Linen sampler by Hannah Haynes, embroidered with silk; English; second quarter 18th century. Linen, embroidered with silk in back, cross, satin and rococo stitch, with cutwork and hollie stitch, and with knots. In England and elsewhere in Europe in the 17th century, samplers had developed from personal reference works for embroiderers into a method of instruction and practice for girls learning needlework. The central area of this sampler was worked in a needle lace stitch called hollie point, most examples of which date from the second quarter of the 18th century. Hollie point was a practical stitch to learn, used particularly for decorative insertions into baby clothes and occasionally adult garments, and exact counterparts of the patterns worked in hollie-point samplers can be found in surviving clothing. The embroidery is worked with silk in back, cross, satin and rococo stitch, with cutwork and hollie stitch, and with knots.