Stencil decoration on fabric is closely related to the early nineteenth-century vogue for paint-decorated walls and furniture, as well as theorems, or stenciled still-life and landscape paintings executed by young ladies on velvet, silk, or paper. Because the dyes were not boiled into the fabric and were therefore not colorfast, the spreads were generally not laundered. Stenciled bedcovers are relatively rare (approximately sixty have been identified) and were made primarily in New York State and New England.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Pot of Flowers Stenciled Spread," exhibition label for QUILTS: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2010.