overshot coverlet reproduction factory

Overshot: The earliest coverlets were woven using an overshot weave. There is a ground cloth of plain weave linen or cotton with a supplementary pattern weft, usually of dyed wool, added to create a geometric pattern based on simple combinations of blocks. The weaver creates the pattern by raising and lowering the pattern weft with treadles to create vibrant, reversible geometric patterns. Overshot coverlets could be woven domestically by men or women on simple four-shaft looms, and the craft persists to this day.

Summer-and-Winter: This structure is a type of overshot with strict rules about supplementary pattern weft float distances. The weft yarns float over no more than two warp yarns. This creates a denser fabric with a tighter weave. Summer-and-Winter is so named because one side of the coverlet features more wool than the other, thus giving the coverlet a summer side and a winter side. This structure may be an American invention. Its origins are somewhat mysterious, but it seems to have evolved out of a British weaving tradition.

Double Cloth: Usually associated with professional weavers, double cloth is formed from two plain weave fabrics that swap places with one another, interlocking the textile and creating the pattern. Coverlet weavers initially used German, geometric, block-weaving patterns to create decorative coverlets and ingrain carpeting. These coverlets contain twice the yarn and are twice as heavy as other coverlets.

Beiderwand: Weavers in Northern Germany and Southern Denmark first used this structure in the seventeenth century to weave bed curtains and textiles for clothing. Beiderwand is an integrated structure, and the design alternates sections of warp-faced and weft-faced plain weave. Beiderwand coverlets can be either true Beiderwand or the more common tied-Beiderwand. This structure is identifiable by the ribbed appearance of the textile created by the addition of a supplementary binding warp.

Figured and Fancy: Although not a structure in its own right, Figured and Fancy coverlets can be identified by the appearance of curvilinear designs and woven inscriptions. Weavers could use a variety of technologies and structures to create them including, the cylinder loom, Jacquard mechanism, or weft-loop patterning. Figured and Fancy coverlets were the preferred style throughout much of the nineteenth century. Their manufacture was an important economic and industrial engine in rural America.

Multi-harness/Star and Diamond: This group of coverlets is characterized not by the structure but by the intricacy of patterning. Usually executed in overshot, Beiderwand, or geometric double cloth, these coverlets were made almost all made in Eastern Pennsylvania by professional weavers on looms with between twelve and twenty-six shafts.

America’s earliest coverlets were woven in New England, usually in overshot patterns and by women working collectively to produce textiles for their own homes and for sale locally. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s book, Age of Homespun examines this pre-Revolutionary economy in which women shared labor, raw materials, and textile equipment to supplement family incomes. As the nineteenth century approached and textile mills emerged first in New England, new groups of European immigrant weavers would arrive in New England before moving westward to cheaper available land and spread industrialization to America’s rural interior.

The coverlets from New York and New Jersey are among the earliest Figured and Fancy coverlets. NMAH possesses the earliest Figured and Fancy coverlet (dated 1817), made on Long Island by an unknown weaver. These coverlets are associated primarily with Scottish and Scots-Irish immigrant weavers who were recruited from Britain to provide a skilled workforce for America’s earliest woolen textile mills, and then established their own businesses. New York and New Jersey coverlets are primarily blue and white, double cloth and feature refined Neoclassical and Victorian motifs. Long Island and the Finger Lakes region of New York as well as Bergen County, New Jersey were major centers of coverlet production.

German immigrant weavers influenced the coverlets of Pennsylvania, Virginia (including West Virginia) and Maryland. Tied-Beiderwand was the structure preferred by most weavers. Horizontal color-banding, German folk motifs like the Distelfinken (thistle finch), and eight-point star and sunbursts are common. Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic coverlets tend to favor the inscribed cornerblock complete with weaver’s name, location, date, and customer. There were many regionalized woolen mills and factories throughout Pennsylvania. Most successful of these were Philip Schum and Sons in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Chatham’s Run Factory, owned by John Rich and better known today as Woolrich Woolen Mills.

Coverlet weavers were among some of the earliest European settler in the Northwest Territories. After helping to clear the land and establish agriculture, these weavers focused their attentions on establishing mills and weaving operations with local supplies, for local markets. This economic pattern helped introduce the American interior to an industrial economy. It also allowed the weaver to free himself and his family from traditional, less-favorable urban factory life. New land in Ohio and Indiana enticed weavers from the New York and Mid-Atlantic traditions to settle in the Northwest Territories. As a result, coverlets from this region hybridized, blending the fondness for color found in Pennsylvania coverlets with the refinement of design and Scottish influence of the New York coverlets.

Southern coverlets almost always tended to be woven in overshot patterns. Traditional hand-weaving also survived longest in the South. Southern Appalachian women were still weaving overshot coverlets at the turn of the twentieth century. These women and their coverlets helped in inspire a wave of Settlement Schools and mail-order cottage industries throughout the Southern Appalachian region, inspiring and contributing to Colonial Revival design and the Handicraft Revival. Before the Civil War, enslaved labor was often used in the production of Southern coverlets, both to grow and process the raw materials, and to transform those materials into a finished product.

Because so many coverlets have been passed down as family heirlooms, retaining documentation on their maker or users, they provide a visual catalog of America’s path toward and response to industrialization. Coverlet weavers have sometimes been categorized as artisan weavers fighting to keep a traditional craft alive. New research, however, is showing that many of these weavers were on the forefront of industry in rural America. Many coverlet weavers began their American odyssey as immigrants, recruited from European textile factories—along with their families—to help establish industrial mills in America. Families saved their money, bought cheaper land in America’s rural interior and took their mechanical skills and ideas about industrial organization into the American heartland. Once there, these weavers found options. They could operate as weaver-farmers, own a small workshop, partner with a local carding mill, or open their own small, regional factories. They were quick to embrace new weaving technologies, including power looms, and frequently advertised in local newspapers. Coverlet weavers created small pockets of residentiary industry that relied on a steady flow of European-trained immigrants. These small factories remained successful until after the Civil War when the railroads made mass-produced, industrial goods more readily available nationwide.

They"ve long been overshadowed by quilts, but overshot coverlets deserve their own place in the sun. The nubby-textured textiles, loomed from wool and cotton into arresting geometric patterns, first migrated to America from Europe in the 1770s. Later, industrial mills replicated the handcrafted heirlooms, and today these versions are plentiful at antiques fairs and on Etsy.

Of course, there"s nothing wrong with using these blankets as intended—as actual bed coverlets. Should you score a piece of overshot fabric that"s large enough to decorate your bed (and in mint enough condition to display), replace your winter quilt with this lighter iteration when the weather warms. Or, attempt our Envelope-Backed Pillow Cover, which calls for this fabric. However you decide to use these visually dynamic cloths, with our easy ideas, you will be able to weave some style and history into your home in no time.

Most of the overshot coverlets displayed here were woven in the early 19th century on four-harness looms and could be woven by the home weaver. The more complicated summer and winter and double weavecoverlets required more than four shafts and were largely the domain of the professional weaver.

Inexpensive mill spun cotton yarn became available shortly after 1800 with the invention of the cotton gin. Until then farm families raised and processed flax for linen and sheep for their wool. Once home weavers could purchase cotton yarn for their warp, they stopped using their labor-intensive hand-spun linen. There was more time to weave for pleasure. Overshot coverlets quickly became a popular form of artistic expression.

Professional weavers probably produced most of the summer and wintercoverlets displayed here because of the number of blocks in the designs. The client selected a pattern from the weaver’s pattern book and often provided her own homespun wool. The coverlet became a collaborative effort between the client and weaver.

Natural dyes were used to color the wool for this coverlet. It is likely that goldenrod, with alum as the mordant, was used to produce the gold color. The green dye may have been derived by cooking the goldenrod in an iron pot. Some other sources of green dye are black-eyed susans, coneflowers, nettles, and barberry root. It is also possible that the gold wool was over-dyed with indigo to produce the green color.

This coverlet was found at the Church family homestead in Chaplin. The coverlet features repeating blocks of wheel motifs. The knotted fringe was probably added at a later date. Can you see the sun, moon and stars in this pattern?

The rust-colored wool in this coverlet may have been dyed with madder root. The Weaver’s Choice pattern features large lozenge motifs surrounding blocks of four roses. Together they form a large blossom pattern.

Wheels motifs are a common element in early coverlets. There are many variations. This pattern is known as Wheel of Fortune. This coverlet features wheel motifs joined by 8-step crosses, forming a strong diagonal pattern.

I have always dreamed of weaving a coverlet with my merino wool. I have a copy of Of Coverlets and have envisaged weaving every last one of them. I had eyed the Cranbrook for years and schemed a plan of how to acquire just one more loom. The shop had a great space that called its name. I wanted to weave on this beautiful loom, as well as have it available for others who share the same dream.

We purchased the 60″ 8-shaft Cranbrook with 12 treadles, the sliding threading bench, the sectional warping beam, tension box, and spool rack. The instructions were amazing, and it was easy to set up. The tension box was essential during the beaming process. We only had one Schacht spool rack which only controlled 20 of our 40 cotton bobbins. We improvised “racks” for the remaining 20 bobbins, which we do not recommend. The threading bench is another accessory that helped us to complete the warping of this large project (getting a friend to sit there is also recommended). With the ease of the tension box, it made sense to warp a 30-yard warp. In this way, the warped loom would be available for commissions and studio hours for those weavers who wish to weave their own coverlet.

I chose Lee’s Surrender as my first project because it is the pattern shown on the “Of Coverlets” introductory page and I found it to be such an inspiration. I continue to dream of bringing the whole book to life through weaving the patterns one by one—even if I have to finish in the nursing home.

This overshot coverlet has been faithfully reproduced from a 19th century example that was originally woven in Moore County, TN by Elsina Green Motlow (1835-1930). Elsina Green was one of 14 children and it is said that she confronted Federal Troops at her family"s doorstep, resulting in the soldiers declining to enter the house.

Our replica is woven on an antique shuttle loom, on a Havest Gold warp for a warm vintage appeal. We produce our coverlets using the same method as the originals. They are woven in strips and seamed together up the middle.

Sleeping was a textile-heavy experience in the 1800s. Textiles were a primary component of being able to sleep in a comfortable and warm environment. Beds were designed as fully draped enclosures, with curtains, valances and a coverlet. The coverlet was the topmost covering on the bed.

Until the 1820s, most coverlets were hand-loomed at home. Professionally woven coverlets gained popularity between 1820 and the Civil War — the majority were made between 1800 and the 1880s. Woven mostly by men, who trained as carpet weavers in England and Germany, then set up shops along the East Coast, these coverlets were affordable enough for rural and middle-class Americans.

Imported indigo and madder dyes, and other natural plant dyes, provided the pigment for most 19th-century coverlets. Bloodroot and dogwood produced red, bittersweet yielded orange and butternut bark produced brown. They were often made of a combination of wool and linen called linsey-woolsey — an important fabric in Colonial America due to the relative scarcity of wool. But some were made of bleached cotton.

The earliest coverlets were woven on a rather primitive “four harness” loom, which limited the weaver’s ability to produce complex patterns. The float work or overshot coverlet was woven in one long narrow piece, then cut width-wise and sewn together to make a textile wide enough for a bed.

In the early 1800s, the newly invented Jacquard loom made its way from France. The modernized technology — actually a loom attachment — allowed elaborate, complex patterns and images to be incorporated into coverlets. The coverlet progressed from a purely functional item, used primarily to provide privacy and warmth in early American homes, to one of aesthetic beauty.

These colorful coverlets displayed elaborate patterns, with images of birds and plants, and often the name of the owner and the weaver. Characteristic of many early woven coverlets were their interesting and informative inscriptions, which varied in placement, content and complexity. They could denote the weaver’s name, the location of the loom, the date, a bible verse or political slogan, a commemoration and sometimes the owner’s name. Usually the inscription was woven in backwards and forwards, allowing it to be read from either side of the coverlet.

Both men and women ordered and purchased coverlets. Since comparatively few weavers were women, when a woman’s name is inscribed into a coverlet, it is generally thought to be the owner’s name, not the weaver’s. But if a man’s name appears on a coverlet it could be the name of the owner or the weaver.

The prices of antique coverlets can span from a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the design, condition and provenance. Antique coverlets were treasured by families through many generations, and were frequently mentioned in wills and stored for future descendants in dower chests. They are true American heirlooms.

The patterns in figured and fancy coverlets are curvilinear and realistic and can include floral, animal, architectural and other motifs. Photo courtesy The National Museum of the American Coverlet.

The Storrar Coverlet, which has the date 1729 woven into the border, is thought to have been handed from generation to generation, from first daughter to first daughter and is a remarkable survivor of a once common domestic textile. It is a two-colour wool double cloth in red and yellow green and woven in one piece, composed of two layers of cloth which interchange with each other to create the pattern and to provide thickness and warmth.

A weaver in Kilmarnock named John Murchland was awarded a Premium by the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufactures and Improvements in 1736, for setting up a "Manufacture of Coverlets or Paislim Coverings for Floors which will ...Improve the Manufacture of Searges there, the Coarsest of the Wooll being very good for this ..." These more homely bed covers rarely survive and it is remarkable that The Storrar Coverlet is in such good condition with little sign of wear or fading.

In Scandinavia, patterned coverlets woven in double cloth, often with one warp and weft of linen and the second of wool were a prized part of family celebrations. A curious feature of this coverlet is the incomplete repeat at both sides, although there are no raw edges. Perhaps the pattern for this piece had been originally designed for a larger woollen hanging. Although long in the Storrar family, the origin of the coverlet is unknown. Described as the Storrars of Orphat (Nether Urquhart, Cupar, Fife) the family was long associated with Fife. But the county itself had strong trading links with continental Europe and Scandinavia. Many Scottish merchants were based abroad dealing in both wool and linen cloth. Experts from Holland, France and England came to Scotland bringing new fashions and manufacturing techniques with them.

In the century between the departure of James VI for London and the Union of 1707 there were opportunities for the development of wool manufacturing at home which were encouraged by Royal patronage and statute. Patterns of birds in a flowering tree or in a dovecot are often found on textiles, seen for example in several coverlets in the collections of the Nordiska museet in Stockholm, of a later date. Paired birds on The Storrar Coverlet suggest the marking of a betrothal or a birth in 1729. Family research records the marriage of Richard Storrar of Orphat to Margaret Paterson in 1787 and it may be that the coverlet came into the family through the previous generation.

Over a century later, commemorative Jacquard woven quilts and coverlets continued to feature birds, frequently emblematic birds such as eagles in the United States. In Scotland, The Storrar Coverlet reminds us of the skills of handloom weaving wool and worsted cloths which are now largely lost. Yet it has survived despite state encouragement for the linen trade and the subsequent onslaught of the cotton industry.

“Float work” was the name used by weavers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The term “overshot” is more commonly used today, introduced by Colonial Revival historians. Many of the earliest surviving American coverlets are float work.

A shuttle carrying the cotton and a shuttle carrying the wool are thrown across the warp alternately in their own sheds (the shed is the vertical space between the raised and un-raised warp threads that the shuttle passes through) so that the two layers of cloth do not intersect except when the pattern blocks change. A pattern is made by threading the two warps alternately on sets of four shafts. Most of the double cloth coverlets in this exhibition have four or five pattern blocks to create geometric designs, meaning that a loom carrying at least 16 or 20 shafts was necessary to create these patterns.

The look of a double cloth coverlet, whether geometric or figured, is graphically sharp; edges are crisp and well-defined. The surface is often flat, with little dimensional texture. Double cloth coverlets are reversible.

There were two types of coverlets woven using plain double cloth: geometric and figured. Both were produced by trained “fancy” weavers, many of whom trained as carpet weavers. The geometric ingrain or “Scotch carpeting” that these weavers produced starting in the late 18th-century used the same double cloth weave structure.

Weft-faced plain weaveis a version of “over and under” that switches to the opposite combination when the shuttle is passed in one direction, left to right and then right to left. In weft-faced plain weave the filling or weft yarns are the only yarns that are visible in the coverlet. The warp or lengthwise yarns are covered completely by the crosswise yarns.

Weft-faced plain weave coverlets are considered the rarest surviving coverlets–possibly because they were not as durable as other types of coverlets–and are often dated to the eighteenth century. They were extremely labor and material intensive to make. The form went out of fashion as other weave structures and types of coverlets gained popularity.