The Hood River County History Museum was planning a textile exhibit for June through August this year. My friend and fellow weaver volunteers at the museum and asked several of us weavers and spinners if we wanted to help. Of course I wanted to be part of this project! The exhibit is called Follow the Thread and will be up until August 31st.
During the planning of the exhibit we explored what textiles were in the archives at the museum. There was a very old remnant of a coverlet that came to the Hood River Valley via wagon train from New England. I was totally infatuated with this piece of history. It made me wonder what it was like to leave your home in New England with so few things leaving behind family and friends. The remnant was only a piece about 30 inches by 20 inches and threadbare. Most likely the coverlet was used as a blanket until it couldn't be used any more and was cut up to cover a window in the log house. This is only my guess but history indicates everything was used up completely and then made into something useful still.
Needless to say I dug into researching this piece of weaving. I wanted to take on making Carriage/Buckboard blankets using this draft and commercial yarns as close to what I was seeing in the coverlet. I hit the books to discover what I could about the design and how to start. Helene Bress's The Coverlet Book was the best resource and helped me with my observations.
Observation Notes
Weave structure- Overshot with single tabby
4 block on a 4 shaft loom
24 ends per inch
22 picks per inch
Warp appears to be hand spun with “S” twist of 2 fibers (one thinker and whiter than the other). It is my suspicion that the warp is cotton with a thin linen thread in the ply. This kind of warp was used prior to 1830 (H. Bress The Coverlet Book).
Weft is dark blue wool for pattern and white cotton or linen for tabby tie down.
Draft was in the broad-narrow fashion (again this kind of draft was used prior to 1830).
Weaving angle appears to be 51 degrees
One repeat is 6.5 inches.
There is a seam indicating there were more than one panels. The seam is matched perfectly which indicates to me that this coverlet was woven by a professional weaver.
I cannot determine if there was an border woven into the coverlet
There is no date woven in the piece
There is a woven fringe sewn on the weft selvage for decoration. This appears to be cotton or linen
My research indicates this coverlet was from the New York area and likely woven between 1790 and 1830. The timeline would be right and WOW what a delight to work with this remnant. I started my drafting and weaving. Three times I threaded and unthreaded the loom until I got the pattern right. I wove 3 Carriage/Buckboard blankets, one for the museum's archives, one for the museum to raffle off and one for me.
In the picture you can see my coverlet on the left and the remnant from the museum archives on the right.
If you are in the Hood River, OR area before August, visit the museum and you can buy a raffle ticket!
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org/exhibitions
