My band for the band sampler

 I started doodling in MacStitch to create my band.  I wanted something repetitive and easy to stitch.  I had to come up with something the works for 8 inch and six inch bands and that would work on 14/28 or 16/32 ct. fabrics and still stay under the inch requirement.  

I picked the floss colors I wanted to use.  I chose multiple, saturated colors that are found in my home decor.  I plan to put the band sampler directly in front of my stitching spot in my sunroom so I can see it all the time. 

I chose a Red, Gold, Green, Blue, and a Purple.   I tried to pull deeper antiqued tones. I then added a lighter tone of the same color for others to use in their variations, if desired.  

After creating the repetitive pattern I decided I wanted to embellish it with some backstitching to provide another opportunity to use the multiple colors.  

I then needed to chart some letters to use for the initials.  I found a font just 5 stitches tall from the Lord Libidian free fonts website, then decided to have everyone stitch their initials vertically as shown below.