About Antique Quilts

Antique quilts have gained popularity and risen in price over the years, and many examples are now considered finely crafted, valuable works of textile art. Carefully constructed from fabric scraps sewn together, then attached, or quilted, to other layers of fabric, antique quilts come in a huge range of designs in many different materials. From simple to extraordinarily intricate, from perfectly symmetrical to the popular "crazy quilts" that feature all manner of shapes, fabrics and quilting designs in a single coverlet, antique quilts are an enduring, diverse, functional and collectible art form.

History

The earliest bed quilts date to 14th-century Sicily. In the ensuing 300 years, the practice of quilting bedcovers became popular throughout Europe and Asia, and some spectacular, elaborate examples survive. It was settlers in America, however, who embraced the folk art of quilt-making in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries--and beyond--and produced the largest numbers and greatest variety of antique quilts that survive to this day. Quilt-making was practiced by young and old, rich and poor, and each antique quilt tells something about how people lived in the past.

Materials

The first quilts were made from linen; in the 17th and 18th centuries, European and Asian bed quilts were made from expensive materials such as silk. In America, the earliest quilts were made from wool, linen or silk. (Cotton fabric was not widely available until the 19th century.) Fabric used in early quilts was often imported, and scraps from other sewing projects was used to create quilts, which were usually backed with linen. Later, scraps from worn clothes and other items, home-dyed fabrics and other materials were used in quilt tops.

Construction

The first quilts were sewn by hand. Once a design was selected, the quilt maker cut out fabric and a quilt top was "pieced," or sewn together. Next, a filling or padding--a layer of wool, silk, linen or other material--was sandwiched between the quilt top and a third layer of fabric, the quilt's backing fabric. Small, often intricate stitches were used to attach the three layers of fabric. This "quilting" either outlined each of the pieces in the design of the quilt top or sometimes created an entirely new design over it, to form a warm bedcover. In the mid-19th century, the sewing machine was improved and available for home use. Not long after, some quilt-makers began to save time by piecing together their creations by machine. Usually, however, "quilting" the top to the filling and backing was done by hand.

Designs

Many quilts were made from "patchwork," which took small pieces of fabric and pieced them together to form a pattern. Other antique quilts used applique techniques (attaching fabric to another, backing fabric to form a quilt top) and embroidery. Some designs, such as "Double Wedding Ring," were traditionally used for marriage quilts, or "Baby Blocks" for baby quilts. Early quilts usually featured vibrant colors; some had double-quilted designs over the quilt top. Quilt designs were often named for their regions of origin, such as "Ohio Star," "Baltimore Album" and "New York Beauty"; stories from the Bible, such as "Garden of Eden" or "Jacob's Ladder"; or themes close to rural life, such as "Hole in the Barn Door" or "Bear Paw."

Social Significance

Antique quilts were a way to create a useful item that helped people stay warm. Creating quilts at a "quilting bee" was also a social activity for women, a way of commemorating special events in a family or community. Traditionally during a quilting bee, women would work on quilting a pieced top--usually created by one woman or family--to its filling and backing for a special occasion such as a wedding. During the Civil War, quilts sometimes included political messages (one pattern from that time was called "Lincoln's Log Cabin"), and some historians believed that they might have even contained messages that assisted in abolitionists' efforts. Since that time, quilts have been created to commemorate those who died in war and other tragedies, and to celebrate happy times and victories as well.

Resources

• History of American Quilting