Acadiana Production Techniques

Once in Louisiana, the Acadians adapted the tools, techniques and weaving patterns they had used for wool and linen in France and Canada to the native brown and white cottons they found there. The production and use of handwoven textiles among peoples of Acadian descent living in South Louisiana has continued into the twentieth century. Thus, this textile tradition has been longer lived among the Cajuns than among most other subcultures in the United States. According to Post (1962), "Many a Cajun boy was still wearing cotonnade (homespun cotton) trousers, dyed a light blue, long after the turn of the century..." (p.100). However, by the 1930s spinners and weavers were rare, and Acadian weaving was primarily restricted to the production of cotton blankets with heavy handspun wefts. Numerous examples of handwoven textiles, used primarily for bedding and other household uses, exist today in both public and private collections. However, fewer examples of handwoven clothing have been preserved due to the fact that most were used, reused, worn out, and discarded.

Acadian textiles were traditionally woven on simple two harness looms. A surprisingly wide range of effects were achieved using a limited number of fibers and a narrow range of colors. The typical Acadian fabric is plain weave. Dominate colors and fibers are natural white, natural brown, and indigo dyed cottons. Wool was also used in natural white, natural brown, and indigo dyed, but to a lesser extent than cotton (the small number of extant Acadian wool fabrics may also be due in part to their vulnerability to insect attack). Commercial dyes became available in the latter half of the nineteenth century, but were not widely used. Cotonnade is the term used for homespun all-cotton fabrics among the Acadians. It is generally used to designate "clothing weight" handspun and handwoven cotton fabrics rather than the heavier "blanket weight" textiles.