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.

Topic: Quilts

1900 - 1910 Lena T. Leigh's Hexagon Quilt Top

Lena T. Leigh, a seamstress in Warrenton, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., assembled this quilt top in the early part of the 20th century.
Description
Lena T. Leigh, a seamstress in Warrenton, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., assembled this quilt top in the early part of the 20th century. One-inch hexagons of a wide variety of print and solid cottons were pieced into 5½-inch rosettes, each separated by a single row of red cotton hexagons. Perhaps the many examples of period cottons were scraps from her dressmaking business.
Lena Malorn was born in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1878. In 1900, she married Thomas Leigh, born in England in 1876. She died March 26, 1946 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1910
maker
Leigh, Lena T.
ID Number
TE.T16933
accession number
307851
catalog number
T16933

1800 - 1825 Dove-Cator Families "American Eagle" Quilt

An appliquéd eagle motif is the central focus of this patriotic quilt of the early 19th century. The eagle has arrows in one talon, an olive branch in the other, symbolizing both desire for peace and readiness for war.
Description
An appliquéd eagle motif is the central focus of this patriotic quilt of the early 19th century. The eagle has arrows in one talon, an olive branch in the other, symbolizing both desire for peace and readiness for war. It is a version of a symbol adopted by a resolution of the U.S. Congress in 1782 for the official seal.
Surrounding the 30 x 29-inch center are alternating blocks of pieced eight-pointed stars and plain white blocks. It is quilted at 8 stitches per inch. The “American Eagle” quilt was in the Dove-Cator families of Baltimore and Harford Counties, Md.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1800-1825
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T15316
catalog number
T15316
accession number
293022

1840 - 1860 Block-printed Quilt Center Panel

The cotton prints used for this central panel probably have English origins. The center (22-inches x 22-inches) is a pair of birds in a wreath of flowers, block printed in red, tan, dull yellow, and black on a white ground, with blue added by surface roller.
Description
The cotton prints used for this central panel probably have English origins. The center (22-inches x 22-inches) is a pair of birds in a wreath of flowers, block printed in red, tan, dull yellow, and black on a white ground, with blue added by surface roller. The square is bordered with strips of block-printed flowers (roses, peonies, anemones) in red, pink, dull yellow, green, light blue, and black on white and glazed. One edge of border is a selvage.
Panels of this type were implemented by English wood-block printers not only for furnishing fabrics, but also as specific designs for chair seats, borders and/or panels to be used for quilts or counterpanes. Palm trees and game birds were popular motifs in America in this period.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
delete
date made
1840 - 1860
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T18233
catalog number
T18233
accession number
1977.0101

1850 - 1875 Mary Sterrett Gist's "Feathered Star" Pieced Quilt

Mary Sterrett Gist created this quilt using “Feathered Star” blocks. Thirty-six 12 ½-inch squares pieced of printed cottons are set with plain white squares. A 2-inch appliqued saw tooth border completes the design.
Description
Mary Sterrett Gist created this quilt using “Feathered Star” blocks. Thirty-six 12 ½-inch squares pieced of printed cottons are set with plain white squares. A 2-inch appliqued saw tooth border completes the design. The pieced blocks are quilted in parallel diagonal lines, the small white squares in a diagonal grid, and the large white squares with a leafy branch motif. Finely quilted at 10 stitches per inch.
Mary Sterrett Gist was born on September 1, 1808, daughter of Independent Gist and Rachel Gist. Her life was spent near Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland. She died on January 22, 1890. “A venerable and highly esteemed member of the distinguished Gist Family . . . . a lady of fine literary ability and [who] had lived all her life in the house where she died.” ( Daily News , Frederick, Maryland, January 24, 1890.) According to the family she was a descendant of General Mordecai Gist of Maryland who fought in the Revolutionary War and died in 1792.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1875
maker
Gist, Mary Sterrett
ID Number
TE.T12705
accession number
239138
catalog number
T12705

1860 - 1864 Martha Loud's Parlor Throw

Martha Mehetable Loud pieced the top of this parlor throw in a hexagon or mosaic pattern. Her grandmother, Lucena Beardley Kile, lined and finished it after Martha's death at age fifteen.
Description
Martha Mehetable Loud pieced the top of this parlor throw in a hexagon or mosaic pattern. Her grandmother, Lucena Beardley Kile, lined and finished it after Martha's death at age fifteen. Black silk hexagons set off rosettes composed of pieced 1¼-inch hexagons of plain, striped, moiré, plaid, printed, ribbed, brocaded, and pattern-woven silks. Three sides are edged with a narrow black ribbon and a pleated 1 inch red-violet wool braid. The lining is constructed of nine pieces of dark green and white striped silk. The parlor throw is not quilted but tied every two inches with pink and dark green silk thread. From the middle of the nineteenth century, patchwork made of silks and velvets, such as this parlor throw, were a popular means to display needlework and artistic skills.
Martha Mehetable Loud was born January 24, 1849 and lived in Huntsburg, Geauga, Ohio, until her early death in 1864. Her grandmother, Lucena Beardley Kile, was born in Connecticut about 1800 and also lived in Huntsburg, Geauga, Ohio. She died in 1886. The quilt was donated to the Museum in 1969 by Mrs. Charles Bittinger who was the daughter of Martha Loud's sister.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860-1864
quilter
Loud, Martha Mehetable
Kile, Lucena Beardley
ID Number
TE.T15027
catalog number
T15027
accession number
285569

1860 - 1870 Ruth Ann Stottlemyer's Appliqued Quilt

According to donor information, Ruth Ann Stottlemyer crafted this quilt while staying with her brothers on a farm in Goose Creek, Piatt County, Illinois.
Description
According to donor information, Ruth Ann Stottlemyer crafted this quilt while staying with her brothers on a farm in Goose Creek, Piatt County, Illinois. Five 24 ½-inch blocks, with triangular blocks filling in the edges, are appliqued with roses, leaves, buds, and stems in a pattern known as “Whig Rose” or “Democrat Rose.” These are framed by a 9-inch border appliqued with scalloped swags held by roses and ribbons. Outline quilting delineates all the appliqued motifs; the spaces between are closely filled with quilted sprays of flowers, feathered scrolls, leaves, and buds. It is finely quilted at 14 stitches per inch.
Ruth Ann Stottlemyer (Stottlemeyer) was born on September 2, 1843 to Jonathan Recher Stottlemyer (1820-1896) and Susannah Blickenstaff Stottlemyer (1823-1893) in Maryland. According to census information in 1880, she is listed as “keeping house” on the farm of her brother in Illinois. She died in Washington County, Maryland on August 9, 1903. Ruth Ann is buried in Beaver Creek, Maryland.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1870
maker
Stottlemyer, Ruth Ann
ID Number
TE.T08953
accession number
167647
catalog number
T08953

1840 - 1860 Ann's "Quilt" or counterpane; Womack Plantation, Virginia

“This quilt was made in 1840 by Ann, a colored slave girl 16 yrs. old, who wove and spun and took care of all linen on the plantation of Capt. and Mrs. William Womack (Aunt Patsy and Uncle Billy) in Pittsylvania Co. Virginia.
Description
“This quilt was made in 1840 by Ann, a colored slave girl 16 yrs. old, who wove and spun and took care of all linen on the plantation of Capt. and Mrs. William Womack (Aunt Patsy and Uncle Billy) in Pittsylvania Co. Virginia. Grandma Adams made her home with Aunt Patsy after mother’s death and inherited her large estate.” So wrote Mrs. Womack’s great-niece, Florence Adams Dubois in a note included in the 1976 donation.
Little is known of the quiltmaker, Ann. She is probably mentioned in William Womack’s will November 1, 1849, “. . . to my beloved wife Martha Womack during her natural life the following Negro slaves to wit, Ann . . . “
Thirty 14-inch blocks appliquéd with a crossed tulip motif are set with a 2-inch tan sashing. A 5/8-inch orange cotton bias strip is seamed to the front, and whipped to the back along three sides. The fourth side has a 1 ½-inch straight strip of cotton seamed to the front, and whipped to the back. While the blocks may have been made in the 1840s, the bedcover was probably assembled some time later.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
ID Number
TE.T18124
accession number
323485
catalog number
T18124

1853 Rachel Roseberry's "Album Patch" Quilt

A date of “August 1853” inscribed on seventeen blocks provided a clue to the possible origins of this “Album Patch” quilt. Names and places inscribed on other blocks gave further information.
Description
A date of “August 1853” inscribed on seventeen blocks provided a clue to the possible origins of this “Album Patch” quilt. Names and places inscribed on other blocks gave further information. Probably Rachel Young Roseberry started this quilt when the family moved to Brentsville, Va., from Phillipsburg, N.J., in 1853. At the time she and her husband, Michael, had four young children: Emma (1838-1897), Annie (about 1840-?), John (1843-1915, and, Alice (about 1844-?). The names of friends and relatives appear to have been written by the same hand, maybe at different times, and many are further embellished by different floral drawings.
Thirty-six nine-inch “Album Patch” or “Friendship Chain” pieced blocks are composed of plain red and white or printed green and white cottons. The “Album” blocks are framed by a 1 ½-inch border of printed green and plain white triangles. All blocks are signed in ink denoting name, and sometimes a date and/or place. Ink drawings are added to several of the inscriptions. The same red and green cottons and thread were used throughout the quilt and nearly half are inscribed “1853.” The addition of dates of “1858,” “1859,” and “1871,” suggest signatures may have been added after the quilt was completed. Places included Washington, D.C., Youngsville ?, Newark, N. J., and Brentsville, Va.
Rachel Roseberry’s quilt represents a personalized textile document containing names of friends and family and associated dates that may represent visits, marriages, deaths or other significant events related to that name. Album quilts such as this were popular in the mid-19th century, as was the use of the red and green color combination.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1853
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11232
accession number
209501
catalog number
T11232

1825 - 1850 Quilted Bureau Cover

This white rectangular bureau or furniture cover is an example of stuffed-work. The quilted design is a flower basket motif inside a semi-circular undulating vine.Currently not on view
Description
This white rectangular bureau or furniture cover is an example of stuffed-work. The quilted design is a flower basket motif inside a semi-circular undulating vine.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1850
maker
unknown
Copp Family
ID Number
TE.H006589.000
catalog number
H006589.000

1850 - 1875 "Nine-patch" Pieced Quilt

The blocks for this quilt are pieced in the basic “Nine-patch” pattern and set diagonally with unpieced 5 ¼-inch squares of mainly the same roller-printed cotton. The lining and filling are cotton.
Description
The blocks for this quilt are pieced in the basic “Nine-patch” pattern and set diagonally with unpieced 5 ¼-inch squares of mainly the same roller-printed cotton. The lining and filling are cotton. The pieced blocks have outline quilting, while the quilting on the squares consists of parallel lines, 6-7 stitches per inch. The binding is a ¾-inch (finished) bias strip of printed cotton seamed to the lining, whip stitched to the front. The “Nine-patch” is one of the earliest pieced patterns which has retained its popularity. The blocks on this quilt display a variety of cotton fabrics typical of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1875
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17343.000
catalog number
T17343.000
accession number
321804

1860 - 1869 Cynthia Hobby's Pieced and Appliqued Quilt

“Pieced by Cynthia Hobby in her 90th year” is the inscription prominently quilted in the center block of this quilt, a variation of the “Meadow Lily” pattern. The quilt is composed of thirty 12-inch blocks, with a 4-inch border.
Description
“Pieced by Cynthia Hobby in her 90th year” is the inscription prominently quilted in the center block of this quilt, a variation of the “Meadow Lily” pattern. The quilt is composed of thirty 12-inch blocks, with a 4-inch border. One pieced block has the quilted name “Emily Seamans,” and another the name “Julia F. Seamans.” In the border are the quilted names: “S H Seamans,” M E Seamans,” “J A H Fay,” and the date “March 1869.”
Two of the plain blocks include a quilted outline of a small hand; one with “M” for Millie (1865-1956) and the other “J” for Julia (1867-1960). They were the great-granddaughters of Cynthia Hobby. “We can remember reaching over the edge of the quilting frame to have the outlines of our hands made.” (Family information.)
The quilting was done in 1869 by Mary Elizabeth Hitchcock Seamans (1839-1881) and her sister Julia Ann Fay. Mary married Cynthia Hobby’s grandson, Stephen Harris Seamans, Jr., in 1864.
Cynthia Husted Hobby was born September 22, 1770. She married Squire Hobby (1766-1811). Cynthia died April 5, 1863 a few years after she pieced this quilt at age 90.
This family textile document is one of three quilts donated by the same family.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1869
maker
Seamans, Mary Elizabeth
Fay, Julia Ann
Hobby, Cynthia
ID Number
TE.T13543
catalog number
T13543
accession number
257115

1850 - 1880 Diana Hines' Pieced Quilt

Diana DeGodis Washington Hines crafted this pieced quilt in the second half of the 19th century, probably while living in Kentucky. Triangular 11-inch blocks pieced in the “Sugar Loaf” or “Arrowhead” pattern alternate with 11-inch plain white triangles.
Description
Diana DeGodis Washington Hines crafted this pieced quilt in the second half of the 19th century, probably while living in Kentucky. Triangular 11-inch blocks pieced in the “Sugar Loaf” or “Arrowhead” pattern alternate with 11-inch plain white triangles. These are framed by 1 ½-inch printed and plain borders. At a later date, possibly to save frayed edges, about an inch of each edge is folded to the front and loosely stitched.
The donor, Diana’s grandson, included a hand-written family history when the quilt was donated to the Collection in 1966. Diana DeGodis Washington Hines was born in February 1797 at Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s home. “She was reared by the Washington family, lived with them in the Mt. Vernon home, until she was pass the age of twenty five. At that time there was a breaking up in the family and she was sold as a Slave to a Mr. Jackson, of Jackson Hotel at Arlington.” Diana married twice. Her second husband was Edward Hines. He too had been a slave in Kentucky with the McClure family, freed at age 21. “But he remained with the McClure family . . . . [they] were prominent and wealthy, owning several thousands [of] acres of land and stock, of which Edward Hines was manager. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hines left Kentucky in 1877 with their son John Hines for Greensburg, Ind., and remained there with him until their death.” In addition to their son, John, they had four daughters. Diana died October 30, 1891.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1880
maker
Hines, Diana DeGodis Washington
ID Number
TE.T14114
catalog number
T14114
accession number
272512

1850 - 1875 Lilla V's "Log Cabin" Pieced Silk Quilt

A note pinned to the lining of this quilt states: “Log Cabin Quilt made by Lilla V’s mother.
Description
A note pinned to the lining of this quilt states: “Log Cabin Quilt made by Lilla V’s mother. Lining from wedding dress, 1856.” Unfortunately there is no further information about Lilla V.
Eight-inch “Log Cabin” blocks are set in a “Light and Dark” pattern to create this visually striking quilt. Silks of all types (plain, checked, striped, printed, pattern-woven, damask, plaid, ribbed, ombre-striped, warp printed, brocaded) and plain and plaid satins were used. The brown striped silk from the 1856 wedding dress that was used for the lining, also appears in many of the blocks. The blocks are constructed on plain, printed, and pattern-woven cottons. It is finished with a plaid silk strip binding, seamed to the front, whipped to the lining. It is a fine example of both the popular “Log Cabin” design and of the silk pieced quilts often called parlor or sofa throws.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1875
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12595
accession number
234821
catalog number
T12595

1850 - 1875 Rachel Burr Corwin's Whole Cloth Comforter

Most likely this comforter (wadded bed quilt) was the product of Rachel Burr Corwin. The Collection contains three pieced-work quilts and two “comforts,” as well as her spinning wheel, initialed “RC,” and sheets and pillowcases for which she is said to have spun the linen.
Description
Most likely this comforter (wadded bed quilt) was the product of Rachel Burr Corwin. The Collection contains three pieced-work quilts and two “comforts,” as well as her spinning wheel, initialed “RC,” and sheets and pillowcases for which she is said to have spun the linen. This particular comforter with a cotton filling also contained a complete, well-worn, pieced quilt (1840 - 1860 Rachel Burr Corwin's "Variable Star" Quilt, TE*T07116.00B). Recycling a worn-out quilt in this way provided a very warm bed covering.
One side of the comforter consists of six rectangular pieces of plain-woven cotton, roller-printed in brown and green on ivory. Long-tailed birds, hanging ornamental urns and flowering branches made up the fabric design. The other side consists of three lengths of plain-woven cotton, roller-printed undulating vertical stripes in rust, brown, and tan. It was tied with 3-ply red wool.
Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1875
ID Number
TE.T07116.00A
accession number
121578
catalog number
T07116A

1840 - 1860 Paulding Family's "Tyger" Quilt

“I have a quilt that has been in my husband’s family for generations . . . It is supposed to have been slept under by Martha Washington . . .” was the claim when it was offered in 1974.
Description
“I have a quilt that has been in my husband’s family for generations . . . It is supposed to have been slept under by Martha Washington . . .” was the claim when it was offered in 1974. While the quilt was probably made in the mid-19th-century, the fabric that was used made the quilt exceptional. It is a copperplate-printed cotton produced in 1785 by Bromley Hall, England’s largest eighteenth-century textile printing firm.
Copperplate-printing is a process, developed after 1760, by which a pattern is etched on a flat plate, color applied by brush with the excess removed by a scraper, and then the plate and fabric passed through a flat printing press. The pattern found on the fabric of this quilt is labeled “Tyger” in the Bromley Hall pattern book. It features a wide variety of classical and pastoral motifs such as two boys riding leopards, architectural ruins, a dancing shepherdess, peacocks, parrots, sunflowers, and dragonflies, among many others.
Both the front and back of this quilt are composed of pieces of fabric copperplate-printed in brown. Each side has its own lining (one of cotton, one of linen), with a layer of cotton wadding between the two linings. A block-printed border is used for edging both layers and the two sides are whipstitched together. Most likely the "Tyger" fabric and block-printed trim were from an early set of bed furniture. The quilting consists of widely-spaced Vs, worked in crooked lines with uneven stitches, plus or minus four stitches per inch.
The quilt was from the William Paulding family of New York . William Paulding Jr. (1770-1854) was a lawyer and active in politics. He served in the War of 1812, and as mayor of New York City 1824-1826. In 1838 Paulding, along with architect Alexander Jackson Davis, designed and built a country villa named “Knoll” (“Pauldings Folly” by his critics). The house is known today as “Lyndhurst” in Tarrytown, N. Y. A National Trust Historic Site, it remains one of the extravagant examples of 19th-century Gothic Revival mansions along the Hudson River.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17289
accession number
314087
catalog number
T17289

1878 Kate P. McHenry's "Basket" Pieced Quilt Top

Pieced in the “Basket” pattern, this quilt was made in the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century. “Keate P. McHenry 1878” is written in ink on one corner.
Description
Pieced in the “Basket” pattern, this quilt was made in the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century. “Keate P. McHenry 1878” is written in ink on one corner. Catherine (Kate) Price McHenry was the daughter of Jane Price Winter, whose “Carpenter’s Wheel” quilt is also in the collection, and Josiah W. McHenry. Kate (Keate) was born in 1850 and lived in La Pile, Union County, Arkansas.
The quilt top consists of forty-two 9¼-inch blocks made of a variety of roller-printed cottons. The blocks are set in a triple sashing of green print and plain white cottons. A miniature “Nine-patch” design is set in the intersections of the sashing. Stripes, checks, small geometrics, plaids, and scallop-shell motifs are represented in the fabrics. This quilt top is among several items that G. Ruth McHenry (Kate’s niece) donated to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
maker
McHenry, Kate P.
ID Number
TE.T12698
accession number
238478
catalog number
T12698

1880 - 1900 Orrie Belle Little's Crazy Patch Parlor Throw

Crazy-patched square and rectangular blocks were assembled to make Orrie Little’s Parlor Throw. The four corner blocks are made entirely of ribbons. A variety of silks, satins and velvets were used for the other blocks. The lining is a brown-and-black stripe printed fabric.
Description
Crazy-patched square and rectangular blocks were assembled to make Orrie Little’s Parlor Throw. The four corner blocks are made entirely of ribbons. A variety of silks, satins and velvets were used for the other blocks. The lining is a brown-and-black stripe printed fabric. The binding is made of 12 different ¾-inch ribbons, seamed to the lining and whip-stitched to the front. Embroidery is used to embellish the edges of the patches and along the bound edge.
Information given with the donation suggested a possible maker as the grandmother of the donor, Julia E. Harris Little of Hampton, New Hampshire (1828 – 1875). More likely the maker was Orrie Belle Little, Julia’s daughter and the donor’s mother. Orrie was born March 18, 1858 in Hampstead, New Hampshire. She taught music before marrying Edwin S. Pressey in 1887. He was a Congregational minister and they had two children: Sidney and Julia (donor). The variety of fabrics and the examples of embroidery stitches (herringbone, chain, feather, straight, detached chain, and, seed) make it a nice example of fancy needlework at the end of the 19th century.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880-1900
maker
Little, Orrie Belle
ID Number
TE.T11458
accession number
211580
catalog number
T11458

1700 - 1799 Wool Quilted Counterpane

This example of an 18th century counterpane is composed of worn wool and linen/wool fabrics. A center panel, 55 x 35-inches, is made of unglazed green wool, the 17-inch border is made of dark blue glazed wool.
Description
This example of an 18th century counterpane is composed of worn wool and linen/wool fabrics. A center panel, 55 x 35-inches, is made of unglazed green wool, the 17-inch border is made of dark blue glazed wool. Two corners are made of blue and brown striped linsey-woolsey.
Originally the counterpane was acquired for the study of the early textiles used in its construction. ("Anatomy of a Quilted Counterpane" by Rita J. Adrosko in Weavers Journal; Vol VIII, No4, Issue 32) The lining was of particular significance. Part of it consisted of a coverlet (TE*T14718 NMAH Coverlet Collection) woven in the “Monks Belt” design. It was separated from the top and wool filling and is one of the oldest coverlets in the Collection. The rest of the lining utilizes worn-out fabrics such as were used for the front. The sewing thread is linen (2-ply S-twist). It is quilted, 5 stitches per inch, with linen thread. This counterpane is an interesting example of recycled 18th century fabrics.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1700-1799
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T14718.00A
catalog number
T14718A
accession number
281922

1860 - 1875 Machine Quilted Quilt

The crafting of this quilt was made possible by William Grover’s 1851 invention of the double-thread chain stitch. He and William Baker were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,931 for a machine that used this stitch. The Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Co.
Description
The crafting of this quilt was made possible by William Grover’s 1851 invention of the double-thread chain stitch. He and William Baker were issued U.S. Patent No. 7,931 for a machine that used this stitch. The Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Co. of Boston, Mass., began manufacturing the machines in 1851, and by 1856 were producing for the home market. “Quilting on a Grover & Baker’s sewing machine, is no trouble at all, and the rapidity with which it is accomplished, enables us to apply it to many things which would cost too much time and labor for hand sewing.” ( The Ladies’ Hand Book of Fancy Ornamental Work Florence Hartley, Philadelphia, 1859.)
The most elaborate quilting of the 19th century was done by hand. It is unusual that the unknown maker of this quilt used a machine to stitch the design of each square through two layers of cotton fabric. The design areas were then stuffed with cotton fibers. The squares were sewn together by hand to make the quilt top, and an overall lining was added. The three layers were quilted by hand along each side of the seams where the squares of the quilt top were joined.
By 1870, the Grover and Baker double-thread, chain-stitch was being replaced by a lockstitch. The lockstitch machines used one-third the amount of thread and made less bulky seams. The lockstitch remains the standard stitch of home sewing machines to this day.
The motifs on this all-white quilt top are similar to those found on many of the colorful appliqué quilts of the mid-19th century. Although more complex than most of the work for which the new machines were used, the quilt’s design and the use of the Grover and Baker stitch suggest that this is an early example of machine quilting.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1875
quilter
unknown
ID Number
TE.T18240
catalog number
T18240
accession number
1977.0101

1886 J.A.L.'s Crazy-patch Parlor Throw

“Pleasant dreams to you my friends J.A.L.” is embroidered on a diamond prominently placed near the center of this throw. Sentiments such as this suggest that these throws are often called slumber throws as well as parlor throws.
Description
“Pleasant dreams to you my friends J.A.L.” is embroidered on a diamond prominently placed near the center of this throw. Sentiments such as this suggest that these throws are often called slumber throws as well as parlor throws. In general, throws were made to display fancy needlework skills and serve as ornament rather than as bedding.
This piece includes a Women's Christian Temperance Union ribbon in one block.
Often they were made in the crazy-patch style that became fashionable in the last part of the 19th century. This throw utilizes crazy-patched and embroidered plain silk diamonds for the “Tumbling Blocks” pattern, creating an intriguing optical illusion.
The center, pieced in the “Tumbling Blocks” or “Cubework” pattern, is framed by a 5 ½-inch crazy-patch border edged on each side by a 1 ¾-inch blue satin band. The lining is pink silk with a 1 ¼-inch blue silk band decorated with feather and herringbone stitches around all four edges. Silk, tinsel and chenille embroidery threads were used for the buttonhole, feather, French knot, herringbone double cross, running, stem, detached chain, and satin stitches that embellish this throw.
An embroidered patch in the border contains a name, “C. D. Whittier,” and date, “1886.” Another has American flag motifs with the dates “1776-1886.” A moose head and an elephant with “Jumbo” embroidered on it are prominent among the flowers, hearts, horseshoes, birds, fans, web, broom and other motifs typically found on patchwork of the period. “Kate Greenaway” figures are embroidered on several patches. Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was a popular writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her distinctive style for drawing children was widely copied and appears on various decorative arts of the time.
Several painted diamond patches are signed “Agnes R. Hodgson” or “ARH 86.” One patch with that signature has a palette and brushes. Could she have been an artist who provided patches for crazy-patch work? A friend who had her own particular technique? Or was she the maker of the throw?
The only Agnes R. Hodgson that was found appears on the 1860-1880 censuses. Agnes was born in Oregon City, Oregon, in 1859 to Francis D. and Mary Hodgson. In 1870 they were living in Seneca Falls, N. Y. By 1880 she was living in Milo, Yates County, N. Y., with her parents and five younger siblings. Agnes died in April 1888 at Horseheads, N. Y., of spinal disease (probably meningitis). She is buried in the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y. No information on the maker or origins of this throw was provided at the time of donation to the Collection in 1961.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T12726
accession number
239740
catalog number
T12726

1850 - 1860 "LeMoyne Star" Pieced Bedcover

This bedcover, no filling or quilting, has over 100 eight-inch blocks pieced in the “LeMoyne Star” pattern. An assortment of roller-printed cottons (florals, geometrics, and plaids) are set off with white pieces.
Description
This bedcover, no filling or quilting, has over 100 eight-inch blocks pieced in the “LeMoyne Star” pattern. An assortment of roller-printed cottons (florals, geometrics, and plaids) are set off with white pieces. The lining is composed of four lengths of plain-woven roller-printed cotton. The binding is a ¾-inch woven striped cotton tape folded over edge, sewn with a running stitch through all layers. The variety of printed cottons used for the stars and the star motif make this mid-nineteenth century bedcover a typical example of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T17354.000
catalog number
T17354.000
accession number
321804

1790 - 1810 Glazed Wool Whole Cloth Quilt

Dark blue glazed wool was used for this example of a New England whole cloth quilt. Sometimes labelled a utility quilt, a thick carded wool filling and wool fabrics make it an especially warm bedcover.
Description
Dark blue glazed wool was used for this example of a New England whole cloth quilt. Sometimes labelled a utility quilt, a thick carded wool filling and wool fabrics make it an especially warm bedcover. While it has evidence of many repairs (darning and patches) the wool used for the top still has much of the glazed sheen. Glazing, a process involving the use of a hot press on wool fabric, resulted in a smooth, lustrous fabric surface.
The quilt center is quilted in a clamshell pattern, framed by a 5 ½-inch band of chevrons and diagonal grid quilting. A 16-inch border is quilted in interlocking circles. At some point a segment (16-inches x 18-inches) was cut from a corner. Wool and linen sewing threads and wool quilting threads are an indicator of its late 18th-early 19th century construction.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1790-1810
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T13541
catalog number
T13541
accession number
259198

1860 - 1880 "Tumbling Blocks" Child's Quilt

The maker of this child's quilt remains unknown. Well worn, it is pieced in the Tumbling Blocks pattern, also referred to as Cubework or Boxes.
Description
The maker of this child's quilt remains unknown. Well worn, it is pieced in the Tumbling Blocks pattern, also referred to as Cubework or Boxes. The placement of the four inch diamond shaped pieces cut from various roller-printed cottons creates an example of an optical illusion in textiles. The lining is a roller-printed check cotton in red and brown. The quilt was completed with outline quilting, six stitches /inch, and bound with a strip of printed cotton folded over the edge and machine-stitched. The quilt was donated to the Museum in 1968 by Mrs. Dorothy Walkley Faul. She provided the information that the quilt had been in the Walkley family who had settled in Southington, Connecticut, about 1630 and that the quilt was probably made in the 1860s.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1860-1880
quilter
unknown
ID Number
TE.T14533
catalog number
T14533
accession number
277119

1792 - 1810 "Treaty of Pillnitz" Pieced Quilt

Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection.
Description
Copper-plate and block-printed fabrics from the late-18th and early-19th centuries make this pieced quilt a valuable contribution to the Collection. Originally purchased at a thrift shop for $2.00, this rare find was generously donated to the Museum in 1956.
In the 21-inch pieced center section are ten fragments of a plate-printed cotton fabric thought to commemorate the Treaty of Pillnitz, 1792. It was the first formal alliance in opposition to the French Revolution. Participants whose portraits appear on the fabric segments are the King of Prussia (Frederick William II), The Empress of Russia (Catherine II), the King of Britain (George III), and the Emperor of Germany (Leopold II).
The center block is immediately surrounded by 15 ½-inch-square pieced blocks and rectangular blocks either of linen embellished with wool embroidery or plain and block-printed cotton and linen/cotton fabrics. This is framed by a complex piecing of printed, embroidered, and plain fabrics. The crewel-embroidered floral sprigs and exotic birds on linen may have been fragments from recycled bed furnishings or a petticoat. Linen thread was used for the chevron and diagonal grid quilting patterns, quilted at 7-8 stitches per inch. The various fabrics produced by different printing techniques make this quilt a remarkable example of the period.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1792-1810
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T11457
accession number
211584
catalog number
T11457

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