Southern Tufts: The Regional Origins and National Craze for Chenille Fashion by Ashley Callahan (review)

Ashley Callahan has produced a major contribution to our knowledge of the early roots of the tufted textile industry. Using oral history interviews, local and trade press accounts, and a trove of advertisements from newspapers and magazines, Callahan elaborates on the variety of products that once flowed from the tufted textile industry. In particular, she goes beyond the major product lines—bedspreads and rugs—to trace the rise, decline, and nostalgic revival of tufted apparel and accessories.

Callahan opens with two chapters establishing the early history of the tufting industry. Catherine Evans Whitener and other local women developed the handicraft of tufting, essentially recovering an older form of needlework that dated to the early nineteenth century. The rediscovery of candlewick bedspreads by women in north Georgia coincided with both the colonial revival and the Southern Appalachian folk craft revival. Department stores in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, and other major cities began hawking the wares of mostly female producers. The craft emerged in other areas of the South (South Carolina and Tennessee especially), but “[t]he majority of spreads . . . were made in Northwest Georgia” (p. 11). Callahan uses a number of newspaper ads to document the early marketing of these products as genuine Appalachian handicrafts. A typical ad boasted in 1925, “A new collection has arrived from the Georgia mountains, where generation after generation has perfected this quaint old craft” (p. 54).

In truth, a single generation had recovered the look of a colonial-era hand-icraft and had rapidly converted it into a cottage industry. By the early 1930s, a section of U.S. Highway 41 from Chattanooga through northwest Georgia was dubbed Bedspread Boulevard. While the burgeoning industry’s larger firms marketed goods through major department stores, smaller firms sold their products along roadsides for the growing number of tourists traveling by automobile. The roadside shops “drew individuals into production and sales, advertised the goods to travelers . . . and served as a test market for tufted products” (p. 31).

Callahan next moves to apparel products, her primary interest. Tufted dresses, coats, and capes emerged as big sellers in the 1930s. Though fashion press reviews of the trend were “mixed,” the novelty of the products apparently convinced a segment of the consuming public (p. 73).

The signature fashion item associated with the tufted textile industry was undoubtedly the chenille robe. The marketing of chenille robes, like other tufted apparel, focused on “practical attributes of affordability and ease of care,” rather than appeals to folk tradition (p. 104). Vibrant colors, a reputation for comfort, and creative designs also contributed to the appeal of chenille robes. The invention of larger machines capable of producing robe parts by the yard boosted the industry after World War II to new heights, and chenille robes peaked in popularity in the late 1940s. Concerns over flammability emerged as a product safety issue in the same period, just as the product seemed to peak in cultural terms. Callahan observes that shifting images in popular culture helped doom the chenille robe, including an unflattering portrayal in the 1953 film Come Back, Little Sheba. The book finishes with a chapter on the nostalgic revival of chenille products.

The University of Georgia Press and the author deserve praise for the lavish illustrations that adorn the book. These full-color images of the colorful products and black-and-white images detailing the work process make a crucial contribution to our understanding of this industry. The images also demonstrate the pivotal role of women as producers and consumers of chenille fashions. Callahan’s work adds detail to our knowledge of this important southern industry and contributes to our understanding of the production and consumption of fashion in the twentieth century.