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A coverlet is nothing but a lightweight bedspread which is usually woven or quilted. Coverlets were also called as Coverlids. These Woven coverlets are a covering for any type of bed that is usually made of cotton or linen with woven woolen designs in various attractive colors. Woven Coverlets were earlier woven in the United States during the 19th Century. But now almost every country has its own yarn from which coverlets are woven. During the 18th century, coverlets were woven with a particular design called the twill, with a mixture of weft and warp in colors like madder red, indigo blue, Williamsburg blue, and walnut brown.
Handcrafted woven coverlets
In the early 19th century, people started hand weaving their own coverlets, leaving away the twill method. And they used two different ways to weave the coverlets. One is the overshot weave coverlets which were made with plain woven warp made of uncolored cotton and weft. These coverlets were woven in geometric patterns and were called ‘floating thread weaves’ as the threads floated one over the other and looked amazingly wonderful.
The second was the double-cloth coverlets which were usually double-woven and there were two warps and wefts that were interconnected and were usually woven by professional weavers.
They also used summer-winter coverlets that were reversible, one side with cotton and the other side with wool, which can be used during both climates.
After the introduction of the jacquard looms in the middle of the 19th century, people started weaving coverlets with large floral patterns and complex designs in exclusive colors. Now-a-days woven coverlets are found in large numbers with ornate designs and intricate patchwork and embroidery. These woven coverlets have become piece of antiquity and people have started preserving them. Though there are a variety of coverlets like silk coverlets, linen coverlets, cotton coverlets, satin coverlets, bamboo coverlets, crochet coverlets, tapestry coverlets, matelasse coverlets, etc., woven coverlets have a special place in people’s hearts for their exclusive designs like bold colors and shapes, quirky images of kings and queens, parading horses, etc.
