fore Washington became
commander-in-chief, she embroidered ruffles for his shirts--quite an
important branch of fine sewing in those days. Whether she ever
embroidered the great man's ruffles or not, it is said that, whenever
folk wanted any especially fine work done, they always went to "Betsy
Ross." She could do more than sew, for she could draw freehand the
complicated patterns that were used in quilting, the supreme proof of
artistic ability in the household. One day three gentlemen entered her
house through its humble doorway. One was her uncle by marriage,
Colonel Ross; one is thought to have been Robert Morris; one was
General Washington. The commander-in-chief told her that they had come
from Congress to ask her if she could make a flag. "I don't know," she
replied, "but I can try." Then they showed her a rough sketch of a
flag and asked what she thought of it. She replied that she thought it
ought to be longer, that a flag looked better if the length was one
third greater than the width. She ventured to make two more
suggestions. One was that the stars which they had scattered
irregularly over the blue canton would look better if they were
arranged in some regular form, such as a circle or a star or in
parallel rows. The second suggestion was that a star with five points
was prettier than one with six. Some one seems to have remarked that
it would be more difficult to make; and thereupon the skillful little
lady folded a bit of paper and with one clip of her scissors produced
a star with five points. The three gentlemen saw that her suggestions
were good, and General Washington drew up his chair to a table and
made another sketch according to her ideas.

Mrs. Ross could make wise suggestions about flags, but how to sew them
she did not know; so it was arranged that she should call on a shipping
merchant and borrow a flag from him. This she soon did. He opened a
chest and took out a ship's flag to show her how the sewing was done.
She carried it home to use as a guide, and when she reached the little
house on Arch Street, she set to work to make the first flag bearing the
stars and stripes. To try the effect, it was run up to the peak of one
of the vessels in the Delaware, and the result was so pleasing that it
was carried into Congress on the day that it was completed. Congress
approved of the work of the little lady. Colonel Ross told her to buy
all the material she could and make as many flags as possible. An