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.

Javanese batik sarong or wrapper in yellow and blue. Central field has patterning of multi-patterned stepped diagonal stripes. Traditional Javanese form in traditional Javanese technique.
Description
Javanese batik sarong or wrapper in yellow and blue. Central field has patterning of multi-patterned stepped diagonal stripes. Traditional Javanese form in traditional Javanese technique. Narrow side borders, Kepala with tumpal (opposed elongated triangles) design flanked by floral borders. 83" L x 42" W. One of 22 finished batik textiles, together with 14 process samples, made by prisoners in Java for exhibition at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Purchased by the US National Museum for the Division of Textiles from the Netherlands East Indies Commission at the close of the Exposition. The original cataloging identifies the pattern as "Orangoring" and gives the price as 20 F. or $8.00.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914-1915
ID Number
TE.T02924.000
catalog number
T02924.000
accession number
59191
Length of a Cheney Brothers jacquard-figured silk 'Frisons', meaning a textured surface from a slubbed weft yarn, 1913. Jacquard-woven repeating design of an ogee grid with stylized tulips in the reserves.
Description (Brief)
Length of a Cheney Brothers jacquard-figured silk 'Frisons', meaning a textured surface from a slubbed weft yarn, 1913. Jacquard-woven repeating design of an ogee grid with stylized tulips in the reserves. Slubbed plain weave "silk frisons" ground with coarse weft float patterning. Inspired by an early 17th c. ogee pattern with tulips. Piece dyed dusty rose (dull medium pink). (W. 32 in., L. 36 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00098
catalog number
T00098.000
accession number
55080
A sample length of Cheney Brothers "Printed Frisons" dress silk, 1913. Pinkish-tan ground of slubbed (spun silk yarns) plain weave silk, printed with a closely spaced modernist design of irregular multi-colored spots.
Description (Brief)
A sample length of Cheney Brothers "Printed Frisons" dress silk, 1913. Pinkish-tan ground of slubbed (spun silk yarns) plain weave silk, printed with a closely spaced modernist design of irregular multi-colored spots. Fauve-inspired print colors are dark green, orange, yellow, medium green, medium blue, light blue, dark red, Some colors may be due to overprinting one shade with another. File gives fabric width as 30", with a donation of a full yard length. Cheney's numbers are: Com: 3755; No: 77357, Color: 3724/1 Part of a large donation of fibers, yarns, fabrics, original designs, and printing tools given by Cheney Brothers, one of the earliest and largest of America's silk manufacturers, in 1913.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T01032.000
catalog number
T01032.000
accession number
56298
Length of Cheney Brothers jacquard-woven, figured furnishing silk, 1913. The pattern is a simplified version of an 18th c. floral ogee medallion design in a compound weave, with matte pale green flowers on a finely striped (faux strie), satin weave green ground. (W. 50 in., L.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers jacquard-woven, figured furnishing silk, 1913. The pattern is a simplified version of an 18th c. floral ogee medallion design in a compound weave, with matte pale green flowers on a finely striped (faux strie), satin weave green ground. (W. 50 in., L. 36 in.) Mfrs. #s: Com. 4564; No 77953; Color 3486/1.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T01053.000
catalog number
T01053.000
Javanese batik reticule (handbag or purse), for the western market; 1915. 26.75" L x 10" W, unfolded. A rectangle with 3 distinct rectangular panels with end borders, Original cataloging identifies the pattern as "Romo" and the price as 5 F. or $2.00.
Description
Javanese batik reticule (handbag or purse), for the western market; 1915. 26.75" L x 10" W, unfolded. A rectangle with 3 distinct rectangular panels with end borders, Original cataloging identifies the pattern as "Romo" and the price as 5 F. or $2.00. Indigo blue and brown on off white. Center rectangle has tumpal motif (opposed triangles), flanked by identical ractangles with scrolling floral designs. Three narrow end borders. meant to be made up as a purse or handbag. Example of the use of traditional Javanese technique and patterning for a form meant for the Euroepan trade. One of 22 finished batik textiles, together with 14 process samples, made by prisoners in Java for exhibition at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Purchased by the US National Museum for the Division of Textiles from the Netherlands East Indies Commission at the close of the Exposition.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914-1915
ID Number
TE.T02932.000
catalog number
T02932.000
accession number
59191
This sample of handmade torchon bobbin lace has motifs with heart shapes, roseground, spiders, and Spanish fans. It was made at the Amoy Lace Guild in China and sold for twenty cents per yard in US gold in 1913.
Description
This sample of handmade torchon bobbin lace has motifs with heart shapes, roseground, spiders, and Spanish fans. It was made at the Amoy Lace Guild in China and sold for twenty cents per yard in US gold in 1913. The Amoy Lace Guild was established by missionaries in 1885 as a charitable organization to provide a source of income to indigent Chinese women and children. Patterns and linen thread was imported from England and Ireland. Lace from the Amoy Lace Guild won a silver medal at the St. Louis exposition in 1904.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905-1912
1900-1912
maker
Amoy Lace Guild
ID Number
TE.T00917
catalog number
T00917.000
accession number
55643
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.25 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913.
Description
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.25 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913. The Amoy Lace Guild was established by missionaries in 1885 as a charitable organization to provide a source of income to indigent Chinese women and children. Patterns and linen thread was imported from England and Ireland. Lace from the Amoy Lace Guild won a silver medal at the St. Louis exposition in 1904. This sample has roseground, spiders, half stitch trails, and Spanish fans
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1912
maker
Amoy Lace Guild
ID Number
TE.T00949
catalog number
T00949.000
accession number
55643
A length of Cheney Brothers printed "Princess Satin" dress silk, 1915.
Description (Brief)
A length of Cheney Brothers printed "Princess Satin" dress silk, 1915. Lightweight, drapey satin-weave silk fabric, printed with Japanese-inspired modernist design featuring striped white and pink, orange, green, gray flower heads and sprays and black and white arcs on a purple ground. (W. 30 in., L. 36 in.) The diagonally striped flower heads are suggestive of Japanese textile printing techniques.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T02637.000
catalog number
T02637.000
accession number
58458
Length of Cheney Brothers lightweight figured silk fabric, 1913. Broken twill weave ground with weft-float patterning of Chinese dragon roundels.Company term was "Broche", but this is not a brocade in the strict sense, just a weft float figure, no supplementary wefts. All silk.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers lightweight figured silk fabric, 1913. Broken twill weave ground with weft-float patterning of Chinese dragon roundels.Company term was "Broche", but this is not a brocade in the strict sense, just a weft float figure, no supplementary wefts. All silk. Piece dyed medium gray-blue. Circular medallions w/ five-toed dragons.Company literature says it was “Used for curtains. Jacquard loom warp of reeled Japan two-thread organzine. Filling Canton rereeled. Pure dye.” [Source: “The Upholsterer” 15 Feb. 1918 pg. 62, “The Upholsterer” 15 Aug 1924 pg. 105.] (W. 30 in., L. 36 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00095
catalog number
T00095.000
accession number
55080
One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting.
Description
One skein of thrown silk: Three thread Japan tram in the raw. Tram yarn was used for weft or filling in woven goods and for knitting. Part of a donation of 63 samples representing the processes of silk skein-dyeing, and silk piece-dyeing and printing, given by the National Silk Dyeing Co of Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. National Silk Dyeing Co., headquartered at 140 Market St., Paterson, NJ was formed from five silk dyeing firms in Peterson, NJ (Auger & Simon Silk Dyeing Company; Emil Geering Silk Dyeing Co., Knipscher & Maas Silk Dyeing Company, Kearns Brothers, and Gaede Silk Dyeing Co.) and a fifth company from Allentown, Pa. (Lotte Brothers under the leadership of Charles I. Auger. National Silk Dyeing immediately became one of the large silk dyeing conglomerates in the nation. It operated into the Great Depression but was eventually broken up and sold off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922
1915
maker
National Silk Dyeing Co.
ID Number
TE.T02794.000
catalog number
T02794.000
accession number
58940
catalog number
T2794
Rectangular brush and comb case with scene of "Aeroplanes Guarding Paris" embroidered on front. Four gold airplanes fly over a gray and black Paris skyline. Red and blue border.
Description
Rectangular brush and comb case with scene of "Aeroplanes Guarding Paris" embroidered on front. Four gold airplanes fly over a gray and black Paris skyline. Red and blue border. Price tag is pinned to the inside flap and reads: "$1.50 / Brush & / comb case / "Aeroplanes / guarding / Paris"." Made by French peasant women in French Lorraine during World War I. Sold in America through the Society for Employment of Women in France.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1914-1918
ID Number
2011.0086.20
catalog number
2011.0086.20
accession number
2011.0086
Sample cut of Cheney Brothers "Broche Silk" fabric. Figured silk (and possibly artificial silk) lightweight "tissue" style fabric, jacquard woven, supplementary weft patterned "broche". Repeating half drop design of palmettes within imbricated scallops bordered by laurel .
Description (Brief)
Sample cut of Cheney Brothers "Broche Silk" fabric. Figured silk (and possibly artificial silk) lightweight "tissue" style fabric, jacquard woven, supplementary weft patterned "broche". Repeating half drop design of palmettes within imbricated scallops bordered by laurel . Two weft yarns: a very shiny golden yellow silk or artificial silk, and green. Dull orange (salmon) warp yarns, of silk. Pattern of weft floats in gold and green on a changeable ground of salmon shot with gold. 3"x6" and 6"x8" pieces cut from corner of the sample. (W. 49 in., L. 18 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00094
catalog number
T00094.000
accession number
55080
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870-1910
ID Number
TE.T14055.00C
catalog number
T14055.00C
accession number
270543
This sample of Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.30 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913.
Description
This sample of Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.30 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913. The Amoy Lace Guild was established by missionaries in 1885 as a charitable organization to provide a source of income to indigent Chinese women and children. Patterns and linen thread was imported from England and Ireland. Lace from the Amoy Lace Guild won a silver medal at the St. Louis exposition in 1904. This sample has roseground, diamond shapes, and Spanish fans
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1912
maker
Amoy Lace Guild
ID Number
TE.T00943
catalog number
T00943.000
accession number
55643
Sample of waxed cotton cloth after indigo dye bath; step nine in the Javanese batik process, 1915. Approximately 10" x 12"; Design has a central butterfly motif surrounded by scrolling ferns and curlicues; with four outer borders.This sample has been dyed in the indigo bath.
Description
Sample of waxed cotton cloth after indigo dye bath; step nine in the Javanese batik process, 1915. Approximately 10" x 12"; Design has a central butterfly motif surrounded by scrolling ferns and curlicues; with four outer borders.This sample has been dyed in the indigo bath. Step nine in a set of 14 process samples together with 22 finished items, made by prisoners in Java for display at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Purchased by the US National Museum for the Division of Textiles from the Netherlands East Indies Commission at the close of the Exposition.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914-1915
ID Number
TE.T02914.000
catalog number
T02914.000
accession number
59191
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace insertion is labeled as costing “$.10 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen.
Description
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace insertion is labeled as costing “$.10 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913. The Amoy Lace Guild was established by missionaries in 1885 as a charitable organization to provide a source of income to indigent Chinese women and children. Patterns and linen thread was imported from England and Ireland. Lace from the Amoy Lace Guild won a silver medal at the St. Louis exposition in 1904. This narrow sample has braids and leaves
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1912
maker
Amoy Lace Guild
ID Number
TE.T00952
catalog number
T00952.000
accession number
55643
Length of Cheney Brothers "Antique Velvet" furnishing fabric, 1913. Silk. Reproduction antique velvet. Construction; pile weave, cut velvet. Yarns: warp – gold, weft – gold, pile warp – garnet red. Yarn dyed.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers "Antique Velvet" furnishing fabric, 1913. Silk. Reproduction antique velvet. Construction; pile weave, cut velvet. Yarns: warp – gold, weft – gold, pile warp – garnet red. Yarn dyed. Pattern: “Reproduction Antique velvet,” strie effect (subtle, irregular, vertical striping) from varying pile densities across the width, which varies the intensity of the red. (W. 26-1/2 in., L. 36 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00074
catalog number
T00074.000
accession number
55080
Sample length of a Cheney Brothers "Colonial Prints" Frisons dress silk, 1913. Lightweight plain weave made with irregular slubbed spun silk warp and weft yarns. Printed allover floral design with a diagonal meander repeat.
Description (Brief)
Sample length of a Cheney Brothers "Colonial Prints" Frisons dress silk, 1913. Lightweight plain weave made with irregular slubbed spun silk warp and weft yarns. Printed allover floral design with a diagonal meander repeat. Ecru ground, blue and orange flowers with green and yellow leaves and stems. (W. 31 in., L. 36 in.) A page from a Cheney Brothers sample book having two small swatches of this fabric in 2 additional colorways (pinks and oranges; yellows and light purples) is filed in the study swatches. The page is labelled "Colonial Prints" 32 inch.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00064
catalog number
T00064.000
accession number
55080
Half of a batik sarong, Java, ca. 1914. One of two identical halves of a batik sarong. Plain weave cotton, patterned with wax-resist dyeing. Field pattern of interlocking swastika fretwork, on a diagonal grid, with small repeating insect motifs in squares made by the grid.
Description
Half of a batik sarong, Java, ca. 1914. One of two identical halves of a batik sarong. Plain weave cotton, patterned with wax-resist dyeing. Field pattern of interlocking swastika fretwork, on a diagonal grid, with small repeating insect motifs in squares made by the grid. Probably a block or tjap batik. Triple end borders: narrow scrolling flowering stem; wider scrolling flowering stem; tumpal (elongated triangles) with narrow side borders of scrolling flowering stems. Brown and blue on off-white. Each half is 36" L x 41" W.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1914
ID Number
TE.T04323.00A
catalog number
T04323.00A
accession number
67243
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.65 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913.
Description
This sample of handmade Chinese made torchon bobbin lace edging is labeled as costing “$.65 per yard in US gold” and is made of linen. It was acquired from the Amoy Lace Guild, Amoy (Xiamen), China, through Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce in 1913. The Amoy Lace Guild was established by missionaries in 1885 as a charitable organization to provide a source of income to indigent Chinese women and children. Patterns and linen thread was imported from England and Ireland. Lace from the Amoy Lace Guild won a silver medal at the St. Louis exposition in 1904. This wide sample has tallies, spiders, and Spanish fans
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1912
maker
Amoy Lace Guild
ID Number
TE.T00946
catalog number
T00946.000
accession number
55643
Sample of waxed cotton cloth with blue dyed areas re-waxed (reverse); step twelve in the Javanese batik process, 1915. Approximately 10" x 12"; Design has a central butterfly motif surrounded by scrolling ferns and curlicues; with four outer borders.
Description
Sample of waxed cotton cloth with blue dyed areas re-waxed (reverse); step twelve in the Javanese batik process, 1915. Approximately 10" x 12"; Design has a central butterfly motif surrounded by scrolling ferns and curlicues; with four outer borders. This sample has had the blue-dyed areas re-waxed on the reverse, in order to protect them when the fabric is immersed in the red dye bath.. Step twelve in a set of 14 process samples together with 22 finished items, made by prisoners in Java for display at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Purchased by the US National Museum for the Division of Textiles from the Netherlands East Indies Commission at the close of the Exposition.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914-1915
ID Number
TE.T02917.000
catalog number
T02917.000
accession number
59191
Length of Cheney Brothers "Antique Brocade" furnishing fabric, 1913. . All silk, compound satin weave with continuous supplementary weft patterning (not a true brocade). Colors: Blue, green, and gold. Pattern: Urn and flowers within foliate meander ogee.
Description (Brief)
Length of Cheney Brothers "Antique Brocade" furnishing fabric, 1913. . All silk, compound satin weave with continuous supplementary weft patterning (not a true brocade). Colors: Blue, green, and gold. Pattern: Urn and flowers within foliate meander ogee. Reproduction of 17th-18th century'antique' ogee meander design brocade. Pale blue figures on green and brown ground. with strie effect. Yarns: warp – light blue, weft – brown and green. Pattern; Floral jardinière, lengthwise repeat height - 15 in. (W. 50 in., L. 36 in.)
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Cheney Brothers
ID Number
TE.T00104.000
catalog number
T00104.000
accession number
55080
Josie Mast (1861-1936) teacher and weaver from Valle Crucis, North Carolina wove these blue and white, overshot curtain panels in 1913 for Southern Industrial Education Association retail store at the Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C.
Description
Josie Mast (1861-1936) teacher and weaver from Valle Crucis, North Carolina wove these blue and white, overshot curtain panels in 1913 for Southern Industrial Education Association retail store at the Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C. They were collection in 1913 by the Smithsonian’s first textile curator, Frederick Lewton. Each panel measures 78 inches by 36 inches. The pattern is a “Single Chariot Wheel” design with large upper and lower borders created from a fractional reduction of the pattern. These curtain panels are an excellent example of how Appalachian overshot weaving influenced the Handicraft Revival and Colonial Revival movements of the early twentieth century. Coverlets had moved off the bed and into the living room as home décor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Mast, Josie
ID Number
TE.T1376A
catalog number
T01376.00A
accession number
056970
catalog number
T01376A&B
A weaver or craftsperson associated with Allanstand Cottage Industries wove or assembled this "Double Chariot Wheels," overshot table mat by at least 1913 in Madison County, North Carolina. Allanstand was founded in 1897 by Frances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944).
Description
A weaver or craftsperson associated with Allanstand Cottage Industries wove or assembled this "Double Chariot Wheels," overshot table mat by at least 1913 in Madison County, North Carolina. Allanstand was founded in 1897 by Frances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944). Goodrich was one of many educated women from the North inspired by Christian progressivism, mission work, the settlement school movement, craft revival, and colonial revival that moved to Appalachia at the end of the nineteenth century to form craft schools and develop cottage craft-based industries that would benefit the local people and save dying handicrafts in the process. This table mat/coverlet fragment was purchased by the Smithsonian from the showroom of the Southern Educational Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C. at the Department of Agriculture Building in 1913 along with an assortment of other textiles and baskets. The Southern Educational Association held craft exchanges from 1913-1926. The SEA was directed by Martha Gielow with the encouragement of President Woodrow Wilson and his first wife, Ellen. First Lady, Ellen Wilson famously called upon craftspeople from the Southern Appalachian Mountains to decorate the Blue Mountain Room in the White House. This table mat is part of a very important early museum accession showcasing early-20th century craft revival in the Southern Appalachians. It is unclear is this mat was a reproduction weaving or a repurposed larger coverlet fragment. The decorative knotted fringe is similar to those found on other whole coverlets. This pattern is called “Double Chariot Wheels.” The plain weave ground cloth is made of a cotton warp and weft and the supplementary pattern weft is indigo-dyed wool.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Allanstand School
ID Number
TE.T01375.000
catalog number
T01375.000
accession number
56970

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