How Bedspreads are Made: Raw Materials, Section Beams, and Warps (Step 1)

"How Bedspreads are Made" is a three part series of photo essays that walk through the steps Maine Heritage Weavers takes to weave a Bates bedspread or blanket. It begins with raw materials and walks step by step through to finishing the product before it is shipped to a customer.

Raw Materials & the Yarn Mill

100% cotton yarn is the base of all our blankets and bedspreads. The yarn comes to our factory on cones which we then prepare for weaving by creating section beams.

Did you know: It takes 10 pounds of yarn to make a king size Abigail Adams bedspread.

Creating Section Beams

Section beams are basically large rolls of yarn that are created with hundreds of cones of yarn. This is the first step of getting the yarn ready for the weaving process.

Did you know: It takes 104 cones of yarn to create a single section beam that will be used to create the loops on our terry bedspreads. That is 572,000 yards of yarn!

Creating the Warps

In order for the yarn to be ready for weaving on the looms, the section beams are created into warps. The warp is a set of lengthwise yarns that are held in tension on a frame or loom. Tension is very important in the weaving process so having strong, quality yarn is essential to making top quality Bates-style bedspreads.

Did you know: It takes 5 section beams to create a single warp that makes the loops on terry bedspreads. That is 520 cones per warp and nearly 3 million yards of yarn!

Next Step: Weaving