Object Timeline

1946

  • Work on this object began.

2017

  • We acquired this object.

2018

2024

  • You found it!

Color Blanket

This is a Color blanket. It was manufactured by American Woolen Company. It is dated 1946 and we acquired it in 2017. Its medium is wool and its technique is plain weave and herringbone twill. It is a part of the Textiles department.

In woven textiles, color is the result of color-and-weave effects -- the interaction of different colored yarns used in the warp and weft in a particular weave structure. In order to analyze these interactions, manufacturers create color blankets. In this example, a variety of gray and pastel shades woven in plain and herringbone twill weaves. Typically a blanket like this one would be cut up, with the selected samples returned to the mill to be put into production. In this case, the intact blanket remains as a demonstration of the color selection process.

This object was donated by American Textile History Museum. It is credited American Textile History Museum Collection.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 469.9 × 147.3 cm (15 ft. 5 in. × 58 in.)

Cite this object as

Color Blanket; Manufactured by American Woolen Company; wool; H x W: 469.9 × 147.3 cm (15 ft. 5 in. × 58 in.); American Textile History Museum Collection; 2017-58-5

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1158862585/ |title=Color Blanket |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>