Quilts: Piecing Together History

By Elizabeth Rump

QUILT CARE

If you should be fortunate to own an older quilt, here are some hints on care and storage. No plastic bags please; these trap moisture in the material. Gently fold your quilt, padding the folds with acid free tissue paper, and wrap the entire quilt in a clean cotton sheet or large pillowcase. Refold the quilt every few months to avoid creases and to keep the material from splitting. Avoid exposure to sunlight as this will fade the dyes and damage the material. Avoid laying your quilt on wood as it may lead to discoloration. If using moth balls don’t allow them to touch the fabric; instead try the herb southernwood to repel insects.

When reading the title of this article, I’ll bet the first image that popped into your mind was that of a group of women gathered around a quilt frame exchanging gossip during a “quilting bee.” Or maybe you pictured a pioneer housewife, painstakingly piecing together outgrown and no longer serviceable clothing into bedcovers to warm the family during cold winters on the prairie. These images, picturesque as they are, are relatively recent in the history of quilting.

According to Barbara Brackman, author of Clues in the Calico: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Antique Quilts, the history of quilts begins much earlier than our mental image conjures. Although estate records reveal few quilts before 1800, those that are recorded are valued more highly than coverlets or wool blankets. Quilts made during the 1700s and the early 1800s were primarily done using silk, wool, or linen. The stuffing might utilize an old wool blanket, an older quilt, raw wool, or later, raw cotton. The majority of early quilt tops were made of a single piece of fabric, hence their name, whole cloth quilts. Early whole cloth quilts often made use of an outdated quilted petticoat. Extra fabric was scarce during the 1700s. Because of this scarcity, clothing of the time was made out of a combination of squares and rectangles which used cloth from edge to edge and did not produce leftover scraps for patchwork quilt pieces.

The patchwork quilts of our visual images and memories are tied to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution played a large role in promoting the creation of quilts. Cheaper fabric, roller printed designs, and synthetic dyes allowed for specific designs and color schemes within quilts. The introduction of the sewing machine in 1846 revolutionized quilting. Thanks to these innovations, quilts were owned by a greater number of people than ever before during the late 1800s and 1900s.

Whether appliquéd or pieced, quilt designs were spread through contests at local fairs and other social events. Ladies’ magazines eventually offered quilt patterns. Early motifs included stars, flowers and vines, feathers, and pomegranates. Album or signature quilts with a central medallion format, incorporating squares made and often signed by various individuals connected to the intended recipient, became popular in the mid 1800s. The vivid crazy quilt became popular in the late 1800s and utilized silk, wool, and velvet.

Quilts tapered off in popularity during the mid 1900s when hand made items were disdained in favor of manufactured items. Fortunately, the popularity of quilts and the art of quilting has experienced a resurgence during the past several years, as those who have attended various craft shows and festivals can attest. Once again, quilting groups are forming, magazines print patterns, and women join together to gossip and stitch.

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