This whitework bedcover is an elaborate example of a technique known as candlewick embroidery. Candlewick bedcovers usually consisted of a single layer of fabric or two layers with no batting. The top was often pieced from three lengths of cotton or linen in a plain or ribbed weave. The term “candlewick” refers to surface embellishment with thick cotton threads sometimes called roving or wicking after the loosely twisted yarn used for wicks in eighteenth-century candles.

A number of popular embroidery stitches were used in candlewicking. Some were flat, such as the stem, back, satin, and outline stitches. Others, including bullion knots, French knots, tufting, and couching, left dimensional elements on the surface, usually loops or knots. The composition of this candlewick bedcover shares strong design similarities with a group of early bed rugs made in the Connecticut River Valley, notably the verticality of the central floral element with crossed and twining branches and floriated vines.

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