Germantown Blankets and Navajo Eyedazzlers

Germantown blankets were Navajo textiles woven from 1864 to 1910, with the bulk of the weavings made from 1885-90. The name of these blankets comes from the yarn used - commercially-made yarn that came from wool mills in the region of Germantown, Pennsylvania. This yarn was shipped to the Navajo reservation, where the weavers would buy or barter for it at their closest trading post. Germantown yarns gave the weavers a magnificent array of colors to use that they hadn’t had before: bright pinks and greens, dark greens, reds, yellows, and purples. Having access to these yarns sparked a creative outburst in the Navajo weaving community of the period and resulted in gorgeous textiles that are highly prized by modern audiences. Note that Germantown blankets preceded the making of Navajo rugs and were woven almost exclusively for the tourist trade. These vintage Navajo blankets are too delicate to put on the floor; instead, these textiles were draped on beds, worn, or hung on walls. Early Germantown weavings were frequently woven with a cotton warp, adding to their fragility (though this practice was soon discouraged by traders, who encouraged weavers to use wool warps for added strength).

How do you identify a Navajo Germantown blanket?

The key to identifying a Germantown blanket is recognizing the yarn. Germantown yarn is plied, meaning there are multiple strands of yarn twisted together. Early Germantown yarn (circa 1868) was three-ply. By the early 1870s, four-ply yarn became the standard, producing a fine, even weave. Bright colors are also characteristic of Germantown blankets - although as aniline dyes became more accessible, weavers would also dye their homespun yarn with these vivid hues, so color alone is not an indicator.

What is a Navajo Eye Dazzler blanket?

A Navajo Eye Dazzler (sometimes written as one word, “eyedazzler”) is a unique type of Navajo weaving made between 1880 and 1910. These weavings are characterized by vibrant, complex designs woven in many colors. These weavings are masterful examples of the weavers’ creativity, sparked by access to the Germantown yarns in an array of brilliant colors. There are a couple of caveats if you are looking at a vibrant, Navajo weaving and wondering if it is an eye dazzler. An eyedazzler does not have to be woven of Germantown yarn. A few weavers of the era dyed their homespun yarn with aniline dyes and recreated the look of Germantown eyedazzlers with their own hand-spun yarn. Germantown blankets (and therefore Germantown eyedazzlers) were only woven during a brief period, largely ending at the turn of the last century. After this period, Navajo weavers wove rugs exclusively - even those that are “eye-dazzling” to look at are not considered to be true eye dazzlers.

All Authentic Native American Indian Rugs & Blankets: Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, Pueblo & Rio Grande Weavings

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