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.

Crochet hook with a celluloid handle and case. The “MEF / 10 / Pat. Aug. 17, 1915 DIADEM” inscription refers to Mary E. Fitch, a crochet enthusiast of Brookline, Mass., who obtained a design patent on the form.Ref: Mary E. Fitch, “Crochet Needle,” U.S. Design Patent 47,718 (Aug.
Description
Crochet hook with a celluloid handle and case. The “MEF / 10 / Pat. Aug. 17, 1915 DIADEM” inscription refers to Mary E. Fitch, a crochet enthusiast of Brookline, Mass., who obtained a design patent on the form.
Ref: Mary E. Fitch, “Crochet Needle,” U.S. Design Patent 47,718 (Aug. 17, 1915).
Mary E. Fitch, Filet Crochet with Instructions (Brookline, 1915).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915-1925
ID Number
2006.0098.1754
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1754
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-1920
ID Number
2006.0098.1743
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1743

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