-dyed nylon; Darning Sampler Large, a heavy twill pattern on cotton and solution-dyed nylon; and Darning Sampler Plaid, plain and ribbed weaves of cotton and solution-dyed nylon, with tiny X’s harking back to sampler stitching.
