In 2004, the Museum commissioned Hella Jongerius to create a series of ten textiles, collectively titled Sampler Blanket, in conjunction with her Collection Selects exhibition. Each work in the show was inspired by designs found on historic samplers in the Museum’s Textile collection, which includes over 1,000 examples of embroidered samplers from all over the world spanning three centuries. Shortly thereafter, Maharam, a fourth generation family textile company, became interested in collaborating with Jongerius to make a production version inspired by the Sampler Blanket collection, and as a result, they introduced Layers Garden Double and Layers Park Double. These textiles were designed by Jongerius and manufactured by Maharam, each in three color ways. This version, Layers Garden Double, is a dark green wool fabric that has been appliquéd with a dark brown layer, which is then partially cut away by hand, and then red stitching joins the fabric and creates the embroidered pattern on the textile. This three dimensional floral textile is primarily used for upholstery.
Jongerius continues to have materials largely determine the design direction at Jongeriuslab, and combines ancient craft technique with modern technology. Layers Garden Double is another beautiful example of this philosophy. Together, Sampler Blanket and Layers Garden Double weave a narrative about the works as a creative endeavor and reveal the importance of handwork and machine production in each.