This fabric, the backing of a badly damaged whole cloth quilt, was likely produced by hand. Family history recounts that Molly Dewey spun the thread, wove the fabric, and made the quilt in New York around 1800. Visual examination confirms its hand-produced nature. At the turn of the 19th century, domestic fabric production was still common in the United States; but this was rapidly changing as manufacturing processes made spinning and weaving faster and more efficient.