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.

This waistcoat was worn by Francis Dana (1743–1811), a Massachusetts lawyer and member of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778. In 1778, Dana went to Paris with John Adams as a part of the American delegation to France.
Description
This waistcoat was worn by Francis Dana (1743–1811), a Massachusetts lawyer and member of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778. In 1778, Dana went to Paris with John Adams as a part of the American delegation to France. Dana probably ordered the waistcoat while he was there. Unlike many embroidered waistcoats, this one lacks a seam at the waist, indicating that it was probably worked specifically to his measurements in one of France′s famous embroidery workshops, instead of being tailored from a pre-embroidered panel.
After his appointment as the American envoy to the court of Catherine the Great, Dana and his fourteen-year-old secretary, John Quincy Adams, left France for St. Petersburg, Russia, in July 1781. Although family tradition states that Dana wore the waistcoat during his two-year stint in Russia, it is unlikely that the empress ever saw it: tangled European political alliances prevented the American envoy from ever being received at court.
Men’s fashion went through a revolutionary change during the last half of the eighteenth century, as clothing steadily shrank from a curvaceous, full-skirted style into a slender, vertical silhouette. The waistcoat was a vest-like garment that a man wore, along with his breeches, over his shirt and under his suit coat. This particular waistcoat was made towards the end of the transformation, when changes in cut, fabric, and decoration combined to create a narrow, graceful impression.
By the late 1760s, a fashionable man chose tight-cut clothing to create a sleek, youthful image. His snug, barely hip-length waistcoat had sharply spread center front points and a tapered hem so as to showcase his elegant leg, prominent chest, and narrow back. It was also cut with curved fronts to fit the exaggerated posture he had learned from early childhood, which required him to hold his shoulders back and down, and to carry his arms away from his body. This silk satin waistcoat was tailored in the mid-to-late 1770s for a man who wanted a streamlined torso. The delicate pastel embroidered sprigs and garlands on the waistcoat also helped its wearer to create an illusion of slenderness.
The cream-colored silk satin waistcoat is embroidered with chain-stitched flowers and ribbons using silk floss in variegated tints of pink, brown, purple, green, blue, and yellow. Small sprigs are scattered evenly over the ground of the waistcoat fronts, and floral sprays and flower-and-ribbon garlands are worked along the front edges, hems, and both double-scalloped pocket flaps. The waistcoat closes at the center front with twelve flat self-covered buttons, each of which is embroidered with a sprig surrounded by a circle.
The hem of the short skirt is cut away below the lowest button to form a spread point over each thigh, and angled upward from the points toward the side vents. Off-white twilled silk fabric faces the center front edges and the front skirts. The waistcoat is fully lined and backed with white napped cotton and linen fustian, a sturdy twill-woven fabric. The skirt is vented at the center back seam. The overall front length is 28.5 in (72.39 cm).
To see an embroidered waistcoat as it would have been worn by a fashionable man, link to the portrait of John Dart, about 1772–74, by Jeremiah Theus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. To see how a stylish man would have worn his clothing, link to the portrait of John Musters, 1777–about 1780, by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Musters’s waistcoat is cut to fit much like the one shown here.
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men’s Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1775-1785
worn by
Dana, Francis
maker
unknown
ID Number
CS.233808.001
catalog number
233808.001
accession number
233808
Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house.
Description
Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house. Below the house, flanking flowers and birds is the verse:
“While hof[s]tile foes
our coaf[s]ts Invade
in all the pomp of
war arrayd Ameri
cans be not dismayd
nor fear the f[s]word
or GUn

While Innocence is
all our pride and vir
tue is our only Guide
Women would f[s]corn
to be defyd if led by
WASHINGTON”
This verse on Betsy’s sampler offers a rare opportunity to discover the political thinking of a young girl during the Revolutionary War. She is showing a brave female defiance of Britain and an unwavering faith in George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army. Betsy undoubtedly was influenced by her father who was a privateer during the Revolutionary War. At the bottom of the sampler, flanked by queen stitch flowers, is a cartouche with the inscription:

“Betf[s]y
Bucklin Her
Work Septe
mber
1781”
It is not known who the author of the inscriptions is. The sampler is stitched with silk embroidery thread on a linen ground with a thread count of warp 25, weft 23/in. The stitches used are cross, crosslet, queen, rice, straight, fly, stem, tent, and gobelin.
Betsy [Elizabeth] Bucklin was born on September 20, 1768, in Providence, Rhode Island to Capt. Daniel and Eliza Carpenter Bucklin. On November 11, 1792, Betsy married Samuel Eddy. They had three children - Martha, Jonathan, and Elizabeth. She died of consumption on October 27, 1799, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1781
maker
Bucklin, Betsy
ID Number
2008.0159.01
catalog number
2008.0159.01
accession number
2008.0159
Argentan needle lace border with tightly covered buttonhole stitched mesh, finished off as collar in late 19th centuryCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Argentan needle lace border with tightly covered buttonhole stitched mesh, finished off as collar in late 19th century
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1760 - 1780
ID Number
TE.L6893
catalog number
L6893.000
Hannah Chandler (1761-1836) wove this "American Beauty" pattern, overshot coverlet using a light and medium blue 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun indigo-dyed cotton and linen warp, a Z-spun cotton single weft, and a 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun gold wool supplementary pattern weft.
Description
Hannah Chandler (1761-1836) wove this "American Beauty" pattern, overshot coverlet using a light and medium blue 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun indigo-dyed cotton and linen warp, a Z-spun cotton single weft, and a 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun gold wool supplementary pattern weft. The coverlet was woven as one length, cut in half, folded back on itself, and seamed up the middle, creating the full coverlet width. Although undated in the weave and lacking an embroidered date on the hemline, this coverlet was most likely woven c. 1790-1825 near Wilmington, Vermont. This coverlet is said to be made by Hannah Chandler. The donor is the great-granddaughter of Hannah, wife of Medad Smith. Hannah Chandler was born October 28, 1761 and died April 26, 1836. Medad Smith was born February 22, 1755, and married Hannah October 23, 1781. The coverlet was originally dated at 1780, but this is too early for plied cotton yarns to be found in the warp. Technology improved toward the end of the 18th century allowing for stronger cotton yarns that could withstand the tension of the loom. This coverlet is interesting because of the blue-dyed cotton and linen threads. When contrasted with the gold wool, this coverlet would have really stood out in a room.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1780
ca.1780
date made
c. 1790-1825
maker
Chandler, Hannah
Chandler, Hannah
ID Number
TE.T7728
catalog number
T7728
T. 7728
accession number
139053
Lappet with floral motifs in Valenciennes round ground bobbin lace. The very fragile lappet has been stabilizedCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Lappet with floral motifs in Valenciennes round ground bobbin lace. The very fragile lappet has been stabilized
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1760-1785
ID Number
TE.L6872
catalog number
L6872.000
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known.
Description
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known. There are two others in the NMAH collection. It is thought that the weaver worked in the Albany, New York area. The earliest coverlet that is dated in the weave was woven by this weaver. It is dated 1771 and is currently in the collection of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The coverlet was constructed from two panels and measures 89 inches by 64 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1787
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.0723.02
accession number
1979.0723
catalog number
1979.0723.2
Mechlin bobbin lace border from the late 18th century with floral motifs in two inch long pattern repeats.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Mechlin bobbin lace border from the late 18th century with floral motifs in two inch long pattern repeats.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1760-1800
1770-1780
1770-1785
ID Number
TE.L6884
catalog number
L6884.000
accession number
48717
Men′s fashion went through a revolutionary change during the last half of the eighteenth century, as clothing steadily shrank from a curvaceous, full-skirted style into a slender, vertical silhouette.
Description
Men′s fashion went through a revolutionary change during the last half of the eighteenth century, as clothing steadily shrank from a curvaceous, full-skirted style into a slender, vertical silhouette. The waistcoat was a vest-like garment that a man wore, along with his breeches, over his shirt and under his suit coat.
By the late 1760s, a fashionable man chose tight-cut clothing to create a sleek, youthful image. His snug, barely hip-length waistcoat had sharply spread center front points and a tapered hem so as to showcase his elegant leg, prominent chest, and narrow back. It was also cut with curved fronts to fit the exaggerated posture he had learned from early childhood, which required him to hold his shoulders back and down, and to carry his arms away from his body.
This green silk taffeta waistcoat was made towards the end of the transformation, when changes in cut, fabric, and decoration combined to create a narrow, graceful impression. Even so, the tailor had to be very frugal when cutting it out because the fabric was not wide enough to allow the green silk taffeta to extend under the gentleman's arms. His customer would not have minded, though, because he would never have removed his suit coat in public. It was tailored around the mid-1770s for a man who wanted to create a streamlined torso. Although the fabric and embellishment of this waistcoat are boldly colored, the delicate scale of its embroidered motifs helped its wearer to create an illusion of slenderness.
The waistcoat is embroidered with chain-stitched flowers, garlands, wreaths, and ribbons, using silk floss in dark red, purple, yellow, white, and three shades each of pink and green. Small sprigs are scattered every three inches over the ground of the waistcoat fronts.
Garlands are worked along the center front edges. The flared, double-scalloped pocket flaps are embroidered with wreaths and floral sprays festooned with embroidered tassels and ribbons. The same motifs appear under each pocket flap, following its outline. Because the green silk taffeta was dyed in a two-step process involving both blue and yellow dye baths, the fabric is mottled with some unintended blue spots.
The waistcoat closes at the center front with twelve flat self-covered embroidered buttons. The medium-short skirt is cut away below the lowest button to form a spread point over each thigh, and is angled upward sharply from the points toward the side vents. Off-white twilled silk fabric faces the center front edges, the front skirts, and the pocket flaps. The linings of the upper fronts and back, as well as the waistcoat back, are made of plain-weave white linen, and coarse white linen is used for the pocket interiors. The skirt is vented at the center back. The overall front length is 31 in (78.74 cm).
To see an embroidered waistcoat as it would have been worn by a fashionable man, link to the portrait of John Dart, about 1772–4, by Jeremiah Theus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. To see how a stylish man would have worn his clothing, link to the portrait of John Musters, 1777–about 1780, by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Musters’s waistcoat is cut to fit much like the one shown here.
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men's Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Date made
1775-1785
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T13563.000
catalog number
T13563.000
accession number
256480
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known.
Description
This blue and white, overshot coverlet is woven in a simple patch pattern variation. The customer’s initials, "M S" and the date “1787” are woven into the fabric at one corner. The weaver of this coverlet is unknown; however, there are several others known. There are two others in the NMAH collection. It is thought that the weaver worked in the Albany, New York areas. The earliest coverlet that is dated in the weaver was woven by this weaver. It is dated 1771 and is currently in the collection of the National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The coverlet was constructed from two panels and measures 91 inches by 64 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1787
ID Number
TE.T14896
accession number
288874
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1780
ID Number
TE.E258818
catalog number
E258818
accession number
51162
The weaver and original owner of this very complex, well worn, single-woven, linen, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet, dated 1784, are unknown. The letters “E M” and the date are woven into the coverlet on the lower right hand side, using a hand technique.
Description
The weaver and original owner of this very complex, well worn, single-woven, linen, cotton and wool, overshot coverlet, dated 1784, are unknown. The letters “E M” and the date are woven into the coverlet on the lower right hand side, using a hand technique. We do not know if
“E M” stands for name of the owner or the weaver. In the 18th century it was not unusual for textiles to be marked with the initials of the owner, but it was usually done with embroidery. The initials identified the coverlet as the woman's property. Women could own and inherit "moveable" property.
The overall patterns used in this coverlet are “Rose” and “Tables,” and there are two shades of indigo blue used in a band effect. The coverlet was woven in two sections, and then sewn together. The original size of the sections and the coverlet as a whole are unknown, as there are no original edges present. This coverlet was found in Massachusetts. In the18th century, a young woman might commission the weaving of a coverlet or receive one as a gift, and put it in her dowry (hope chest) saving it for use after marriage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1784
maker
unknown
ID Number
1979.0723.01
accession number
1979.0723
catalog number
1979.0723.1
This pale yellow silk taffeta panel was embroidered to form with the outline of every piece that would have been needed to make the visible parts of a man's waistcoat.
Description
This pale yellow silk taffeta panel was embroidered to form with the outline of every piece that would have been needed to make the visible parts of a man's waistcoat. A panel like this one allowed a gentleman in the American colonies to own a custom-tailored, embroidered waistcoat even though he lacked direct access to the embroiderer. It was therefore possible for him to wear European-style finery without having to leave home. American milliners and tailors imported waistcoat patterns like this one from professional embroidery studios in Europe and Asia. This panel is still uncut and unsewn, just as it would have been sold to an eighteenth-century consumer.
The customer took the pre-embroidered fabric to his tailor, who cut and sewed it according to the man's measurements. The tailor adjusted the waistcoat's breadth at the side seams, and lengthened or shortened the fronts by cutting them at the level of the lowest button and then setting the pocket flaps over the seams. Note that the pattern did not include fabric for the back and lining of the waistcoat. These parts would have been made from plain linen because they would never be seen.
This particular waistcoat pattern was embroidered in Europe using a tambour hook, a technique that produced rows of very fine chain stitches. Traditional chain-stitch embroidery was done with a threaded needle. The entire thread had to be pulled through the fabric, which often stripped the thread before it was all used up, and each loop required two needle jabs to execute.
Tambour embroidery was more economical for several reasons. The embroiderer used a fine hook to draw a small loop of thread through the fabric, and then immediately pulled another loop through the first one. Each stitch was accomplished with a single action and a very small amount of thread, which allowed a skilled embroiderer to work several hundred stitches per minute. The efficiency of tambour work helped to reduce the cost of the final product, thus making luxury goods available to more men.
This 22 by 49 in. panel of pale yellow silk taffeta would have produced a medium-short waistcoat with a spread-pointed skirt. The pieces that are embroidered with two-ply silk thread on the pattern include one entire waistcoat front, one upper front, one skirt, two double-scalloped pocket flaps, sprigs to cover thirty buttons, and two knee bands for a pair of breeches.
The eighteenth-century concept of the “noble savage” is interpreted on the skirt and pocket flaps, where aboriginal figures are depicted sitting under palm trees on islands as well as shooting arrows and holding fruit. The center front and borders of the pocket flaps are embroidered with pink, green, and blue garlands of roses and light and dark brown ribbons, and the waistcoat ground is embroidered with scattered sprays and sprigs of pink and green tulips. Pink and green sprigs are provided to cover buttons. Each selvage has three woven red stripes and holes spaced irregularly every 1.5 to 2.5 in. The holes were probably created when the fabric was tacked onto an embroidery frame that was large enough to accommodate the entire panel.
To see a waistcoat pattern being embroidered, link to a view of A French embroidery workshop, depicted in the L'Encyclopedie Diderot & D'Alembert (1751–77). To see an embroidered waistcoat as it would have been worn by a fashionable man, link to the portrait of John Dart, about 1772–4, by Jeremiah Theus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. John Dart′s waistcoat would have been embroidered on a large panel of fabric before it was cut, just like the one shown here. Instead of tambour work, however, his garment would have been embroidered by hand with a slower, more laborious, and more expensive type of stitch.
This Web entry was made possible in part by a generous grant from the National Association of Men's Sportswear Buyers, in memory of Joseph S. Klein.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1772-1780
maker
unknown
ID Number
CS.252112.009
catalog number
252112.009
accession number
252112
The Ipswich lace industry used patterns such as this linen pasteboard pricking in the late 1700's. The pattern corresponds to one of the black silk lace samples sent to Alexander Hamilton in 1791 as samples of an important handmade industry in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
Description
The Ipswich lace industry used patterns such as this linen pasteboard pricking in the late 1700's. The pattern corresponds to one of the black silk lace samples sent to Alexander Hamilton in 1791 as samples of an important handmade industry in Ipswich, Massachusetts. In 1789-1790 600 lace makers made and sold close to 42,000 yards of lace in one year. The samples are preserved among Alexander Hamilton's papers in the Library of Congress. A copy made from this pattern was used for the reproduction of an Ipswich lace in the "Within These Walls..." exhibit in 2001.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1780-1789
Associated Date
1789-1790
referenced
Lakeman, Elizabeth Lord
Hamilton, Alexander
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E386686
catalog number
E386686
accession number
180233
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric. Pattern "Washington Floral": one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial print series.
Description
A length of printed pure dye silk crepe. Soft lustrous plain weave fabric. Pattern "Washington Floral": one of the H.R. Mallinson & Co. George Washington Bicentennial print series. According to company publicity at the time the line was introduced, this allover tossed design of tiny flowers and rosebud clusters was inspired by a motif in an old brocade worn by Mrs. James Duane at the Washington Inaugural Ball.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1932
maker
H R Mallinson and Company, Incorporated
ID Number
TE.T06956
accession number
118355
catalog number
T06956.000
Block alphabet no "J." Each letter worked in different color. Letters in row, initials for family members "HKAKR / PKAKMKSKBKAKBWW," "R" that should go with last "W" out of order. Each pair of letters worked in different color, six sets being worked in black.
Description
Block alphabet no "J." Each letter worked in different color. Letters in row, initials for family members "HKAKR / PKAKMKSKBKAKBWW," "R" that should go with last "W" out of order. Each pair of letters worked in different color, six sets being worked in black. These rows separated by simple crossbands. In center section, flanking one of verses, two large flowers, and initials "SK," "SK," "SK," "IK," "IW," and "RW" split with one on each side of flower. Below verse, wide crossband with flowers and strawberries. Another wide crossband at bottom of sampler, with two large flowers and urn of flowers. Border of geometric vine with strawberries and carnations on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, satin, tent, eyelet, stem. THREAD COUNT: warp 28, weft 30/in.
Inscriptions:
"Love the Lord
And he will be
A tender father
Unto the
The lof[s]s of treaf[s]uref[s] much
The lof[s]s of truth is more
The lof[s]s of Chrif[s]t if[s] f[s]uch
Af[s] no one can ref[s]tore
The lot of f[s]aintf[s] have alway been
Affliction here and f[s]cornf[s]
And he that was the bef[s]t of men
Waf[s] mock and crown with thornf[s]
Rachel Kester her samPler
made in the 14th year of her age
1788 H T"
Background:
Rachel was born on June 16, 1774, to Paul and Anna Webster Kester in Kingwood, New Jersey. The family moved to Millville, Pennsylvania, in 1780. There Rachel married Chandlee Eves on January 5, 1797, and they had ten children—Anna, Elizabeth, Yeatman, John K., George Fox, Benjamin, Charles, Sarah, Rachel, and Chandlee. Rachel died in Pennsylvania on May 22, 1835, and her husband died on December 30, 1836. The initials "HT" following the date in the inscription could be those of a teacher.
The first set of initials are her grandparents Heranus and Anne Kester; her parents Paul and Anna Kester; her siblings Mary, Sarah, Benjamin, and Arnold Kester; and her grandparents Benjamin and Rachel Webster. It is not clear to whom the other initials belong.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1788
maker
Kester, Rachel
ID Number
TE.T16007
catalog number
T16007
accession number
307850
Embroidered card case made in England circa 1780, using silk queen stitch embroidery in a diamond strawberry pattern on linen canvas. The silk twist embroidery threads are pink, green, blue, red, gold, yellow and orange.
Description
Embroidered card case made in England circa 1780, using silk queen stitch embroidery in a diamond strawberry pattern on linen canvas. The silk twist embroidery threads are pink, green, blue, red, gold, yellow and orange. The folded case is lined with pink silk.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1780
Associated Date
1780
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.E351637
accession number
115408
catalog number
E351637
Three block alphabets. No "J"; numbers to 18 and to 9; alphabets and numbers colored in groups of two.
Description
Three block alphabets. No "J"; numbers to 18 and to 9; alphabets and numbers colored in groups of two. Rows of lettering and numbers separated by geometric crossbands; also two wide crossbands; one geometric strawberry vine, and one geometric vine with free-style roses, with guide-lines drawn under roses. At bottom of sampler, stag and doe on hillocks, surrounded by birds, butterflies, trees, flowers, under angular garland; stag and doe have satin-stitched collars. Name and date appear in flower-shaped medallion hanging from garland. Border of band of sawtoothed satin stitch and geometric carnation vine on all four sides. Silk embroidery thread on linen ground. STITCHES: cross, crosslet, stem, satin, Algerian eye, straight, bullion. THREAD COUNT: warp 36, weft 29/in.
Inscriptions:
"See How The Lillief[s] Flour White And Fair
See How the Ravenf[s] Fed From Heavenf[s] Air
Arif[s]e Thou King of Kingf[s] Arif[s]e And Reign
Except Thy Worf[s]hip SprinG All Worf[s]hipf[s] Vain
Elizabeth
Maf[s]On her
WOrk Ma
de
in the 11
Year Of
her ag
1783"
Background:
Elizabeth Mason was probably from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1783
maker
Mason, Elizabeth
ID Number
TE.E391808
catalog number
E391808
accession number
71679

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