WELCOME TO AN ENTERTAINMENT SITE FOR SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCERS!
Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Scottish Sampler, 1825
Jun 13
Sewing Day
We Can Sew!
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Sewing mends the soul."
~ Anonymous
Well, many Scottish country dancers are talented kiltmakers, designers, tailors, seamsters, seamstresses, sempsters, and mantua makers, carrying on a tradition of craftsmanship that stretches back centuries!
Long before Scotland became famous for tartans and kilts, generations of Scots earned their livelihoods through the textile trades. Scotland's reputation for fine cloth extended far beyond Highland dress, with weavers, kiltmakers, tailors, dressmakers, embroiderers, and needleworkers producing everything from linen and woolens to elegant garments worn throughout Britain and beyond. The linen industry flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while the town of Paisley became world-famous for its beautifully patterned shawls, giving its name to the iconic Paisley design still recognized today. Scotland also became renowned for its tweeds, including Harris Tweed, and for the specialized craft of kiltmaking, where skilled hand sewing remains an essential part of creating traditional Highland dress.
Needlework was also an important part of everyday life and education. Young Scottish girls often stitched samplers displaying alphabets, verses, family records, and decorative motifs such as thistles and crowns. These carefully crafted pieces survive today as remarkable records of both artistic skill and social history.
The devisor of this 3 couple reel for 4 couples, Tom Halpenny, explained the humorous origin of the title as coming from a memorable line in the film Three Amigos!. When someone asks, "What is it that this town really does well?" the enthusiastic reply is: "We can sew!" This reel contains stich-like figures including an arandel, putting one in mind of running stitches and classic hemming diagonal stitching, somthing many dancers patiently do for hems of dance costumes! 🕺 💃 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 🪡 🪡 🪡 🧵
We Can Sew!
The Scottish Sampler Antique Museum is a collection of antique needlework samplers from Europe and America, with a focus on Scottish samplers. The museum’s curators conduct genealogical research and regularly post new findings on their website. The samplers are not for sale, and the museum serves as a research site.
Notable Collections
The Leslie B Durst sampler collection, which includes over 500 Scottish samplers dating from the early 18th to the mid-19th century, is on loan at the National Museum Scotland.
The Scottish Home, an online museum, features a collection of antique textiles, collectibles, and artworks with a Scottish or Irish provenance.
Interesting Facts
Samplers were an important part of girls’ education in Scotland, providing a tangible memorial of their lives.
The Scottish Sampler Antique Museum is a valuable resource for researchers and historians, offering insights into Scottish social history and the education of girls during the 18th and 19th centuries.
For a sampler of Scottish samplers, click the Sampler created by Margaret Roxburgh, 1831
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
