End of Summer Wrap up

As we wrap up summer and welcome the fall colors and cooler temperatures I wanted to send a recap of happenings here at Reproduction Fabrics. I hope that your summer was amazing! Please follow and share our Instagram and Facebook pages. We share the very latest happenings on our socials. We can use your help, if you find our content interesting and think there is someone in your life that would be interested please send them this newsletter or share our social media pages. We greatly appreciate the support!

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We are highlighting our new August fabrics and some Civil War reproductions in this newsletter but I wanted to make sure you know we have new fabrics coming all the time from all time periods. Visit our What’s New page to see all the new fabrics added in the last couple weeks. 

Civil War Period - Textile History

Historians often think of the Civil War Era as the years from 1850 to 1880. The American Abolition Movement began in the early 1830s. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", serialized in a Washington newspaper, 1851-52, brought many of the issues to a wider audience. The American Civil War began in April 1861 and was concluded by April 1865. Reconstuction efforts had ended by 1880.

The dramatic growth of the British textile industry in the early 19th century fueled the demand for cotton which soon became the leading US export commodity. Annual domestic cloth production in the decade from 1846 to 1856 grew from 13.5 million to 97 million yards. American merchants imported an additional $17 million dollars worth of printed and dyed cotton in 1854. The selection must have been almost overwhelming!

America’s’ industrial war complex’ of the mid 19^th Century was primitive and unprepared for the rapid call up of fighting men by President Lincoln. In especially short supply were articles of clothing and bedding. A call for quilts or comforts was issued by the United States Sanitary Commission in 1861. The size requested was “8 feet long, 4 feet wide”.  It is estimated that approximately 250,000 quilts were donated to the Commission.

Fabrics of the Civil War Era. Dye colors: Indigo blue, shades of red plus dull lavenders and many browns. Print styles: Foulard style prints in geomentrics and florals plus plaids, plaids and more plaids

Cottonopia Civil War Era Textile History School

For people interested in learning more about this interesting textile period I have a program called the “Cottonopia Civil War Textile History”. The package includes 6 monthly shipments of textile essays about the Civil War Era by Margo Krager illustrated with sample Civil War reproduction fabrics (5 FQs in each monthly shipment).

Authentic Civil War Era: Cotton Reproductions for Quilts and Garments

RECAP: New August Lines:

Bucklebury Chintz by Michelle Yeo brings together many historic and timeless motifs in beautiful raspberry pinks, olive greens and ocean blues. Reproduction designs from the mid-19th century.

Temecula Quilt Company Liberty legacy. I have been seeing renewed interest in reproduction fabrics from the 1900-1930 and I’m really excited about this new line of fabrics from the Temecula Quilt Company called Liberty Legacy. We just loaded the 20 new fabrics from this line on our website and also have a FQ bundle available for all 20 fabrics.

Haberdashery by Marcus Fabrics. Early Colonial bedrooms often featured expensive imported Toile fabrics augmented with 'Domestics' (woven checks). Those fabrics were readily available in America at the time. This Haberdashery line has yarn dyed checks and stripes reminiscent of the 1775-1825 time period.

Whistler Studio Circa: Sharp Cheddar - Wonderful Oranges and blues perfect for those fall projects. Available individually by yard or FQ Bundle. 18 lovely prints in this 1865-1900 Late 19th Century line. Post Civil War fabrics had a variety of designs that included paisleys, stripes, and florals. Predominant colors were madders, browns, greens and pinks.

PREVIEW: New Fall Lines:

Petra Prins Dutch Heritage from Anbo Textiles in London. These are live on the website and I expect delivery this fall in the Sep/Oct timeframe. Place in your ‘wishlist’ and I’ll notify you when they are in stock. Reproduction Fabrics will be just one of a couple places in North America this amazing line will available.

#ScottSentMe2024 Challenge

Finally - We LOVE getting vistors to our store in Northfield, MN. We are partnering with Scott Fortunoff, VP of Henry Glass Fabrics in the #ScottSentMe2024 challenge! We are offering an incentive from Sep 1 to Nov 30 for all new visitors to our store. Just say “Scott Sent Me" and get 10% off a purchase of $25 or more. Check out all the participating stores. Hope to see you in the shop soon! Some great prizes are available for the top visitors. Check out the website for all the details and prize.

Don’t forget to have sew much fun! And lastly, please spread the word about the details of the contest to all of your quilty friends.

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