Exhibit Showcases Handmade Clothing Created By Cherokee Women

The Cherokee County History Museum is hosting the temporary exhibit Women’s Work: A Survey of Handmade Textiles from Cherokee County.

The exhibit, which will run through May 16, celebrates the craftsmanship and artistry used by the women and men of Cherokee County to create these local heirlooms. The exhibit was inspired by John Brooke and Sherree Sawyer when they stopped by to show museum representatives woven coverlets made by their ancestors in the late 1800s using thread from the Fincher Mill in Waleska.

The textiles displayed include household items such as quilts, coverlets, crocheted bedspreads and tablecloths, decorative doilies and pillowcases, etc. Handmade clothing is also featured, including women’s blouses, bonnets, chemises, pantaloons and aprons from the 1800s, several heirloom christening gowns, baby booties, and girls’ dresses from the 1920s.

Skills used to produce the textiles include spinning, dying, weaving, sewing, quilting, embroidery, tatting, crochet, knitting, leather work, and even a hat and purse made from cornhusks.

The committee who helped gather, document, and display the items for the exhibit were made up of residents Jennifer Bagwell, Donna Cain Callahan, Carme Stone and Fran Whitfield.

“To be able to show the handiwork of our ancestors and current Cherokee Countians is truly a privilege,” Bagwell stated. ”This exhibit is our way of honoring those people from our past and admiring those that are living today.”

The exhibit is located in the museum, which is in Suite 140 of the historic marble courthouse at 100 North Street in downtown Canton.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.