AMANA CALICO AND AMANA QUILTS

From the 1850s to 1917, members of the Community of True Inspiration produced and sold patterned indigo-dyed cotton cloth to support their closed communal society in Iowa, known as the Amana Colonies. Past published accounts of what is now called 'Amana calico' lack an understanding of indigo-dyeing processes, use various labels for the patterned textiles, and skim over the evolution of production. This paper adds new information about the history of the Amana cotton fabrics by reviewing indigo-dyeing methods, searching online archives of newspapers for articles and advertising, and examining fabric samples, artifacts, and documents at the Amana Heritage Society Museum. The greatest production and sales of Amana cotton fabrics occurred in the 1890s at a time when many quitters across the country pieced blue and white quilts. An investigation of textiles used for bedding found a few remnants of traditional blue wholecloth German-style featherbeds and comforters. However, even before the calico factory closed in 1917, Amana women began to buy solid-color pastel sateen fabrics for their covers, stitch the layers together in large original patterns, and apply the term 'quilt.' The larger history of American textiles should include the Amana fabrics and the distinctive twentieth-century quilts from the Colonies.
INTRODUCING THE AMANA COLONIES THE AMANA COLONIES CONSIST OF SEVEN VILLAGES IN THE IOWA RIVER valley seven miles north of exit 225 on Interstate 80 between Iowa City and Cedar [...]