9 Chariot Wheels: Red and White Coverlet

Another ebay purchase for what seemed like a very reasonable price. Another chance to study the weaving and construction up close in preparation for making one of my own someday soon. 

This is a red and white cotton coverlet. No wool in this one.  The yarn / thread has a nice sheen to it -- like Perle Cotton.

 

Here's the back side with the red and white reversed from the front. 

Interesting how the interplay of threads makes it appear to be pink at a distance.  

 

Here's a detail shot so you can see the interplay of the red and white threads.

 Detail shot of the "9 Chariot Wheels" in red. 

This layout resembles a patchwork quilt, which is partly why I became interested in these coverlets.

9 Chariot Wheels in white on the reverse side.

 

 

It's in remarkably good shape, with just a few spots where the overshot threads broke.

The seller listed it as vintage, not antique. I figured the price I payed easily covered to cost of the cotton threads / yarns if I were to make one myself.

   

It looks like someone may have washed it along the way -- perhaps as part of the wet-finishing process, an important step in weaving to help the fibers meld together and become a team, so to speak.

The red dye in the yarn did not bleed and run over the white. That's good!

But the fringe does not look happy. It tangled and bunched up.  In the antique coverlets, sometimes they have a fringe added after the weaving was done.  It weights down the edges you want to hang over the side of the bed.  These are often heavier than the thread used in weaving the center cloth.  It's more like upholstery or home dec. fringe.  Weavers made it, but the fringe was heavier and made to withstand use.

The photo above also shows the direction of the weave ...  The red is considered the pattern thread and would have been used as weft.  The white was used as warp and the "tabby" plain weave part of the weft that gave stability to the over all weave structure.  That's what allows the overshot pattern threads to play and do pretty things.  The red and white threads are hanging down in this photo -- That would have been the horizontal plane on the loom, while the white threads hanging of the right side would have been the "vertical" warp threads.

The maker sewed a tiny zigzag along the edges of her weaving -- standard practice to keep it from unravelling.  I am planning to cut off the tangled fringe and do a hand-sewn rolled hem.  I think that will "save" this piece.  Right or wrong, that's my plan!

this photo also shows how the red pattern thread is roughly twice as big as the white warp and tabby threads.  Also standard practice for overshot weaving.  The tabby acts as structure to allow the pattern threads to shine.  That's part of what makes overshot so much fun to weave, and so rewarding when it's finished.

It will make a nice light summer coverlet.

A few more pics before I close this post:

 

 I have 1 more coverlet to share  in coming days. 

Thanks for bearing with me on this tangent.  I am learning a lot by being able to see these coverlets close up.  Still studying and planning what I will make myself.   ;-)