Antique Coverlet

[lupaglupa]

@Yankee Brooke began a thread recently about blankets that would be accurate for a Confederate reenactor. The resulting posts inspired me to pull out this old coverlet which I inherited from my mother.

The coverlet was woven around 1900 by my grandfather's aunt, a "maiden lady" name Melissa Marlin. Melissa, or Lissie as she was called within the family, was born in 1869 in rural Mississippi. Her father had been a reluctant rebel, joining a local partisan ranger group of cavalry soldiers late in the War. Officially he was the artillery sergeant and his unit did see action, including a small battle against Union forces during Grierson's raid, but his reply to the question of what he did in the War was always "not much."

The story of the coverlet always includes the information that Melissa did all the work herself - combing and carding the wool, spinning and dying the yarn, and weaving and sewing the three panels. It is her one and only coverlet and her lack of experience shows. The colors don't all match and the panels aren't perfect together. The story also always includes the information that Melissa didn't marry - as a justification for her solitary project or an explanation for how she found the time to do it all I don't know.

The coverlet is an overshot weave. Evidently the loom was unusually narrow - most coverlets have two panels not three. Each panel is about 28 inches wide, discounting the seams. The pattern is a simple, geometric one for which I have not found an official name. It may be that Melissa made it up. It's not fancy in any way but at 7 foot by almost 8 foot, it would provide excellent cover. It's in remarkably good shape, with just a few spots of wear and one small hole.

Did Melissa intend this for her hope chest? If she ever had callers I've not heard of them. She lived with her mother until her death and then with her younger brother, my great-grandfather. My grandfather had married and moved out when she died in 1935. The coverlet she spent so many hours on has passed down to me, keeping her memory alive in the family.

 

[Fairfield]

It is a striking piece and you are fortunate to have it. Your G+ Aunt may have created it simply for use. My family's house had a floor loom that was used for generations (right up to my mother) to create blankets, coverlets and even wall hangings (this was Norway where drafts were a major issue in winter). What we recognize as rather splendid, she may have seen as simply utilitarian. Or she may have created so lovely a piece to show her skill--a sort of sampler, if you will.

 

[PrivateBrooke]

You know, that looks pretty similar to the one I ordered...It was probably a slight variation on a relatively common style/pattern of the day. https://www.bnbtart.com/coverletsandblankets/AlamanceCoverlet.html

The main difference that pops out is some of the colors are switched around, though blue, red, and white are still the colors used in both. Wild huh?

 

[Mrs. V]

That is really a lovely piece. I only know one weaver and she is a student and friend of my son. (They met at the Ohio Regimental Ball). I bet she might be able to tell you a pattern, if one exists.

 

[lupaglupa]

That is really a lovely piece. I only know one weaver and she is a student and friend of my son. (They met at the Ohio Regimental Ball). I bet she might be able to tell you a pattern, if one exists.

I would love to know the pattern name!

 

[Fairfield]

I would love to know the pattern name!

Several years ago there was a German lady at a local fair who was selling quilts and coverlets that she had woven in what looked to be that design. She said that it wasn't German but a copy of an American Colonial pattern. Her weaving was lovely and I've often wished that I had bought a piece. It must have been a standard or widely known pattern because I can't remember her saying anything about the south. She wasn't local but had come from the Maine coast.

 

[Fairfield]

I found an article on the lady on a now defunct newspaper. She came from Rockland (a coastal community) and her inspiration may have been https://www.historic-american.com/WovenCoverlets.html (scroll down to the 4th picture).

 

[Carol]

The pattern resembles Tennessee Trouble. I've included a link for the source and photo below:

| National Museum of American History

americanhistory.si.edu

 

[lupaglupa]

I think all of the patterns are variations on a theme - some more elaborate than others. There's only so much you can do with a home loom. The coverlets woven on commercial looms got very elaborate.