Behind Factory Doors: The Making of a Lightweight Matelassé Bedspread - Colonial Rose

In honor of May’s featured bedspread and the coming of spring flowers, this month’s Behind Factory Doors is dedicated to the Colonial Rose.  The Colonial Rose is our lightest weight matelassé bedspread, proudly woven by Maine Heritage Weavers right here in Maine.

 

This modish though elegant style showcases an all-over repeat floral and palm-leaf pattern framed by our popular scalloped fringe.  The Colonial Rose is a perfect choice for customers who desire the high-quality feel of a matelassé weave, but not the heavy weight.  This bedspread is also a good possibility for those who have beds that are not standard size. Because of the nature of all-over patterns, the Colonial Rose is easily customizable to accommodate mattresses of nearly all sizes. 

The Colonial Rose is a very recent addition to the Bate’s design timeline, introduced in this present incarnation only a few years ago.  At the time, Bates Mill Store only had one truly lightweight bedspread in our product offerings: the New England Tradition (for more information on the history of the New England Tradition, check out Behind Factory Doors: The Making of a Lightweight Bedspread - New England Tradition). Sales of the terry-weave New England Tradition were so good that our team wondered how a lightweight matelassé would do on the market.  Our lead designer dug into Bates’ design archives and put together a pattern that would become our new lightweight star, the Colonial Rose that we offer today.  

The above photograph was scanned from an old Bates Fabrics, Inc. catalogue dating from 1977.  It is thought that this jacquard-woven bedspread, called the Brittany, is the first incarnation of the Colonial Rose design.  Below is the original product description for the Brittany. 

Although these images only date back 38 years, it is believed that the Brittany as a style is much older.  The style number listed here is 814-- while more contemporary style numbers sit in the 7000’s-9000’s range!  It goes back far beyond our records including an image in a 1950s catalog calling it the "Bates Heritage".  Once can only imagine the historical stories surrounding the creation of this original design...

Are you a satisfied owner of a Colonial Rose (or maybe the Brittany!) and would like to share your love?  Tell us about your experiences in the comments below, we love hearing from you!

For the entire month of May, the Colonial Rose is specially offered at a 10% discount.  If you’re looking to switch out your heavy, winter bedding from something lighter, now is the time! Enter promo code MAYROSE10 at checkout (ends 6/1/2015). Shop Colonial Rose now.