Collections by Name | Collections by Region

Clothing and Textile Collection

The Clothing and Textile Collections consist of thousands of items representative of a wide range of cultures around the world, with an emphasis of 19th and 20th century items from the Great Lakes region. The collections, ranging from household furnishings and decorations to clothing to art, are a wonderful resource for examining the technological, social, and cultural history of textile production and use. The collection has been widely used in research, exhibition and educational programs, especially by scholars and educators interested in art history, material culture studies, ethnic studies, American studies, women's studies, theater, and fashion design and history.

One of the largest collections consists of over 500 quilts and quilt-related materials. Other significant discrete collections include over 50 woven coverlets; 100 Ghanian kente cloths; 200 U.S. military uniforms (from the Civil War to the Vietnam War); historical and contemporary garments from various cultural groups in the United States, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East; a large collection of household textiles and hand work; Navajo rugs; Finnish-American rag rugs; feed sacks and feed sack clothing; Peruvian cuadros; and a collection of materials relating to the history of Michigan State University including 100 MSU Band uniforms dating to the early 1900s, uniforms worn by athletes, and fraternity and sorority regalia. Significant individual items include a set of 19th-century Egyptian ceremonial tent panels that are appliquéd and decorated with calligraphic inscriptions.

A collection of over 3,500 men's, women's and children's costumes and accessories reflects a range of Euro-American styles worn by Midwesterners in the 19th- and 20th-century. Included are an extensive collection of shoes and hats as well as accessories such as gloves, stockings, purses, parasols, hatpins, jewelry, handkerchiefs, fans, shawls, capes, muffs, aprons, sashes, belts, and collars.

The clothing collections include many items related to contemporary ethnic celebrations and traditions (i.e., wedding dresses, a birthday celebration court robe belonging to Emperor Dao Guang of the Ch’ing Dynasty, a quinceanera dress made by a Mexican-American woman from Detroit, regalia made by Odawa and Ojibwa artists for pow wow dancing, an embroidered/appliquéd collar made for a jacket used in a Hmong funeral, and t-shirts produced for black family reunions). A group of over fifty examples of house dresses (including ones in the style known as Mother Hubbards) and other farm-related work clothing used for everyday clothing in the Midwest is significant as this type of clothing, unlike garments worn for special occasions or by noted individuals, has rarely been saved.

Household furnishings and decorative arts also include blankets, bedding, fabric samples, doilies, samplers, lace curtains, trims, table linens, pillowcases, sheets, and sleigh robes.

In addition to the actual textiles, the museum collections also include looms, spinning wheels, sewing equipment and supplies, how-to manuals, patterns, and other textile-related ephemera; oral histories with textile artists; photographs and fieldwork related to textiles; and a reference library with hundreds of titles related to textiles.

While some materials have been acquired as a result of research projects, the vast majority of textiles have been acquired by donation. Some of the fabrics in the collections, particularly those used in the quilts, have been reproduced by RJR Fashion Textiles; the resulting royalties are used to care for the collections.

Donors and Fieldworkers

Virginia Anderson, Deborah Smith Barney, Val Berryman, Martha Brownscombe, Marclay Crampton, Dr. C. Kurt Dewhurst, Beth Donaldson, Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Marie Gile, Doug Gilzow, Annette Hafner, Yee Leng Hang, Deborah Harding, Dr. Sally Helvenston, Sue Julian, Dr. William G. Lockwood, Dr. Yvonne Lockwood, Dr. Marsha MacDowell, Arnie Parish, Molly Perry, Mary Schafer, Dr. Ray Silverman, Lynne Swanson, Foung Vang, Minnie Wabanimkee, Cameron Wood, Mary Worrall, Merry and Albert Silber, Kitty Clark Cole, Deborah Harding, William Mithoefer, Nancy Axinn, Eve Boicourt, Anne Longman, Carolyn Wicker and many others.

Exhibitions

“The 26th Star,” Michigan State University Museum, January – May, 1987.

“New Donations to the MSU Museum Quilts Collections,” Michigan State University Museum, February – May 1987.

“Traditional Guatemalan Costumes,” Michigan State University Museum, March – September 1987.

“Heritage Quilts,” Battle Creek Art Center, Battle Creek, Michigan, September 2 –27, 1987.

“Weaving History: 19th Century Michigan Coverlet Weavers,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, 1987 –1888.

“Quilts from the Albert and Merry Silber Collection,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, August 21 –November 13, 1988.

“Silk and Clay,” Michigan State University Museum, 1989.

“Michigan Quilts,” International Quilt Market and Festival, Chicago, Illinois, May 9 –14, 1989.

“Quilts of Rosie Wilkins: Improvisational Quiltmaking in the African American Tradition,” Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame, Lansing, Michigan, August –September 24, 1989.

“The NAMES Project Quilt: AIDS and Traditions in Needlework in Social Change and Public Memorials,” Michigan State University Museum, February – April 1990.

“The County Fair: Cultivating the Arts,” Michigan State Fair, 1992.

Symbols of Power: The Thunderbird and Underwater Panther,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, June – December 1995.

African Textiles from the Michigan State University Museum Collections, The Lansing Mall Gallery, Lansing, Michigan, 1996.

“Native Quilts from the Michigan State University Museum Collection,” McCune Art Center, Petoskey, Michigan, October 5 –31, 1998.

"Textile Treasures of the Middle East: From the Collections of the Michigan State University Museum," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, November, 1998 –March, 1999.

“Native American Quilts from the Southwest: Tradition, Creativity, and Inspiration,” Institute for American Indian Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 1998 –March 1999.

“MSU Museum Quilts,” MSU Union in association with the American Quilt Study Group annual meeting, October 15 –16, 1999.“Fascination With Lace,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, April 2000 –October 2000.

“Fascination With Lace,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, April – October 2000.

“The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, July 29 – December 31, 2001.

“The Michigan Quilt Project: New Discoveries,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, July 29 –December 31, 2001.

“Land of the Dragon: 6000 Years of Chinese Art,” Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, Michigan, March 17 – September 1, 2002.

“Quilts Old and New: Reproductions from the Great Lakes Quilt Center,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, January 12 – August 17, 2003.

“Fascination With Fiber,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, March 21- December 30, 2004.

"Michigan Hmong Arts," Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, January 8 - February 5, 1984; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, Michigan, September 12 - October 18, 1998.

“Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, September 13, 1987 - January 30, 1988; Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, September 12 - November 1, 1987; Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing, Michigan, September 13, 1987 - January 30, 1988.

"Rags, Rugs and Weavers: A Living Tradition," Michigan State University Museum, 1990. This exhibition has traveled to numerous sites within Michigan, including the Port Huron Museum, Port Huron; Ella Sharpe Museum, Jackson; the Finnish Heritage Center, Hancock; Midland Center for the Arts, Midland.

“African American Quiltmaking Traditions in Michigan,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, February 3 - September 29, 1991; Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan, November 1, 1991 - January 1, 1992; Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, February 23 - April 5, 1992; Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, Michigan, January 14 - March 7, 1993.

“Quilts from the Michigan State University Museum Collection,” Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan, October 1992 -January 1993, Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, Michigan, June - September 1995, Midland Historical Society, Midland, Michigan, September 1, 1997 - January 25, 1998.

“A Family Legacy: Quilts from the Clarke Collection,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, June 6, 1993- January 25, 1994; Michigan State Fair, Detroit, Michigan, August 1994- September 1994.

"Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity," Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, July 24 - December 16, 1994; Dillard University Art Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 8 - December 8, 1995.

"Stories in Thread: Hmong Pictorial Embroidery," Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, Michigan, December, 1996 - January, 1997; Calvin College Center Art Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan, March, 1997 - April, 1997; South Seattle Community College Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March, 2001.

"Contemporary Great Lakes Pow Wow Regalia: Nda Maamawigaami (Together We Dance)," Nokomis Learning Center, Okemos, Michigan, January - November, 1997; Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February - April, 1998; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 30 - May 30, 1999; Nokomis Learning Center, Okemos, Michigan, September, 1999 - June, 2000.

"Michigan Quilt Project Blocks," Oakland County 4-H Fair Pioneer Tent, Davisburg, Michigan, July, 1997; Wolcott Mill Metropark, Shelby Township, Michigan, September 13 - 14, 1997; Oakland County 4-H Fair Pioneer Tent, Davisburg, Michigan, August, 1998; Wolcott Mill Metropark, Shelby Township, Michigan, October 15 - 18, 1999; Cameo Quilt Guild Quilt Show, International Academy, West Bloomfield, Michigan, October 14 - 15, 2000; Clinton-Macomb Public Library, Macomb Township, Michigan, March - April, 2002; Grand Rapids Girls School, Grand Rapids, Michigan, March, 2002; Troy Historical Museum, Troy, Michigan, July - October, 2002.

“To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, April 19, 1998- October 18, 1998; Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, Washington, June 3, 2000- August 27, 2000; George Gustav Heye Center in the National Museum of the American Indian, New York, New York, August 1, 1997- December 30, 1997; Fuller Museum of Natural History, Brockton Massachusetts, March 13, 1999- June 6, 1999; Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, July 3, 1999- September 26, 1999; Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, Montana, October 23, 1999- January 16, 2000; Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 12, 2000- May 7, 2000; Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, September 23, 2000- December 31, 2000; Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, January 13, 2001- April 8, 2001.

“Great Lakes Native Quilting,” Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan, September 19, 1999- February 27, 2000; Sloan Museum, Flint, Michigan, September 14- November 14, 2001.

“To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions [small version],” Southern Ute Indian Cultural Center, Ignacio, Colorado, October 1999- December 1999; Southwestern Michigan College Museum, Dowagiac, Michigan, February 1, 2000- March 25, 2000; Milwaukee County Historical Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 2000- December 2000; Forest County Potawatomi Cultural Center and Museum, Crandon, Wisconsin, February 2001- September 2001; Woodland Cultural Center, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, January 25, 2002- April 28, 2002. [Interpretive Panel Version] Akwesasne Museum, Akwesasne, New York, July 31 - September 22, 2000; Dubois Annual Quilt Festival, Dubois, Wyoming, August 10-12, 2001.

“Quilting Sisters: African-American Quilting in Michigan,” Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, Michigan, January 13, 2000- February 13, 2000; Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, Michigan, September 8, 2001- October 21, 2001; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan, June 22, 2002- September 28, 2002.

“American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum,” Mitsukoshi Department Store, Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2003- February 9, 2003; Takashimaya Department Store, Osaka, Japan, March 5, 2003- March 19, 2003; Mitsukoshi Department Store, Niiata, Japan, May 7, 2003- May 12, 2003.

“A Patchwork of Cultures,” Paris Gibson Square Museum, Great Falls, Montana, July – November, 2004; Fargo Museum, Fargo, North Dakota, January – March 2006.

Publications

A. Christopher Carmichael, "Stitching to Heal and Remember: The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Michigan" in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Eds. 1996 Michigan Folklife Annual. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1996.

Ruth D. Fitzgerald and Marsha MacDowell, "There's Good Money in Quilts," in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Eds. 1988 Festival of Michigan Folklife. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1988.

Yvonne R. Lockwood, "Rag Rugs in Finnish American Culture." In Michigan Folklife Reader II (tentative), Eds. Yvonne R. Lockwood and C. Kurt Dewhurst. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Yvonne R. Lockwood. The Culture of Finnish-American Rag Rugs (tentative). East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.

Marsha MacDowell. Stories in Thread: Hmong Pictorial Embroideries. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1989.

Marsha MacDowell, “African-American Quiltmaking Traditions in Michigan” in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Eds. 1992 Festival of Michigan Folklife. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1992.

Marsha MacDowell, "Old Techniques of Paj Ntaub, New Patterns of Expression," in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Eds. 1993 Festival of Michigan Folklife. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1993.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. Hmong Folk Arts: A Guide for Teachers. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1994.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. African American Quiltmaking in Michigan. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press in collaboration with the Michigan State University Museum, 1997.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. "Nda Maamawigaami (Together We Dance)": Contemporary Great Lakes Pow Wow Regalia. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum in collaboration with the Nokomis Learning Center, 1997.

Marsha MacDowell, “Quilting in Michigan’s Thumb,” in Yvonne R. Lockwood and Marsha MacDowell, Eds. 1998 Michigan Folklife Annual. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1998.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. Great Lakes, Great Quilts. Lafayette, CA: C&T Publishing, 2001.

Marsha MacDowell, “To Honor and Comfort,” in Quilters’ Review, Winter 2001.

Marsha MacDowell, ed. American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum. Tokyo, Kokusai Art, 2003.

Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst, Eds. Michigan Hmong Arts. East Lansing: Michigan State University Museum, 1983.

Marsha MacDowell and C. Kurt Dewhurst, Eds. To Honor and Comfort: Native Quilting Traditions. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press in collaboration with Michigan State University Museum, 1997.

Marsha MacDowell and Ruth D. Fitzgerald, Eds. Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition. East Lansing, MI: 1987.

Marsha MacDowell and Margaret Wood. Sewing it Together: Native American and Hawaiian Quilting Traditions,” in Akwe:Kon Journal, Vol. XI, Nos. 3 & 4, special issue, Native American Expressive Culture published in collaboration with the National Museum of the American Indian.

Gwen Marston. Q is for Quilt. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Museum, 1987.

Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham. Mary Schafer and Her Quilts. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Museum, 1990.

Lynne Swanson and Marsha McDowell, Eds. Quilts from the Albert and Merry Silber Collection. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Museum, 1988.

Ladies hat made from pheasant feathers, American, c. 1950

Clothing and Textile Collection