Homespun & Linsey-Woolsey Quilts
Fabrics in pioneer days of our country and during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars generally consisted of those spun at home. Linsey, or linsey-woolsey, as this fabric sometimes is called, was a combination of linen and wool fabric, woven together.
However, by Civil War times, cotton often replaced the linen. This was a coarse cloth generally made at home although eventually some was made in factories, too.
This fabric was woven from dyed yarn so consisted of two colors. Frequent colors were shades of red and brown or blue and white.
Fashionable ladies often looked down upon linsey-woolsey homespun fabrics. However, during the Civil War, it became a sign of patriotism to wear clothing from these yarns. Thus, worn out linsey-woolsey dresses were incorporated into the quilts and considered patriotic, too.
©2006
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