These beautiful coverlets are the product of a weaving innovation--the Jacquard loom, a French invention that came to America during the 1820s. This mechanical loom allowed weavers to make “figured and fancy” coverlets with curved, naturalistic designs rather than geometric patterns.

The patterns for these designs were stored on sets of punched cards attached to the looms--much like the cards used by early computers. The cards "told" the loom which warp threads to raise for each pass of the weft threads across the loom. It was the Jacquard loom's ability to control each warp thread independently that allowed the weavers to create such a rich array of coverlet designs. The punched cards could be used over and over again to produce the same design. Local weavers didn’t necessarily have to punch their own cards; they could also be purchased ready-made.

To see a jacquard loom in action, visit the Weaving Shop in Greenfield Village.

Jacquard loom in the Weaving Shop in Greenfield Village Photos by Richard Jeryan