Elna M. de Neergaard

Elna M. de Neergaard (September 7, 1872 – June 26, 1946) was a Danish-American textile artist and inventor. De Neergaard, who studied weaving in Sweden, designed and patented handlooms in the United States. De Neergaard was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement in New York and Boston; she lived in New York and Connecticut where she also taught weaving. Most notable of her patented looms are the Tawido (tawidō, or proto-norse: ᛏᚨᚹᛁᛞᛟ) table, bedside, and belt looms. For a time, de Neergaard's Tawido looms were constructed in Sweden at the Önnestads Folk High School (Önnestads Folkhögskola).

Elna was an active member of The National Society of Craftsmen, the Society of Arts and Crafts Boston, Elna M. de Neergaard weaving (from Priestman, Mabel Tuke (1908). "Swedish Weaving". Home Needlework Magazine. 10 (3): 209–210 – via Google Books.)

Education and career De Neergaard studied weaving at Handarbetets Vänner (Friends of Handicraft) in Stockholm. She completed her study there in 1897.

Teachers College, Columbia University By 1917, de Neergaard was an instructor of weaving for newly created Occupational Therapy courses at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 1918, de Neergaard was a lecturer in "Household Arts" at Teacher's College.