Depression Era Quilts

Quilting was a popular Depression-era pastime.

Amid the gray landscape of the Great Depression, quilting flowered as a popular pastime among American women. Like many cultural fads, quilting made a comeback at an unexpected point in history.

Something Old

Since the Industrial Revolution, the simple charm of domestic arts had been all but lost. During the Roaring Twenties, people became enamored of family heirlooms and antiques. Quilting was a nostalgic activity that captured the innocent simplicity of Colonial times.

Something New

In a nod to modernization, quilting became as much of an industry as other products in a hyper-consumerist era. Fabric manufacturers, attempting to cash in on the quilting craze, manufactured kits and patterns. Magazines and newspapers printed quilting articles. Quilters introduced new color schemes, such as pastels, flower prints and plaids, and used them in traditional quilting patterns.

Something Borrowed

Not only was quilting a distraction in hard times, it was a practical, industrious activity. Women could make quilts from recycled clothes, drapes and blankets, and keep their children warm when heating wasn't affordable. During a time when "Waste Not, Want Not" was the battle cry, quilting was a thrifty hobby that held together the fabric of the American family.

Common Quilts

Dresden Plate, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Sunbonnet Sue and Double Wedding Ring were all popular Depression-era quilts, which, due to the commercialization and mass-manufacturing of quilt fabrics by companies such as Grandma Dexter, were fairly common and recognizable.

References

• Michigan State University: Great Lakes Quilt Center
• WomenFolk: Uplifting Fabric & Color for Hard Times
• InterWeave: Depression Era Quilts