Weaving Drafts:
Young Ladies' Perplexity

Young Ladies' Perplexity Drawdown

This watercolor drawdown and draft illustrate a weave pattern known as Young Lady's Perplexity (also seen written "Young Ladies Perplexity"). To record a pattern, a weaver creates a draft and/or a drawdown. A draft looks much like a strip of musical notation; a drawdown is a visual grid that illustrates a single weaving block. This drawdown was made by Frances Louisa Goodrich (1856-1944), who recorded weaving patterns she collected in and around Asheville, North Carolina. At the top of the drawdown, Goodrich notes its date, "circa 1811" and place of origin, "from Tennessee."


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