The first samplers are thought to have appeared in the 15th century, but the earliest documentary evidence comes from 1502 in a household expenses account for Elizabeth of York (wife of the English king Henry VII).

Samplers were originally a way for people to record different patterns which they found of interest - something which they could refer to later when producing large scale embroideries. The sewer would pull out their sampler and copy a small example of a pattern they liked, just like today you might make a note in a sketchbook or take a quick picture on your mobile phone! Over time, as cloth was very expensive, a single piece of material would gather more and more examples and begin to resemble more of what we think of a sampler today. (The term sampler is thought to come from the French essamplair.)

As far as we know the first printed pattern books were expensive – so keeping your own record of the patterns you liked made perfect sense.

As the 16th century wore on samplers began to look a little more ordered and from the 17th century we see the emergence of borders then alphabets. No samplers which have been identified as Scottish exist from the 16th and 17th century - although they would definitely have been produced.

By the 18th century, in Scotland at least, samplers were mostly made at home under the supervision of a sewing tutor or in sewing schools. However, by the mid 19th century almost all Scottish samplers were made in school. As far as we can tell they were made almost exclusively by girls, and the more decorative embroidered pieces were probably a way to relax and a reward for getting plain sewing skills (the sewing skills needed for making clothes) up to scratch.

The tail end of the 19th century saw a shift from embroidered samplers to plain sewing samplers, many from lessons taught in schools or in domestic science colleges. They showcased the maker's needlework skills - such as hemming, gathering, darning, sewing on loops, patching and simple embroidery.

Eventually, with the rise of relatively affordable sewing machines there was less need for these skills and the widespread making of samplers within schools died out.