The History of Amish Quilts
The heyday of Amish quilt-making in the United States occurred in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, from the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th century. Aficionados of Amish quilts from this period can identify them by their restrained color palettes, uncommon patterns and exceptionally fine needlework.
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The Amish
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Robert Hughes writes in Amish: The Art of the Quilt that the Amish are a branch of the Anabaptist religion, which appeared in 16th century Germany in protest of the "worldliness" of the Roman Catholic Church. Almost instantly persecuted for their beliefs, many Anabaptists fled to other countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands. Some members of the latter group split off to become a sect led by pastor Jakob Ammann---thus, the origin of the name "Amish."
Coming to America
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Like many who suffered religious persecution in Europe, the Amish soon started migrating to North America. Hughes writes that they came to Pennsylvania in two waves, the first of which began in the 1740s and ended by 1754. The second group arrived between 1815 and 1850, mainly from Alsace. Once in the United States, the Amish established communities in which they practiced their religious beliefs and avoided contact with mainstream society.
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Amish Quilt-making Begins
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"The Amish started making quilts at a relatively late date," writes Amelia Peck of the Decorative Arts Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, "and most classic Amish quilts date from the first half of the twentieth century." Hughes concurs, noting that the earliest known Amish quilt dates to 1849. He concludes that the Amish learned to quilt from people who already were in the United States, rather than having brought a tradition of quilting with them.
Hughes maintains that Amish quilts reflect the Ordnung, an oral tradition of religious rules that "directs the Amish toward the cardinal virtues of their social ethic: humility and non-resistance, simplicity and practicality...the Ordnung is an instrument of intense cultural as well as moral conservatism."
Characteristics of Early Amish Quilts
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The Amish may have gotten a late start at quilting, but once they began, they staked a huge claim on the art-form. Several characteristics distinguish early Amish quilts from those made by other Americans. Obvious evidence of the influence of the Ordnung on quilting appears in the fabric that Amish women chose---they never used printed fabrics, only solids.
The Lancaster Amish also stuck with what Peck describes as a "somber color palette." As Amish people migrated to other parts of the country, some of the women did begin to use brighter colors, including whites and yellows, but the Lancaster Amish remained committed to rich, saturated colors.
The early Amish almost never made quilts with patterned blocks that repeated over the entire quilt, preferring instead to place a medallion design in the middle of their quilts. Some quilts made in the 1940s and 1950s do have pieced elements reminiscent of patchwork quilts, but even those mostly contain the piecework within a central diamond or square. Hughes writes that it wasn't until very late in the American "crazy quilt" phase that the Amish tried their hands at that style. "Amish quilts adhere to a strict repertoire of patterns that have no religious iconography in the real sense of the word," he notes.
Finally, when Amish women met to sew their quilts together, their needlework was astonishingly precise and fine, incorporating designs like rose petals, baskets, swags, leaves, sprays and urns. "The skill of the Amish needleworkers is always on parade" in these quilts, Hughes says.
Contemporary Amish Quilts
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According to Amish Country News, the surge in interest in Amish quilts began in the 1970s with the emergence of Pop Art and modern trends in fine art painting. Soon Amish women began making quilts specifically for sale, and they started branching out into patterns and colors designed to appeal to their potential customers. "Amish quilts have been a reflection not only of traditions and changes in their individual communities, but also of the fashions and trends of the world around them," the writer notes.
Certainly this trend is evident in the quilts offered for sale through Internet vendors. On those websites, you can find quilts of all sorts of nontraditional patterns, including patchwork and elaborate appliqué, made in colors quite different from early Amish quilts. What hasn't changed, however, is the painstaking detail and fine needlework that prove that these quilts come from the hands of Amish quilt-makers.
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