One of the projects I have set for myself is to weave my family tree. i.e., samples of the traditional textiles from the cultures of my ancestors. I already have ideas for some of them (list here), but I'm
starting with the most recent group, which is American. Trying to figure out
distinctly American contributions to the history of weaving has been a bit of a
challenge, because search information tends to be trendy rather
than historically encompassing.
The time frame for my American heritage is broad, early 1600s to modern day. With that in mind, I've managed to piece together a somewhat approximate timeline of the relevant highlights.
Timeline of American weaving
- mid-1600s to 1725 - overshot coverlets and plain weave for garments
- 1725 to 1825 - coverlets in double weave and summer-and-winter
- white cotton and dark blue wool
- 1785 - power loom patented
- 1800s to early-1900s - shift to primarily industrialized weaving
- 1916 - Mary Meigs Atwater founded the Shuttle-Craft Guild to preserve and promote American handweaving.
- 1950 - Marguerite Porter Davison published A Handweaver's Pattern Book, based on the drafts preserved by Weaver Rose and the women of southern Appalachia.
I feel like this information gives me something of a historical dividing line between early and modern American weaving, with the end of early American weaving being due to the industrial revolution and the invention of the power loom. Large textile mills were built and weaving became a commercial enterprise. The result was that, apparently, hand weaving became almost extinct, except for a few dedicated handweavers. The resurgence of American weaving as an honored art and craft is largely due to the efforts of Mary Meigs Atwater.
So, maybe I'm looking at two samples?
Early American Weaving Characteristics
- Early American weaving had it's roots in Europe, and according to Mary Meigs Atwater's The Shuttle-Craft Book of American Hand-Weaving included Dutch, Mennonite, Scotch, Irish, and English traditions.
- Uses:
- fabric for clothing
- coverlets
- Yarns:
- wool weft
- cotton warp and tabby
- linen warp and tabby
-
An interesting note from Handwoven Magazine: Pre-Revolution cotton production was forbidden in the British
colonies. This was meant to create a monopoly on British-made cotton yarns, but the result
was that American weavers began to replace cotton with linen (aka tow, from flax
plants).
- Fabrics
-
linsey-woolsey - linen (tow) warp and wool weft typically woven in plain
weave or twill for garments.
- Colors:
- natural fiber colors
- natural dyes. Especially popular were
- Structures
- 4-shaft overshot for coverlets
- plain weave
- twill
- barley corn weave (later called spot Bronson)
- M's and O's
- huck
- summer and winter
Modern American Weaving Characteristics
Trying to identify specific characteristic of modern American weaving is more challenging. At some point, the focus shifted from utilitarian to artistic expression. Not that people stopped weaving useful items, but modern American weaving began to focus on weaving as an art form. In watching episodes of
Textiles & Tea (hosted by the Handweavers Guild of America) I see an amazing amount of innovation and creativity. I have no idea if it's possible to weave a sample that represents all that.
Anyway, my plan is to do a first sample in an early American overshot pattern. I actually have an example of such a coverlet,
woven by my 4x-great grandmother. (Pictures at that link.)
I'll decide about a modern sample later.
