- Quilting is an ancient technique, but patchwork is more recent, dating to the mid 19th century. During early Colonial times, patchwork quilting was done only by the wealthy, who could afford to buy fabric and who had free time to spend creating decorative items to display their skill. As fabrics became more affordable and widely available to the average person, along with the invention of the sewing machine during the mid 1800s, patchwork quilting became widespread. A revival of patchwork quilting occurred during the Great Depression as a way to recycle fabric and make otherwise useless scraps of fabric useful.
- One form of patchwork quilting consists of making multiple, usually square blocks out of smaller patch shapes. The blocks are sometimes identical, sometimes different color versions of the same block pattern, and sometimes all different. The individual blocks are arranged and sewn together in rows to make the quilt top. Often the blocks are separated by narrow strips of fabric.
- The overall form of patchwork quilting involves arranging and sewing together multiple shapes to form a design for the whole quilt top. An infinite variety of color and pattern combinations can be created in this way. The shapes are usually geometric and can be tessellated, but any patch shape can be used and pieced together randomly or in an ordered arrangement. A popular overall patchwork design is the clamshell, which uses rounded shapes that require precise hand sewing.
- The strip piecing patchwork method involves sewing patches together to form long, narrow strips. The strips are then sewn together lengthwise in rows to create the quilt top. The strip piecing method allows complex-looking designs to be sewn relatively quickly and easily with careful arrangement of the colors and shapes within the strips.
- Crazy quilting is a type of patchwork that was popular during the mid to late 19th century. It involves stitching together seemingly random shapes of luxury fabrics in a non-repeating pattern and embellishing the seams and surface of the pieced top with embroidery and/or applique.
- When quilting patchwork quilts, the patch shapes provide a guide for the quilting design. All or some of the seams of the patches can be mirrored with the quilting stitches, eliminating the need to mark the outline of the quilting design on the quilt top. Patchwork quilts do not necessarily have to be quilted in this manner, and a quilting pattern that contrasts with the patchwork pattern can be just as effective.
