Chenille Bedspreads 

Chenille bedspreads have been around since the 1930’s and have moved from the streets of Dalton, Georgia to all over the world. Years ago people traveling US Highway 41 would stop and purchase the bedspreads believing them to be authentic American folk crafts because of their unique patterns. One specific design known as the Peacock out sold several other designs and was extremely popular. Through time a certain section of Highway 41 became known as Peacock Alley.

During the Great Depression, these bedspreads became the townspeople’s only source of cash. This income would soon provide families, food and housing in a time of great need. This business even made some people very wealthy and it was reported that by the late 1930’s, Dalton’s B. J. Bandy was the first man to make $1 million. Others soon followed and made a living selling Chenille bedspreads. 

As farm work turn into factory work, companies such as Cabin Crafts expanded their business and manufactured Chenille bedspreads nationwide. Sewing machines were introduced and made things much easier for massive production. Machines centralized the organization and provided many jobs for men and women. Workers were encouraged to work several hours, so they can provide for their families. These factories controlled the work process and developed a new task for inserting raised yarn tuffs, which provided more jobs to the people. 

The tufting industry has boomed in Dalton, Georgia and increased productivity tremendously. The remarkable success of tufted bedspreads led companies to experiment with other products, such as robes, tank sets (fuzzy covers for toilets), and small rugs. The experimentation with small rugs eventually led some of these companies to begin using the machine tufting process to cover an entire piece of room-sized (nine feet by twelve feet or so) backing material with raised yarn tufts to produce carpets. In the 1950s carpets surpassed bedspreads and other tufted products and became a staple of American consumption. Dalton remains the tufted bedspread capital of the world, but it also became the carpet capital of the world by the early 1960s.

Exhibits related to the old bedspread industry can be found at Crown Gardens and Archives in Dalton. Crown houses a number of bedspreads from the period, as well as other exhibits related to the history of the Dalton area.

The history of textiles of this type begins about 1895 when Catherine Evans stumbled across a Civil War-era tufted bedspread and was inspired to try to make one of her own. She stretched cotton fabric on a quilting frame, drew in the design and then hand- stitched it with thick yarn to create the desired tufted look. Next, she boiled the fabric to shrink it so that the yarn would be tightly bound to the fabric backing.

In the early years of the 20th century, the making of these bedspreads became something of a cottage industry when Evans began employing her Dalton, Ga., neighbors to help her in the manufacturing process. The local cotton mills produced sheeting for use in this process, and the popularity of these items spread up and down the East Coast.

 Site Resources:

• Decor for Bedrooms - Find Your Perfect Design
• Covering Up With Chenille
• Chenille yarn
• Chenille Manufacturing

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