A Late Classic Child’s Blanket with Grey Bands, Navajo, circa 1865,
also known as the Dewart Child’s Blanket. Ex- Anne Dewart, Boston.

A Late Classic Child’s Blanket with Grey Bands, Navajo, circa 1865, also known as the Dewart Child’s Blanket. Ex- Anne Dewart, Boston.

The child’s blanket measures 51 inches long by 31 inches wide, as woven.

The blue and red waves with small crosses, four sets of blue and white “hats,” small central diamonds made out of blue and white stepped blocks, and truncated anchor points are all design elements associated with Navajo serape-style blankets woven between 1865 and 1870. It’s almost as if the weaver tried to include as many different design elements as she could fit into one blanket. Its concentration of multiple horizontal designs gives the child’s blanket a moving quality. As soon as your eye comes to terms with one design, its attention shifts to the next one.

The red yarns are raveled bayeta piece-dyed with cochineal. The pink yarns are raveled bayeta re-carded and re-spun with white Churro fleece to create pink yarn. This type of pink handspun yarn is sometimes called either “re-carded bayeta” or “re-card.” The midnight blue yarns are handspun Churro fleece dyed in the yarn with indigo. The grey yarns are un-dyed brown Churro fleece and un-dyed white Churro fleece carded and spun together to create grey handspun yarn. The white yarns are un-dyed handspun Churro fleece.