Cranberry & Cream Summer Cotton Coverlet

 

I won this auction last week!  The price was just too good on this one to let it slip by.  Plus I am intrigued by the weave pattern.  It looks more like Huck Lace than overshot.  The seller did not mention the fiber content.  I suspect it's all cotton -- a summer coverlet. 

 

I washed it -- Just because I felt it deserved to be clean after all this time.  The water was gray enough to justify a good wash, although the stains didn't come out.  I air-dried it over the bannister, but it was "rough" when it was dry, so I put it in the clothes drier for a bit to soften it up.  It crinkled up nicely -- as you would expect for this type of 3-dimensional weave.  I know some would say I ruined it, but I love this new crinkle!

 

It has a "red" side (above) and a cream side (below): 

  

For some reason, this crinkle weave pattern makes me think of spiders -- but not is a creepy-crawly way. 

 

Someone gave the edges a scalloped treatment -- as in they took a stencil and cut the scallops (as you might do on a quilt), and then zigzagged the finished edges.  I don't think that happened in the 1800s since the first consumer zigzag machines were not available until the 1930s.   It's an interesting edge treatment, and one I have not seen in any other coverlets.

There's no center seam, so it was not pieced in panels as a coverlet woven at home would have been.  Maybe it was industrial/commercially made?  I found a remnant of what might be a tag that had been cut off -- indicating factory made.  And maybe they did have access to the earlier zigzag machines for the edge finish?  Whatever this coverlet's individual history, I am happy with my purchase. 

 

For the record, here are the photos from the eBay listing: 

From the Ebay Listing:

 $24 plus $10 shipping

Antique Mid 1800s COVERLET Woven Geometric Cranberry & Cream Reversible 82”x98”

 Item specifics:

Condition
Pre-owned: An item that has been used or worn previously. See the seller’s listing for full details ... 

Number of Items in Set: 1
Pattern: Geometric
Shape: Rectangular
Size: 82x98
Color: Cranberry And Cream

Material: Woven
Item Length: 93 in
Type: Coverlet
Style: Antique
Features: Reversible
Time Period Manufactured: 1850-1899
Production Technique: Hand Woven loom
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Item Width: 73 In
Handmade: Yes

Category:
Linens & Textiles
Bed & Bath Linens
Quilts, Bedspreads & Coverlets

Item description from the seller:

This Antique Mid 1800s Coverlet is a rare and unique piece of bedding, hand-woven on a loom in a geometric pattern of cranberry and cream colors.

This coverlet was packed in a trunk for many years at My Grandmothers cottage.

Measuring 82”x98”, this reversible coverlet showcases the craftsmanship and design of the mid-1800s, making it a valuable addition to any collection of antique linens. Its handmade quality and timeless style make it a standout piece for those seeking vintage charm and character in their home decor. There are some stains as noted in the photos. The Coverlet is as found and has not been washed or stains treated.  

A BIG Finish: The Red Wandering Vine Coverlet is Complete

 

The Wandering Vine Coverlet

I pulled it off the big loom on Saturday morning last weekend.  12 yards of fabric --  2 panels for the coverlet.  Only 2 panels because this is a wider loom.  I finished up the extra warp with all cotton towels in the same wandering vine pattern.

I cut the coverlet panels apart and did the work of piecing them together.  This should be done before wet-finishing or any other tinkering.

I explain in more detail (with pictures) how I pieced the panels together in this post for the last coverlet:

Progress on the Mountain Cucumber Coverlet Project

 

I had some concerns that the pattern in the panels might not match up -- the tape measure seemed to say that the 2nd panel was longer than the first.  In actuality, they were pretty close at 104 inches. 

I think the measuring tapes much have shifted while on the loom.  No surprise there.  Things are under tension while I'm actually weaving, but on the off days the rest of the week, I loosen things up.  There's a lot of back and forth on that tape.  When I took them off and measured them side by side, they matched up well enough.  Whew!

This photo shows the zigzag used to pieces the panels together.

In any case, I was able to match up the pattern easily enough.  I overlapped the selvedge edge by 1/2 an inch.  Finned it in place with safety pins (less pokey that way), and took it to the sewing machine to piece the panels together.  I used a narrow zigzag 1.5 stitch length and 2.5  stitch width.  The zigzag covers that selvedge edge and contains it.  Then on the flip side, I sort of stay-stitched it with a straight stitch, and then went back over it with the same 1.5 / 2.5 zigzag.  You can hardly tell there's a seam in the middle unless you are looking for it.  The wandering vine pattern matched up pretty well.  ;-)

 

I did the hems a little different this time.  I trimmed the cream-colored cotton plain weave hems to 3/4 inch.  Then I folded them over 3x so that none of that white plain weave shows--like it would for towel hems.   Then I stitched it down with a blind hem stitch.  I think it looks more professional that way -- more of the classic look where the pattern is all you see.

 

Pulling the nylon fishing line used to fortify the floating selvedge edges. It's hard to see, wound around the medical pliers.

I almost forgot to pull the nylon fishing line that I use for the floating selvedges.  It works like 2 charms to keep those edges straight.  But I do need to pull it out of the final cloth.  I already had the panels sewn together when I remembered to do that.  It wasn't hard to pull it from the outside edges, but a little trickier to get it out of the  seams that joined the panels.  Trickier, but still manageable -- I used a handy medical forceps to grab onto that fishing line, and then twist until I had all of it extracted.

The thing about nylon fishing line is that you should cut it up into little pieces before you throw it in the garbage.   This prevents animals from getting tangled in it when it goes "wild."

Hemmed and pieced BEFORE wet finishing.  If you look closely, you can barely see the seam moving horizontally about halfway through the piece -- but only if you know what to look for.  It came together better than I thought it would.  It looks good -- if a little flat.  But wait for the magic of wet-finishing!

After wet-finishing.  The reds seem to bloom so nicely!   It really comes alive after the wet-finishing.  The wool yarn gets a 3D texture--I'm not sure how to describe it.   Almost like that old flocked wallpaper.  

 

And no running reds either -- That's always a concern with red dyes.

It has a really nice hand, too.  I love this combination of 10/2 cotton with a wool yarn about 2x that weight.

The sectional warp worked marvelously and mitigated most of the tension issues I've encountered in the past.  Hurray!  What a good investment that was!

Materials:

10/2 American Maid natural cotton warp and tabby

Red Wool yarn for the pattern weft -- I don't really know the specifics more than that. 

Measurements:

Off the loom and BEFORE wet finishing:
Each panel was 35-1/2 in x 104 in.

Together, the full coverlet was 69-1/2 in x 97 in. (after hems top and bottom)

AFTER wet finishing, the full finished coverlet measures 65-1/2 x 94 in.

I am very pleased with how this turned out.  Not quite as fun to work on as the Mountain Cucumber pattern, but I DO love weaving!  I DO love my looms!

 I will see if I can put it in the Fly In Quilt Show this summer -- in the bed turning again.  I will take it to Quilt Guild this week for show-and-share.

Now the loom is naked -- such a sad state.  I'll need to run a warp for the next project soon! 

 

Here are the other blog posts about this project:

Antique Wandering Vine Coverlet in Red and Cream - March 3, 2024

Plans for the Wandering Vine Coverlet - March 31, 2024

Fiberworks Weaving Software and Davison's Wandering Vine - May 5, 2024

Now We're Getting Somewhere ... Progress on the Endless Warp - May 19, 2024

Weaving Again! on the Wandering Vine Coverlet - May 29, 2024

Wandering Vine Test Pieces - Wow! - June 15, 2024

Progress on the Wandering Vine Coverlet - July 14, 2024

Wandering Vine Coverlet: Panel 1 of 2 Complete and Lessons Learned So Far - August 25, 2024

Progress on the Wandering Vine Coverlet - Nov. 17, 2024

My Happy Place: Weaving at the Loom - December 15, 2024

Loom Music on a Cold Winter's Day: Weaving the last of the Wandering Vine Warp - Feb 8, 2025

Pale Blue Whig Rose Coverlet

Pale Blue (maybe even light gray) Whig Rose Coverlet - wool and cotton

I saw this coverlet on eBay a few weeks ago.  It's very similar to the other whig rose reproduction coverlets I have from the 20th century.  (They are softer than the older ones.)   I thought they were probably all made by The Goodwin Guild,  but maybe not?  Not all of them have tags to prove their provenance.

What makes this listing so interesting is the paperwork and the history of the coverlet and the weavers who made it (although not included in the purchase):

 There is a Wisconsin connection, too!

Viola did the fringe treatment on the edges.  I don't think I have another one quite like this.  

Interesting to have it up close to study!

  

Art and Viola's Weave Shop in California.  I think this might be more about them?

The fact that this coverlet was made within my own lifetime (I was a teenager in the 80s, and in no position to weave myself back then, although I already had a huge fascination for Gramma Medo and her spinning wheel), I still had an appreciation for those who did weave.  It makes me feel closer to them somehow, in that long line of weavers before me.  Sigh!  And now I am making cloth too!  ;-)

It makes me wonder if some of my other reproduction coverlets (without tags) were made by this couple instead of The Goodwin Guild?    Star of Bethlehem is featured in the paperwork above-- I purchased the "Pumpkin Spice" coverlet last fall in the Star of Bethlehem pattern.  Maybe it was made by this couple?

Meanwhile, I am contemplating my next weaving project.  I know it will be difficult to make the circles of a whig rose even and true circles.  So perhaps it's better if I continue to collect whig roses, instead of attempting to make them as misshapen coverlets?  Or try a smaller scale like a scarf or table runner?  Or go for a more square design?

I was the only one to put in a bid on this one, and I won!

Progress on the Wandering Vine Coverlet

I wove the last pattern repeat on Panel #2 of the red wandering vine coverlet.  Sigh!  There not much to show just yet, since the woven cloth is still currently wound on the cloth beam.  

According to my measurements, I think the 2nd panel may be slightly longer than Panel #1.  I guess 90 minutes on a Sunday wasn't enough to keep a steady beat -- Apparently, I need the full 3 hours as I did on the Mountain Cucumber coverlet in 4 panels.  I am hoping the panels will match up well enough to  make the pattern work.  We shall see ...

I still have several yards of warp on the loom, so I thought I would finish it off in the same wandering vine pattern for towels.  Here I've started on a sky blue Brassard cotton.  In order for the pattern weft to be thick enough for overshot, I am doubling the threads.   

I think it will be 5 pattern repeats of the sequence per towel.  The phot above shows 1 pattern repeat -- along with the treadle beads atop the beater bar.

It's the perfect time to use my Jim Hockett 2-spool bubinga shuttle.

There is a mistake in the bit woven above.  Can you see it?  I may have to pull that thread -- Then again, it's just towels!

I purchased some other colors:  cherry red - emerald green - navy blue - sky blue - and a lighter green.  It's very difficult to know the true colors when you see them online, so it was kind of a crap shoot until you can see them in real life.

Time to study and get ready for a new project!

Wandering Vine Test Pieces - Wow!

Test piece of Wandering Vine Coverlet panel.  

Left side cut off the loom; Right side wet finished.

When a seasoned weaver recommends that you do some test pieces, listen carefully.  It's often hard to tell what something will look like after wet-finishing when you see it on the loom.

In this case, I was more than a little underwhelmed with how the red wandering vine was weaving up.  Too much white.  I expected there to be more red ...  

"Patience, Grasshopper ..."

Today, I cut off that test piece, hemmed the edges, cut a chunk off and threw it in the washer.

What a pleasant surprise to see how it bloomed so beautifully!  More red -- much more like what I had in mind.  I am on track to really get started with making fabric!  The red wool yarn did not run, but there's a slight halo effect from the fibers -- which is ok.  I wanted more red anyway. 

As expected, there was some shrinkage after wet finishing.  It lost about 3/4 inches on the vertical and about 1 inch on the horizontal.  Of course those numbers will be multiplied on a larger piece of fabric.  The lost length and width is taken up in the 3rd dimension with loft.  The wet-finished piece is definitely thicker. 

Here's a comparison of the selvedge edges.  The fresh-off-the loom section is on the bottom, with the wet-finished sample on top.

The blue wool (at the bottom of both samples) was used to separate the warp, and is not part of the final fabric.   It does shrink with wet-finishing, so you see some puckers there.

The next yarn is a white acrylic (junk) yarn again used to separate the warp and test for threading errors.  This plastic yarn doesn't shrink or change after wet-finishing, so you can really see the difference in the wool and cotton shrinking next to it.  This will be cut off of the final panels.

The next yarn (next to the red)  is the 10/2 cotton tabby, which is indeed part of the final fabric.  It does shrink and bloom a little, but is in nice proportion to the wool.  And since it is the structure and foundation of the overall piece, it's a uniform shrink that works well overall. 

 

I decided to use my 2nd Hockett shuttle for the tabby (natural thread).  Otherwise, I was running through too many of the smaller bobbins.  This heavier bubunga shuttle makes me feel more productive on this coverlet, and works beautifully with the birds eye maple in the same shape.

 

I'll leave you with some lovely sunlight and shadows through the lace curtains this am.

Heavy Black and Red Wool Coverlet

Yes -- another coverlet!    A little eye candy while I'm busy planning the next coverlet (Nothing to show as yet ...)

 

This one seems to have a satin binding.   It's very heavy and sturdy for a twin bed size.  A little stiffer than I like, but the density makes it warmer, too.

 

 

For the record, here is the documentation from the eBay listing:

 

 

Antique Wool Jacquard Coverlet 1800's Hand Woven 89” x 49” Red & Black VGC!

$68.00Unit price $68.00

Item number:126166929030

Sold by: tr3atsGalore (17608)

Item specifics

Condition   Pre-owned: An item that has been used or worn previously. 

Pattern: Woven

Character: Antique Folk Art

Size: 9” X 49”

Color: Red & Black

Fill Material: Heavy Wool/ No Fill

Material: Wool

Set Includes: Coverlet

Item Length 89”

Brand Jacquard

Type: Coverlet

Care Instructions

A True Antique

Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original

Style

Antique

Time Period Manufactured: 1850-1899

Production Technique: Hand Woven & Trimmed

Item Width 49”