Textiles

Coverlet

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.

Fine Point d'Angleterre Border

Border, Point d'Angleterre bobbin lace with Droschel ground going in different directions. Linen. Mid 18th C. Floral motifs with 6 3/4" length pattern repeat. Scalloped border with picots.Currently not on view
Description
Border, Point d'Angleterre bobbin lace with Droschel ground going in different directions. Linen. Mid 18th C. Floral motifs with 6 3/4" length pattern repeat. Scalloped border with picots.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Mid 18th C
ID Number
TE.T14364
catalog number
T14364.000

Mechlin Bobbin Lace Border

Mechlin bobbin lace border from the second quarter of the 18th centuryCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Mechlin bobbin lace border from the second quarter of the 18th century
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1725-1750
ID Number
TE.L7330C
catalog number
E007330.00C
accession number
83674

Darned Filet Lace Flounce

Darned filet lace flounce in 17th or 18th Century style, but probably made during 19th C. Unusual straight netting. Finished on all sides.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Darned filet lace flounce in 17th or 18th Century style, but probably made during 19th C. Unusual straight netting. Finished on all sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 19th century
Associated Name
Pinchot, Mary Eno
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.L6510
catalog number
L6510.000
accession number
48717
113420

Handkerchief with Nañduti Lace Border

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T13140.000
catalog number
T13140.000

coverlet; Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand; c. 1860; poss. Ohio

This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet passed down through the donor’s maternal line for many generations before coming the collections of the National Museum of American History.
Description
This Figured and Fancy, tied-Beiderwand coverlet passed down through the donor’s maternal line for many generations before coming the collections of the National Museum of American History. The centerfield design is composed of a large “Double Rose” central motif contained within a cut-corner square. Outside of this is another cut-corner square filled with floral designs. Beyond this in the centerfield can be found a Great Seal eagle in each corner and floral swag accents. The stylized floral and foliate border can be found on all four sides of the coverlet. There is an applied fringe along three sides of the coverlet. This coverlet does feature a center seam, indicating hand-loom production. There is no signature, trademark, or date on the coverlet. The coverlet measures 81 inches by 78 inches.
The coverlet descended through the Marvel family of Indiana who moved west from Delaware in 1833. On their way westward, the family lived for a time in Muskingum, Ohio around 1860. It is likely here where the coverlet was acquired. The style and structure are more common in Ohio than Indiana, where coverlet weavers tended to weave double cloth coverlets and favor two colors rather than the horizontal banding found in many Pennsylvania and Ohio coverlets. The donor received the coverlet from her mother, Julia Typhene Nelson Studebaker who had received the coverlet from her parents, Robert Marvel and Julia Ann Marvel Dickerson Jones. Robert Marvel’s parents, Robert and Sarah Wilkins Marvel were the original owners of the coverlet and according to the family, the couple used the coverlet in their double log cabin in Indiana.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca. 1860
ca. 1860
ID Number
1982.0750.01
accession number
1982.0750
catalog number
1982.0750.01

U.S. Army World War II textile sample, wool

ID Number
TE.T09507
accession number
172295
catalog number
T09507

Bruges Bobbin Lace Border

Bobbin Lace border in the Bruges flower lace technique with rolled edges. A half inch wide machine made edge has been added at the footsideCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Bobbin Lace border in the Bruges flower lace technique with rolled edges. A half inch wide machine made edge has been added at the footside
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T14575.000
catalog number
T14575.000

lace, flounce

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th to early 20th century
ID Number
TE.T17732.000
catalog number
T17732.000

lace

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T16259
catalog number
T16259.000

fashion plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.018
catalog number
033675.018
accession number
70138

Bobbin lace patterns

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.E387047
catalog number
E387047.000

Ivory Drizzling Tool for Unpicking Metal Laces

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Late 18th century
ID Number
1981.0113.22
catalog number
1981.0113.22
accession number
1981.0113

18th Century Bobbin Lace Border

Mid 18th century Point d'Angleterre border with floral and stylistic motifs connected with Droschel bobbin lace ground. A machine made entre deux has been added during the revival period.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Mid 18th century Point d'Angleterre border with floral and stylistic motifs connected with Droschel bobbin lace ground. A machine made entre deux has been added during the revival period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1760
ID Number
TE.T16249
catalog number
T16249.000

Burano Lace Collar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900-1920
ID Number
TE.T13081.000
catalog number
T13081.000
accession number
250072

Venetian Rose Point Needle Lace Border

Early 18th century Venetian Rose Point needle lace border. This is a very delicate lace with many three-dimensional rings embellished with picots. A bobbin lace footing has been added.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Early 18th century Venetian Rose Point needle lace border. This is a very delicate lace with many three-dimensional rings embellished with picots. A bobbin lace footing has been added.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1700-1730
ID Number
TE.L7593
catalog number
E007593.000
accession number
58269

Geometric Double-cloth "Snowball Tree" Coverlet, 1800-1850

This blue and white double-woven coverlet features a "Snowball Tree" central field motif, with wavy line borders on three sides. It was woven with cotton and wool yarns, and has a fringe on all four sides.
Description
This blue and white double-woven coverlet features a "Snowball Tree" central field motif, with wavy line borders on three sides. It was woven with cotton and wool yarns, and has a fringe on all four sides. The lower edge has a self-fringe, while the sides have tape fringes that travel to the top edge and run along that edge for twenty-two inches. This coverlet was woven in two sections that were sewn together on each side. According to the donor, the yarn was spun and the coverlet was woven in the home of her great-grandmother (no name given.) The coverlet dates from the first half of the 19th century. Double-woven coverlets are reversible, with the dark color dominant on one side, and the light color dominante on the other. Such coverlets are complicated to weave and require two separate sets of warp and filling yarns.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1850
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.H12765
catalog number
H012765.000
accession number
053657
53657

Armenian Needle Lace Doily

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
20th Century
maker
Kasparian, Alice Odian
ID Number
1996.0121.03
accession number
1996.0121

handkerchief, lace, embroidered

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T16030
catalog number
T16030.000
accession number
297965

Black Chantilly Bobbin Lace

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.T14486.00A
catalog number
T14486.00A
accession number
277795

Parisian Dancers. No 2-L'Horatia

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
CS.228001.1593
catalog number
228001.1593

Boot Top Trimming in Reticella lace

Boot Top Trimming in Reticella laceCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Boot Top Trimming in Reticella lace
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.L7210C
catalog number
L7210.00C
accession number
52428

Point de Gaze Needle Lace Cuff

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
TE.E317259A
catalog number
E317259.00A

Rose Point Needle Lace Flounce; 17th Century

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
17th C
ID Number
TE.T14211
catalog number
T14211.000
accession number
275381

Rosaline perlee bobbin lace collar

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
ID Number
TE.T13638
catalog number
T13638.000
accession number
263100

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.