Needlework Pillowcase
date: label: Date
content: Between 1950-1959
notes: label: Caption
content: In the mid-twentieth century, handmade goods began taking on new significance amidst an increasingly industrialized and consumer-oriented society. This cotton pillowcase features two kinds of needlework along its scalloped edge. Embroidery and eyelet create a daisy-like pattern that follows the scallop’s contours, while crocheted lace forms a filigree border. The texture, rather than color, of the embroidery and lace contrasts with the pillowcase, as all are in shades of cream. In addition to offering homemade touches to interior décor, linens also served as emblems of respectability and upstanding citizenship. Pillowcases like this one crafted by Therese Withington Ford are among the textiles (2008.0002.0006a-i) made by the college-educated African American women of the Ford family to adorn their Jersey City, NJ home.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anacostia Community Museum Collection
creditLine: label: Cite As
content: Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Theresa Allen
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Anacostia Community Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2008.0002.0006h
objectType: label: Type
content: pillowcase
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: cotton, embroidered
label: Dimensions
content: 33 5/16 × 22 7/16 in. (84.6 × 57 cm)