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Quilt making today is a hobby, a labor of love and a creative way to relax in the evening. Modern quilters have endless sources for fabric and ingenious gadgets, but colonial quilters would probably envy electric lighting, steam irons and all the other modern conveniences that allow us to have time for hobbies at all. Imagine having to produce enough quilts by lamplight to keep your family warm through winters with no central heating! Way back when, quilts were every day items that endured lots of hard use. While there are still lots of old quilts in active service today, many are collected, stored and valued as folk art.
Immigrants from all over Europe brought their quilts when they came to America. Quilts were important and were often listed on family inventories of household goods. A young girl might aspire to having a baker's dozen - thirteen quilts - completed for her dowry chest, usually completing the last, an elaborate pattern like "Double Wedding Ring", once she was engaged. Society women and farmers wives quilted and usually the only difference was in the quality or variety of fabrics they used.
Each country had its own styles and patterns, but here in America, the great melting pot, those styles merged and changed with the times until a uniquely American form of the pieced, or patchwork quilt, evolved. Experts can easily distinguish quilts that were made during the early colonial or Revolutionary era from those made during the pioneer period of westward expansion, the Civil War or the Centennial period. Economics and current events always affected the quilts that women made: sometimes by the variety and color of fabrics available, other times spawning new patterns. To paraphrase a current advertising slogan, quilts really were the fabric of our lives.
Patterns developed all over the country to commemorate people, political events, life lessons and Bible stories. Quilt patterns might describe a family's trade, their landscape and gardens, family traditions and beliefs. There are whole groups of Rose, Tulip and Block patterns, for example, and while all of the rose patterns have similar elements, subtle changes make each rose pattern different from the ones that came before. Patterns like "Log Cabin", "Double Wedding Ring", "Whig Rose", "Drunkard's Path", "Rose of Sharon" and "Pineapples" are well known patterns that suggest familiar stories and images. Many American quilt patterns have been in use for hundreds of years!
We tend to think of quilts mostly as bed coverings, but in the past, garments were also quilted for warmth and padding. In the Middle Ages, quilted garments were worn under a warrior's chain mail - and under his horse's armor! Quilted clothing made the bitter winters of those times bearable. Today, quilting finds its way into wall hangings, pillows, runners, lots of bed coverings and still some clothing,.
Most quilts sandwich a layer of padding between two layers of fabric, then secure the layers with ties or stitching. Some of the earliest English quilts were Counterpanes, many of which were strictly decorative bedspreads with no padding layer. The top of most counterpanes was usually a single sheet of fabric (perhaps a seam or two) in a fancy print or especially fine quality. The pattern of the actual quilting stitches became the focus of the work and fine stitching was highly valued. Counterpanes appeared in times and in homes where there was money to buy large pieces of fabric.
We still see counterpanes today, some with padding or cording inserted from the back of the quilt for areas of strong, raised texture. Counterpane styling has seen a resurgence of interest in the matelasse' bedding that has become so popular in recent years. These quilts are elegant and hark back to a time when only the wealthiest homes could afford such goods.
Until the industrial revolution, fabric was expensive for average people to buy; its cost directly influenced quilt styles and the development of quilting. Pieced quilts probably had their beginnings in family scrap bags when every bit of fabric was precious and nothing was thrown away. Pieced or patchwork quilts run the gamut from very haphazard scrap quilts to elaborate repeating patterns. Scrap quilts reached the height of popularity during the Victorian era. Known as "crazy quilts", they featured elegant satins and velvets and were often adorned with lace, ribbon and embroidery. Patterned patchwork is probably the most recognizable in all its thousands of variations.
Most patterns are assembled as blocks of repeating, alternating or complementary geometric motifs. Sometimes, just turning a block 90° before stitching it to the next can change an established pattern and create a new version of an old favorite. Blocks might be joined directly to each other, connected by plain strips of fabric or surround a large central motif. The end result is usually crisp, colorful and exciting!
Appliquéd quilts are made by sewing cut out shapes onto a ground fabric. It is painstaking work because the edges must be carefully turned under and pressed and the stitching must be fine and secure if the quilt is to last. Appliquéd quilts require more fabric than patchwork because many of the pieces are shaped so that there is considerable waste in their cutting.
In addition to the "traditional" appliqué patterns of flowers and leaves and sun bonnet babies that women made for their families, many communities assembled album or presentation quilts. These quilts were usually appliquéd, as it is the best method for depicting very specific events or objects in a person's (or community's) life. Usually a whole group of women would work on these quilts, each appliquéing her own square, trying to make her work stand out. Such quilts held a place of honor in families and were usually displayed or used only on special occasions. The fortunate result is that many commemorative quilts, having had little every day use, survived and can still be appreciated in museums and private collections.
Appliquéd story quilts have always been popular and while some tell familiar children's stories and nursery rhymes, others are much more personal, with less obvious meaning. The book (and movie) "How To Make An American Quilt" tells the story of some women who have been friends and quilters for years. In the course of making a quilt for one's newly engaged grand daughter, each woman tells her own story and further explains the square she is making. One of the women actually owns a story quilt that depicts her family's life in slavery.
Women also made memory quilts that contained pieces of a child's clothing through the years and traced her growth to womanhood. Each square contained scraps of favorite dresses or curtains and evoked memories through the years. Memory, album, friendship and presentation quilts are usually one of a kind pieces. Sometimes they are signed and dated with indelible ink or embroidery by every person who worked on it.
America's history is alive and well in her patchwork quilts. Impressive as any monument, quilts tell stories about ordinary people and the times in which they lived. If you've ever had the opportunity to examine vintage quilts, you can't help being awed by the skill of the craftsmen who made them. If you'd like to see more, a wonderful collection of both antique and contemporary quilts has been assembled at the American Quilters Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. For directions and hours call (270) 898-7903.
New quilts keep those stories alive and commercial production makes it possible for more of us to afford beautiful, quality quilts for our homes. Most of us will never sew a quilt ourselves, but knowing something about a craft makes it so much easier to appreciate what others create for us!
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