Pieced quilts became the most common type of quilt at that time. A variation of the utility quilt was the plain "tufted" quilt that is tied through in enough places to keep the filling from shifting and bunching. While a tufted quilt has no stitching holding the layers together, it does have the typical three layers seen in traditional quilts.
Another variation of the quilt is the "summer" quilt, which does not have the middle filling, so is useful as a bedcover during the warmer months. The summer quilt does have the traditional stitching holding the two layers together.
Members of rural communities frequently joined together to help their neighbors with big projects, such as barn building or finishing quilts. The quilting bee was a social event that allowed the finishing of several quilts in a single day instead of weeks or months. Naturally, early quilters did not limit themselves to designing only quilts of a single type or method.
They used their imagination and ingenuity to combine patchwork, applique, and embroidery in endless combinations.
One early variation was the Medallion quilt, a relatively simple design with dramatic impact, that was particularly popular through the early s.
During the s in many parts of the country there was a custom that a young girl make a baker's dozen of quilt tops before she became engaged. This collection consisted of 12 utility quilts, undoubtedly pieced, and 1 masterpiece quilt, which was either a pieced or applique quilt, for her bridal bed.
After her engagement, she would take final steps to turn her tops into finished quilts. Another custom was for mothers to make several quilts for each of her children to have when they left home to start life as adults. A variation of this custom continues to this day as quilters continue to make heirloom quilts for their children or grandchildren. In the mid s the introduction of the sewing machine somewhat altered the dependence on hand-sewing. Long before electricity became common, quilters could power a sewing machine with a foot treadle or hand crank.
The invention of a separate quilting attachment for the sewing machine by Henry Davis of Chicago did not seem to be widely used; hand quilting remained the favored method for nearly a century. Much of the handwork involved in quilting may have been a form of relaxation for pioneer women, a relief from the drudgery and real labor of family life on the frontier.
Additionally, fine handwork was a source of pride and status. Patchwork quilts were more likely to be made of new and finer fabrics. More and more women, particularly those in the upper-classes, had the time and resources to pursue more "genteel" arts.
During this time the Victorian crazy quilt , became popular. By the early s, quilting was transforming from a necessary art into a creative one. When the United States entered World War 1 in , quiltmaking became more important than ever. This summer, Donna Thomas left and I Barbara Eikmeier, right presented a program for our local library. The topic was 40 years of quilt history—in an hour. Donna and I wanted to do something for the local library that highlighted their quilt books and at the same time showed how much quilting has changed during the current quilt revival.
We dug into our personal archives to come up with representational quilts, sewing gadgets, books, and magazines to create displays for each decade. Friends since , Donna and I knew about each other for many years before meeting in person. In the s we were both Army wives, teaching quilting classes at military bases halfway around the world from each other; both Martingale authors for many years; and both friends with quilter and author Sally Schneider.
We learned that some of our students, other military wives, had taken classes from each of us. Eventually, our husbands retired from the Army and we both ended up in Kansas, living just a few miles apart. As we brainstormed ideas for the library talk, we discovered how similar our pasts were—not just the military connection, but our quilting journeys as well.
That led to the idea of showing a machine for each decade. Sewing machines from the s: the onset of technology, with no end in sight. I was 16 and I loved that bold quilt! What happened to all that fluff? Battings are so much better today! The night of our presentation, we unloaded crate after crate of quilts and related stuff, hauled it into the library meeting room, and began to set up.
Do you remember what a big thing it was to find the right thimble? Setting up, decade by decade. The chairs filled with visitors. It was show time! We ended with a show-and-tell of projects from our current books.
What an amazing peek into quiltmaking history—with quilters who lived it! You can also contact either author directly for more information. Email: deikmeier kc.
In which decade did you become a quilter? Share the start of your quiltmaking history in the comments! I machine pieced a single bed rail fence quilt out of fabric scraps from clothing my mom and I had sewn.
We did a lot of apparel sewing back then! I had learned about rotary cutters and rulers from a kind vendor at a rural quilt show and thought with them I could cut pieces for a quilt.
I am happy everyday to be part of the quilt world. I had a Singer Genie too! I loved her and the mod orange flower motif that decorated the front. I sewed my very first quilt in and I so wish I still had it.
I cut the imperfect blocks out with scissors and pieced it in my own quick piecing method. Genie finally passed into the sewing heavens earlier this year. She was my first and only machine for 36 years. I now have a Bernina QE and my quilting has taken off again. Quilting and sewing is part of who I am. Thanks for sharing your quilting history Donna and Barbara, loved going down memory lane with you!
They were only squares put together and then tied as I had no idea how to quilt at that time. I also had a straight bobbin White machine that had been converted from treddle to electric. I have since graduated to more complex quilts and plan on going on to even more complicated ones. In the meantime the four kids have kids, who have kids of their own. Still have one wedding quilt to make for the last grandchild. Now mainly designing and quilting bargello quilts for the wall.
Love quilting. What a great idea for a program. I love it that you held on to the "stuff" that carried you on the creative journey. Having made my first quilt in before rotary cutting and on my trusty old portable Kenmore machine , and also having know Barbara for many years and Donna for several, it was fun to read about their trip down memory lane. A friend of mine wanted to take lessons and did not want to go alone.
She was entuastic for a few years and then did nothing more. I, on the other hand, am still going. I make the queen sized quilt anually for our church bazaar. Recently joined a church group of quilters and we have made over 40 Quilts of Valor. Quilts for shutins. Pillow case dresses for Africa. Pillows for patients at nearby Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
Because items such as bed covers typically involve large surface areas, quilt making is often associated with social occasions where many people share the sewing. Particularly in north America, where early settlers from England and Holland established quilting as a popular craft, there is a tradition of a quilt-making 'bee' for a girl about to get married, with the aim of stitching a whole quilt in one day.
It uses a pattern known as 'sunburst' or 'rising sun', popular for its symbolic associations with the dawning of a new day. In Britain, quilting was most popular in the 17th century, when it was used for quilted silk doublets and breeches worn by the wealthy and later for petticoats, jackets and waistcoats. Quilts were produced professionally in major towns and cities — London, Canterbury and Exeter are all linked with sumptuous examples in our collection.
Quilts were also imported. Quilted Indian bed covers made from chintz fabric Indian painted and dyed cotton were very popular export items for both the British and Dutch markets in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Quilting also has a domestic history. Many of the English quilted items in the Museum's collection are the work of women sewing domestically for their own use.
While some were made by necessity, others were made to mark specific life occasions, such as a birth or wedding, or, like the Chapman quilt, were perhaps made for a dowry. Although closely linked to quilting, patchwork is a different needlework technique, with its own distinct history. Patchwork or 'pierced work' involves sewing together pieces of fabric to form a flat design. In Britain, the most enduring method is known as 'piecing over paper'. In this method, the pattern is first drawn onto paper and then accurately cut.
Evidence of many more quilt works were found in Europe throughout time and many, though described as obviously beautiful works, were usually made to be used. One of the earliest decorative quilts made in the 14th century is the Tristan Quilt.
Made in Sicily, it is one of the oldest surviving quilts in the world. Obviously, quilting as a craft came to America with the early Puritans. Quilts were made in those early days in America to serve a purpose, to provide warmth at night and to cover doors and windows to help reduce cold.
Quilts were functional, with little time for women to create decorative quilts. Often times money and other resources were limited so quilts were made with what was available, often old clothing no longer needed by family members. Worn quilts were patched together or cut apart to make another usable quilt.
Those early quilts tell the history not only of early American quilting, but also the early history of the country. In the early s, whole cloth quilts became popular.
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