Name/Title
Beige, Red and Navy Coverlet Knox CountyEntry/Object ID
2020.T.FIC.015Description
Woven coverlet of beige, red and navy. Woven in two pieces that were sewn together with an overcast stitch. The pieces matched for th first two sections, but one side was bigger so that the rest are off an the ends are not even at the bottom. Design is woven in 7 1/2" strips that are the reverse on the opposite side due to the weaving. Beige thread were used as warp (lengthwise threads held by the loom) and the navy are red were woven or the weft. Woven into the corners is Knox County Ohio 1851.
For a period of about thirty years, beginning in the 1840’s and lasting just beyond the Civil War, the creation of beautiful coverlets became a thriving business for hundreds of weavers throughout Ohio.
The coverlets were made on looms using the Jacquard method, incorporating a system of punched cards to control the warp threads that determined the patterns. Many different patterns were possible using this method with only the corner blocks being “custom-made,” often designed to include the name of the weaver, the date, the county, and sometimes the name of the customer or recipient. The most popular patterns included repeating geometric shapes, stylized flowers or paired birds. The red, blue, green or yellow sections were always made of wool thread, while the white or natural colors were cotton.
http://www.knoxhistory.org/index.php/exhibits/household-furnishings/192-quilts-and-coverlets
