Textiles

The 50,000 objects in the textile collections fall into two main categories: raw fibers, yarns, and fabrics, and machines, tools, and other textile technology. Shawls, coverlets, samplers, laces, linens, synthetics, and other fabrics are part of the first group, along with the 400 quilts in the National Quilt Collection. Some of the Museum's most popular artifacts, such as the Star-Spangled Banner and the gowns of the first ladies, have an obvious textile connection.

The machinery and tools include spinning wheels, sewing machines, thimbles, needlework tools, looms, and an invention that changed the course of American agriculture and society. A model of Eli Whitney's cotton gin, made by the inventor in the early 1800s, shows the workings of a machine that helped make cotton plantations profitable in the South and encouraged the spread of slavery.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850
ID Number
TE.T11477.00B
catalog number
T11477.00B
Counterpane made of two strips of 44-inch, stout, handwoven, cotton muslin seamed up center and embroidered in an ornate design-center vase and floral forms (Tree of Life), corner motifs, and vine border, suggestive of Indian and Chinese patterning--executed in a variety of stitc
Description
Counterpane made of two strips of 44-inch, stout, handwoven, cotton muslin seamed up center and embroidered in an ornate design-center vase and floral forms (Tree of Life), corner motifs, and vine border, suggestive of Indian and Chinese patterning--executed in a variety of stitches (blanket, button hole background, close buttonhole, Cretan, feather, figure, herringbone, Japanese, knotted, satin, star filling, and stem) with coarse, 3-ply cotton thread. Finish, applied 4 1/2" woven, cut fringe with fancy, openwork, self heading. .Dated May 8, 1822, and made by Hetty Bradley, daughter of Major John Bradley of Revolutionary fame, and a sister of the donor's great-grandmother. plantation near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1822
ID Number
TE.T08874.000
catalog number
T08874.000
According to family information, Jane Alcock made this counterpane in a convent school in England a few years before running away to Barbados and marrying William Atlee (1696-1744) on June 1, 1734. A few weeks later the couple settled in Philadelphia.
Description
According to family information, Jane Alcock made this counterpane in a convent school in England a few years before running away to Barbados and marrying William Atlee (1696-1744) on June 1, 1734. A few weeks later the couple settled in Philadelphia. Jane was born in 1695 in England and died in 1777 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The scrollwork-and-flower design is appliquéd, held in place by a linen-thread cord, on a dark blue satin ground. The elegant counterpane remained in the family until its donation in 1985.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1720-1734
maker
Alcock, Jane
ID Number
1985.0154.01
catalog number
1985.0154.01
accession number
1985.0154
Candlewick embroidery on handwoven corded cotton. Fabric is 37" wide selvage to selvage. Counterpane of two widths stitched down center. Initials "G" "E" "E" and date 1812 embroidererd. Lucy E. MCPhearson stamped twice at the top centerCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Candlewick embroidery on handwoven corded cotton. Fabric is 37" wide selvage to selvage. Counterpane of two widths stitched down center. Initials "G" "E" "E" and date 1812 embroidererd. Lucy E. MCPhearson stamped twice at the top center
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1812
maker
Elgin, Lucinda Eleanor
ID Number
TE.T13670
catalog number
T13670.000
Hannah Leathers Wilson (1787-1869) of Farmington, New Hampshire wove this Figured and Fancy, weft loop woven, Bolton- or Boutoneé-style coverlet in 1833 for Caroline Sawyer.
Description
Hannah Leathers Wilson (1787-1869) of Farmington, New Hampshire wove this Figured and Fancy, weft loop woven, Bolton- or Boutoneé-style coverlet in 1833 for Caroline Sawyer. The coverlet was woven as one long length of plain weave ground, divided into thirds, and joined together to create the finished textile. After every two shots of the white ground weft, Wilson would throw a shot of the patterning weft made from much thicker wool yarn which was dyed with indigo and using a hook would pull up and twist loops, locking them into place to create the tufted pattern. A large central octagonal medallion containing a star, pine trees, and floral motifs is surrounded by five concentric borders on three sides and three along the top edge. White cotton and dark blue wool, stylized floral and leaf motifs around star in center. Side selvage edges are turned under and tacked at corners. The bottom edge is turned under and stitched to an edge bound with tape. The tape appears to be original. The woven inscription, "Caroline Sawyer no 52 1833" appears along the upper edge of the coverlet. Caroline Sawyer was born December 20, 1809 to Enoch (1776-1857) and Eleanor Horn (1774-1870) Sawyer in Alton, New Hampshire. Sawyer married Ira Mooney and died April 23, 1890. Hannah Wilson was born Hannah Leathers 1787 in Barrington, New Hampshire. In 1829 she changed her last name to Wilson because some of her relatives were of "ill repute." There is some suggestion that the Leathers family and people of that surname may have been Roma or Travelers and viewed as thieves or ne’er-do-wells. She died May 29, 1869 in Farmington, New Hampshire. She numbered all her coverlets and the highest known number is 184. Thanks to Donna-Belle Garvin from the New Hampshire Historical Society for her research into finding the identity of this coverlet maker.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1833
maker
Wilson, Hannah
ID Number
1981.0274.09
accession number
1981.0274
catalog number
1981.0274.09
Esther Wheat's quilt is an example of a glazed wool fabric, not only used for bedding but also petticoats in the eighteenth century.
Description
Esther Wheat's quilt is an example of a glazed wool fabric, not only used for bedding but also petticoats in the eighteenth century. The shiny surface of the quilt top was achieved by calendering, a process of applying heat and pressure with metal plates or rollers to a worsted fabric. In Esther's quilt the high sheen of the fabric enhanced the elaborate quilting of the large feathered heart and two pineapples surrounded by a scrolling vine with flowers. According to the donor, Esther Wheat Lee's great-great-granddaughter, the original plain weave yellow wool lining wore thin and was replaced by Esther's daughter, Olive Lee Doolittle. A thin layer of cotton fiber filling was added before the second lining of red twill weave cotton and wool was quilted to the original lining, but not through the quilt top.
Esther Wheat made this quilted indigo-blue wool bed cover for her dower chest in the 1790s. Esther, a twin, was born in 1774 in Conway, Massachusetts. She married Benjamin Lee in 1799 and died at Canastota, New York in 1847. Esther's quilt was passed down through five generations of women before being donated to the Smithsonian in 1973.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1790-1799
quilter
Wheat, Esther
ID Number
TE.T16380
catalog number
T16380.000
accession number
308057
1973.308057
Under the center basket of this embroidered counterpane is the inscription “Bethiah D. Green” and on the basket at the top is “Begun October 2, 1796.” The date “1798” appears several times in the border.
Description
Under the center basket of this embroidered counterpane is the inscription “Bethiah D. Green” and on the basket at the top is “Begun October 2, 1796.” The date “1798” appears several times in the border. In addition to the many birds and floral motifs, other designs include the head of George Washington; his riderless horse; a milestone inscribed “12 miles to Boston;” and a pig. According to family tradition, this quilt was inspired by an event that Bethiah witnessed in 1789 when George Washington, passing through Weston, Massachusetts, was nearly thrown from his horse when a pig ran across the road.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1796-1805
1796-1798
maker
Green, Bethiah D.
ID Number
TE.E388872
accession number
182022
catalog number
E388872
Column or Pillar prints had two periods of popularity during the first half of the nineteenth century. This quilted counterpane consists of five lengths of cotton, roller-printed in a design of columns and flowers in red, yellow, and black on a drab ground.
Description
Column or Pillar prints had two periods of popularity during the first half of the nineteenth century. This quilted counterpane consists of five lengths of cotton, roller-printed in a design of columns and flowers in red, yellow, and black on a drab ground. It has an ivory cotton lining, cotton filling. Concentric right angle lines, arranged in blocks, make up the quilting pattern; quilted at 5-6 stitches per inch. Bound with 5/8-inch straight strips of 5 different roller-print cottons seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. Corners cutouts, 22-24 inches, at the bottom, make this an example of typical mid-nineteenth century bedding.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17336
catalog number
T17336
accession number
321804
This example of a late 18th-early 19th-century bedcover is quilted in a pattern of repeating large feathered clamshells, 7 stitches per inch. The quilt was made with glazed indigo wool, has a wool filling, and wool/cotton lining.
Description
This example of a late 18th-early 19th-century bedcover is quilted in a pattern of repeating large feathered clamshells, 7 stitches per inch. The quilt was made with glazed indigo wool, has a wool filling, and wool/cotton lining. Both sewing and quilting threads are 2-ply blue wool. The edges of the front and original lining were turned in and stitched with blue wool. It has had much wear and a second lining of a cotton/silk fabric was added at later date.
The fabric for this quilt was dyed blue with indigo, one of the oldest dyes used for textiles. Glazing, a process involving the use of a hot press on wool fabric, resulted in a smooth, lustrous fabric surface. Little of the glaze remains on this quilt.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17971
catalog number
T17971
accession number
317832
The quilt is said to have been made by Clara Harrison of Middlebury, Connecticut. The top of this quilt is of indigo resist-dyed cotton that probably dates from the mid-eighteenth century.
Description
The quilt is said to have been made by Clara Harrison of Middlebury, Connecticut. The top of this quilt is of indigo resist-dyed cotton that probably dates from the mid-eighteenth century. The fabrics used for this quilt were most likely sections of bed furniture and then re-used for this quilt in the late-eighteenth or very-early-nineteenth century. Bed furniture may have included curtains at the sides, head, and foot that could enclose the whole bed, a bed cover, and valances around the top and base. The lining of this quilt is linen, with a carded wool filling. It is quilted five or six stitches to the inch.
To obtain the design in the fabric, a dye-resistant substance was applied to the area that was not to be colored. It appears that the resist paste was both block printed and painted on this cotton fabric. The fabric was then dipped in an indigo dye. To achieve the two shades of blue, the lighter blue was dyed first, then covered with the resist and the fabric was dipped again for the darker blue. The resist was then removed, leaving the background without color. The indigo resist dyed cotton used for Clara Harrison's quilt is an example of recycling valuable fabrics when they are no longer suitable; too worn, faded or out of fashion for their original purpose.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
quilter
Harrison, Clara
ID Number
TE.T14268
catalog number
T14268
accession number
277125
This counterpane, with a version of the “Tree of Life” motif, portrays a vignette of family life in the mid-nineteenth century. It was said to have been made for the Hasbrouck family by an Englishwoman.
Description
This counterpane, with a version of the “Tree of Life” motif, portrays a vignette of family life in the mid-nineteenth century. It was said to have been made for the Hasbrouck family by an Englishwoman. In the 1870 and 1880 censuses, Mary Ward, who was born in Ireland, lived with them and worked as a domestic servant. Perhaps the counterpane was made by her or Elisabeth Tompson, who is listed as part of the Hasbrouck household on the 1860 census. In 1975, the Smithsonian acquired the counterpane from Josiah and Ellen Hasbrouck’s grand-daughter, Margaret Blauvelt Hasbrouck Elliot.
Block- and roller-printed dress and furnishing cottons from 1800 to 1845 are used for the design. The ground is white cotton stamped or printed “Fine Sheeting” with the number “31” in a wreath of leaves, and a vase of flowers on a platform. Embroidered details on the counterpane are worked in both silk and cotton. The border is appliquéd with a flowering vine, and the counterpane is edged with appliquéd scallops.
Josiah Hasbrouck was born in 1830. He married Ellen Jane Blauvelt in 1856, and had five sons, the first of whom died in infancy. They lived in Esopus, Port Ewen, Ulster County, New York, where Josiah Hasbrouck was a physician. The idyllic scene may have represented Josiah and Ellen Hasbrouck and their four sons Walter, John, Gilbert, and Josiah enjoying the banks of the nearby Hudson River.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1840-1860
quilter
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17737
accession number
319091
catalog number
T17737
Achsah Goodwin Wilkins designed this appliquéd counterpane, which is similar to several that have been attributed to her skills. Written in ink in one corner of the lining is: “A. G. Wilkins 1820 / M. D. Davis 1890.” She gave many quilts and counterpanes to her daughters.
Description
Achsah Goodwin Wilkins designed this appliquéd counterpane, which is similar to several that have been attributed to her skills. Written in ink in one corner of the lining is: “A. G. Wilkins 1820 / M. D. Davis 1890.” She gave many quilts and counterpanes to her daughters. These were later inherited by descendents. “M. D. Davis” is most likely Mary Dorsey Davis (1845-1939), daughter of Hester Ann Wilkins Davis, and granddaughter of Achsah Goodwin Wilkins.
A bouquet of appliquéd water lilies and roses, cut from different chintz fabrics, is the focus of this counterpane. It is surrounded by two undulating wreaths. Eight floral sprays, cut from another chintz fabric, are between the two wreaths. The ground for the appliqué resembles quilting, but is a fancy weaving of a white cotton double cloth called Marseilles. A wide 7¾-inch roller-printed floral strip borders three sides of the counterpane. It is the only area that is lined.
Achsah Goodwin, daughter of a wealthy merchant, William Goodwin of Lyde, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1775. Achsah became a member of the Methodist Church at eighteen, although it caused difficulties with her Episcopal family. On August 5, 1794, she married William Wilkins Jr. (1767-1832), also a Methodist. In addition to rearing a family, she was active in mission work and the establishment of a Methodist church in Baltimore. Achsah died in 1854.
In William Rush Dunton’s Old Quilts, 1947, one of her granddaughters, Mary Dorsey Davis, provided notes from her mother, Hester Anne (Mrs. Allen Bowie Davis), detailing Achsah’s life. “My mother [Achsah] was a very superior woman, possessing strong sense, sound judgment, great dignity, remarkably self-possessed . . . . She suffered from cutaneous disease . . . most frequently [she] beguiled her weary hours of sickness by designing and laying out fancy spreads in which she displayed beautiful taste . . . . I, as well as many of her descendants, have choice specimens of her handiwork which we prize highly.” Achsah’s access to fine imported fabrics, attention to needlework details, and her design innovations are evident in this quilt, as well as others that are attributed to her. Her quilts are treasured additions to several quilt collections.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1820 - 1840
maker
Wilkins, Achsah Goodwin
ID Number
1995.0011.01
accession number
1995.0011
catalog number
1995.0011.01

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