Aurora Textiles

Men and women of the Aurora Colony were responsible for creating a wide range of finely crafted textiles — everything that would be needed for members of the community. Sheep and flax from Colony farms provided materials for spinning and weaving, while cotton yardage was available to members at the Colony Store. The leader of the Colony, Dr. William Keil, was himself a master tailor, and some of the men who joined the Colony after they emigrated to America from Germany and Switzerland had been master weavers.

Quilts & Coverlets

The Old Aurora Colony Museum is fortunate to hold in its collections more than 100 quilts made by women of the Aurora Colony. Common patterns include log cabin variations, and applique quilts featuring birds.

Clothing

Members of the Aurora Colony appreciated fine tailoring and could make their own clothes, but in typical Colony fashion, some members worked in a tailoring shop to make clothes for the community. The first sewing machines became generally available in the 1850s and the Colony soon purchased two sewing machines — something that would have been beyond the reach of most individual families — for use in the tailoring shop.

Samplers

Most young girls learned stitching by starting with a sampler to learn how to handle a needle and thread — and learning letters, numbers, and spelling at the same time. The museum has several samplers made by Colony children.