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Historical
Notes on Textiles:
Our fabrics are
chosen for their quality and period correctness. Much of our clothing is
made with fabric whose patterns are copied from quilts and other textile
fragments held by such museums as the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American
Revolution) Museum in Washington, D.C., or the Oakland Quilt Museum in San
Francisco, CA. We have tried our best to match our fabric designs with
those which would have been available before 1799. We use cotton
primarily due to its inexpensiveness, availability, and ability to
duplicate the more costly fabrics.
Cotton as a fabric source has been
used for centuries. The Moors introduced cotton into Spain in the 10th
Century and by the 13th Century cotton manufacturing was flourishing in
Barcelona. During Columbus' travels he discovered cotton growing in the
West Indies. The Spanish soon were cultivating cotton in Florida and by
1607 cotton was being planted commercially in North America.
The
European countries were producing various qualities of cotton fabrics by
the mid 18th Century. In 1742 cotton factories were established in
England. By 1756 cotton velvets and quiltings were being produced creating
a demand for quilted petticoats on both sides of the Atlantic. Although
the manufacture of cotton fabric was being done in England, France, Spain
and Germany, the cotton itself had to be imported from India and the
Middle East. England was able at this time to jump ahead in its
manufacturing abilities because it had another source of cotton, i.e., the
American Colonies. Consequently, English cotton fabric far out shown the
other European countries especially France whose cotton fabric was of very
poor quality.
Wool has been used for making cloth for some 6000 years.
The Romans were responsible for introducing the method of raising sheep,
shearing them and weaving the wool into cloth in England. The immigrant
Flemish weavers in England further promoted the refinement of the weaving
process. In 1080 the first Weaver's Guild was established in
England.
The English Parliament in order to protect its thriving woolen
and cotton industries in the 17th Century passed numerous mercantile laws.
For instance, the Staples Act of 1663 stated that goods shipped from
Europe to the Colonies had to pass through English ports where duties were
collected. In 1700 prohibitions where passed against the importation of
cotton into the Colonies. Laws were further passed against the importation
of textile machinery into the Colonies. Although the Crown tried to
prevent the growth of the American textile industry it was basically
ineffective. The Colonists wove their cloth at home and in spite of the
English restrictions would take their wool for processing to local fulling
mills. There were numerous fulling mills in the Colonies.
The
origin of Silk is lost in antiquity yet by the 6th and 7th Centuries silk
cultivation was in full swing throughout the Byzantine Empire. During the
Renaissance period the knowledge of the cultivation of silk reached
throughout Europe. The nobility and their love of rich clothing were
imitated by the French middle class somewhere in and about the early 17th
Century. France influenced fashion throughout Europe; hence the wearing of
elaborate silk garments spread to all European countries. Silk weaving was
established in England in 1685 with the influx of the French Huguenots who
where known for their prowess in silk weaving and design.
Linen
is the oldest of textile fibers. It was the primary textile fiber of the
European Middle Ages. Linen and wool were the most common fabrics of the
18th Century. Linsey-woolsey was a common cloth woven with a linen warp
and a wool weft.
Color and design on cloth had been regulated for
centuries. One's class and station in life was distinguishable by the
color, quality and designs of the clothing one wore. There was no true
class structure in the Colonies so the colonists, depending upon the size
of their pocketbooks, could indulge in fine fabrics and bountiful colors.
Consequently, the use of color was pronounced in the colonies as the
colonists could now indulge their love of color without the restrictions
found in the parent European countries. The colonists' favored vibrant
bright colors; the reds, blues, greens, and golds. Benjamin Franklin was
instrumental in developing a calico [calico at this time was not the small
multi-floral print as we know today] print work factory near Philadelphia
in 1762.
The European textile industries exported wools, silks,
linens and cottons so the Colonists had a wide variety of cloth to choose
from. Although most of the common poorer people wove their cloth at home,
any amount of imported textiles could be obtained through pirating and
trading for those who wanted them. For example, the French in the colonies
were known to be traders rather than farmers and so they had money to
spend on fine garments and fabrics well beyond their stations
.
The Colonial middle class consisting of merchants and craftsmen
in its emergence emulated the upper classes of both Europe and America as
far as they could afford.
Fabrics became less expensive as the 18th
Century progressed. The industrial revolution brought progress in the
mechanization of both spinning and weaving. This meant that fabrics could
be produced at a great reduction of cost, which was in turn passed on to
the public. An interesting historical note: as cotton became more readily
available the disease and mortality rate decreased since cotton was easily
cleaned and maintained. The population became healthier as cleanliness and
hygiene got easier.
Historical Note - Reproduction Prints: When a
museum fabric pattern design is duplicated or reproduced for commercial
sale, in order to maintain the historic value of any museum fabric, the
pattern design is modified slightly. This is true of the reproduction
prints, which we offer.
1.)
America's Fabrics, Bendure, Zelma and Pfeiffe (The MacMillan
Company, 1947).
2.) Fabrics of Early America, Dennis (Second
printing 1991)
3.) Historic Colonial French Dress, Johnson,
Forbes and Delaney (Quabach Press, 1982)
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