The sampler is, practically by definition, an example of process, rather then product. Often left unfinished by their makers, needlework and embroidery samplers, which first appeared in 16th-century Europe, were practice and instruction tools for young women learning the domestic arts. They depicted letters of the alphabet, family histories, examples of flora and fauna, lines of poetry or adages, and sometimes, the whimsy and imagination of their stitchers.

“In a sampler, you see the handwriting and personal notes – almost a kind of diary – of amateur needlewoman,” Hella Jongerius writes in the brochure for an exhibit of samplers, opening tomorrow at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. For the exhibit, titled “Hella Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection,” Ms. Jongerius, an accomplished Dutch designer, chose a few dozen pieces from the Cooper-Hewitt’s collection of more than 1,000 samplers from around the world.

Ms. Jongerius chose to display the samplers in clear-topped museum storage containers, which were carefully stacked in a sort of patchwork pattern on a large central table so that some containers rest on the corners of others and parts of many of the samplers are obscured, forcing the viewer to zero in on a particular detail left exposed. The result is a collage of already collage-like pieces. The samplers, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, contain fragments of prose and verse: “Lucy Lathrop her Sampler made in the 11 year of her age;” “In prosperity, friends are plenty, in adversity, not one in twenty.”

There are samplers from England, America, France, and Germany, but the most unusual on display are those from Mexico, which showcase a riot of colorful graphic designs. More restrained examples from America and England document family births and feature birds, flowers, squirrels, deer, and butterflies. In addition to the samplers, Ms. Jongerius has selected items associated with needlework for display: printed embroidery designs, an 1830 lacquer sewing box from china with ivory implements, embroidery books, and sewing and penmanship tools.

Inspired by the collection, Ms. Jongerius, who has designed works for Droog, the Dutch design collective, and now has her own design studio, JongeriusLab, has created 10 original textiles called “Sampler Blankets,” which hang from large easels along one gallery wall. Created using contemporary needle-punch technology and machine embroidery, these large pieces pick up motifs from the historic samplers.

“Hella Jongerius Selects” is the third in a series of exhibits at the Cooper-Hewitt that are culled from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 250,000 objects.

“Hella Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection,” March 4 through September 4, at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Fifth Avenue and 91st Street, 212-849-8400, www.cooperhewitt.org. General admission, $10; seniors and students, $7; children under 12, free.