Though it bears the city's name, Martha Seaver's sampler is not representative of the large and elaborate building samplers for which Baltimore became known years later. Nonetheless, it is an impressive achievement for a seven- or eight-year-old child, showing her proficiency in using cross, four-sided, Algerian eye, rice, herringbone, and Queen stitches. Although she presumably studied under a Baltimore schoolmistress, some of the motifs in her sampler, including the bird and flower designs, suggest a Pennsylvania German connection. The border pattern, known as "mice teeth," and the house design are both found in Pennsylvania German embroidered hand towels.