The Prairie Schooner

Olivia Storm

When the early pioneer women came out West in America, they took as many necessities as they could fit into their covered wagons.  The popular wagon at the time, the "Conestoga" could have carried more of their belongings, but it was just too big and cumbersome, killing the team of oxen before the journey was two-thirds over. 

So! A more practical vehicle soon emerged.  The "prairie schooner" was used for the journey, traveling together in large groups (wagon train) for protection along the Oregon Trail, with 10 to 12 oxen or mules pulling them.  It was sturdy and secure, used as a house in bad weather or when needed after finding land.

The prairie schooner was half the size of the big Conestoga, measuring four feet wide, and 10-12 feet in length.  If the tongue and neck yoke were attached, it measured 23 feet in length, with a wheelbase over five feet wide.  The white bonnet made the schooner stand 10 feet tall.

Small as it was, it still weighed 1,300 pounds when empty.  If repairs were needed, it could be dismantled for parts easily and quickly.

But when a family was inside, there were very few "crooks and crannies" that were not filled already, so very few things of value were taken.  If they were taken, 90% was left on the side of the trail before arriving at their destination: heirlooms, china, furniture, clothing, and graves of little ones.
 
Pioneer women left all luxuries and rules behind, as they headed exhaustedly into a new country with their husbands, families, and children.  And when they finally reached their destinations, they found there were very few luxuries available for them: fine embroidery fabric and beautiful silks rarely arrived. 

Their inner strength prevailed, and the women used their creativity to make do, on calico or canvas.  Designs were drawn directly onto the fabric, with a charcoal stick or pencil. 

The wick of the candle, or "candlewick", was used to draw on this design giving it a "white on white" color scheme still used predominantly today. Wooden crates were used as tables, with these calico tablecloths used as their Sunday fine linen, or when company arrived.

When the Gold Rushes began, many men and women began to arrive from other countries and mingle, sharing their knowledge of different forms of needlework.  And after awhile, the pioneer women began to tire of quilt making and candlewick embroidery. 

So, a new love affair and new fad began with "Redwork" embroidery beginning at this time, with the colorfast deep red color of the thread called "Turkey Red", later adding a colorfast blue also to be used. 

Children and adults both learned to stitch with a simple linear stem stitch. By 1870, the new item "iron-on" transfers were developed for the needleworkers, which was very welcome to the women as compared to the old stamping methods or drawing directly onto the fabric.

The Redwork was the pioneer women's first big step away from traditional quilt-making, as eventually this form of needlework was done on embroidered tidies for chair backs, and embroidered splashers were hung behind the sink. 

Other forms of embroidery stitched with the red floss were napkins, tea towels, sofa pillows, chair cushions, and sofa pillows. Around the turn of the century, women again began using the Redwork embroidery for bedcovering quilts. 

Preprinted squares were sold for about a penny (called penny squares) ready to embroidery.  About six to ten inches across, they were embroidered first then sewn together, with a feather or cross-stitch stitch to cover the seam line.  They were quilted, lined without batting, or tied to corners of each block.