American Quilt Saga

SB owns a red and white American quilt which belonged to her great-grandmother. Created in the late 19th century it shows the star pattern known as the shooting star, the lucky star, or the falling stars. SB doesn’t say if her great-grandmother made the quilt, but her great grandmother would turn 150 years old today. Born in 1874, it’s a definite probability she sewed this quilt around 1890. A young girls in 19th century rural America traditionally created a baker’s dozen quilt “tops,” decorative covers, in advance of a proposal of marriage.

Her quilt top collection usually consisted of twelve utility “tops” and one masterpiece for her bridal bed. She created everyday utility quilts from scraps of old fabric, usually from worn out clothing, hand-pieced together. She constructed the masterpiece bridal bed quilt, an applique, by sewing a series of fabric shapes on a fabric backing. Once engaged she finished the quilt ‘sandwich,’ a linen bottom or liner, a padded interior, and a decorative cover, artfully stitched together.

Self-sufficient Females Central to History of Quilt Making

Many cultures used padded fabrics for clothing, bedding, and armor. For English and Dutch Colonists in North America quilting took on a distinctive role for the household sleeping quarters and they used quilts for drafty windows and doorways as well. In the 17th century, the early years of American colonization, women spun wool and sewed clothing for the family. Blankets took a few week’s work on the household loom. Homes were cold, and blankets scarce, so early settlers saved scraps of fabric. When clothing wore out the scraps became the decorative “piece work” quilt tops. A patchwork fabric joined the padding by intermittent bindings of yarn, or perhaps layers of needlework.

These early (pre-1800s) quilts were not “artistic,” but functional. The simplest, most geometric designs of American quilts tend to be the earliest. The earliest homesteaders had no labor or materials to spare. The block-style (geometric) quilt exemplifies this functional approach to design. Another quilting tradition comes from the Amish colonists in the 18th century in the American Midwest and Pennsylvania. The medallion quilt was born, a central motif surrounded by multiple borders.

Applique quilts, as SB owns, came much later (1860-70s). Called a “laid-on” quilt, a top made of white cloth with smaller pieces of contrasting fabrics cut into shapes or forms applied or stitched down. The high point date for quilters working in this style was 1850, when affluent women had the leisure time to create beautiful, artistic designs, and quilting became a social event. Quilting bees allowed for the finishing of several quilts in a single day instead of weeks or months. In the mid-1800s the invention of the sewing machine changed those hand-sewn quilts. The invention of a separate quilting attachment for a sewing machine by Henry Davis changed quilting from handwork to sewing machine work. Inspect your quilt, as SB says. Her quilt is hand-sewn because she sees the irregular stitching.

Interesting Americana Facts About Quilts: 

The term quilt comes from the Latin culcita, meaning a stuffed sack. We learned that a quilt is a cloth sandwich with a decorated top, a back, and a filler in the middle. The classification may be “patchwork” fabric, but there are many types. For example, I own a “summer” quilt, with no middle filling.

When the US entered WWI in 1917 the Government put out this advertisement: “Make Quilts – Save the Blankets for Our Boys Over There.” The Government took all the wool produced for commercial use for the war effort in 1918. They instituted “heatless Mondays” to save fuel. So American women quilted again. Likewise, during WWII, the Red Cross suggested that American women make community “signature quilts,” and sell them for the war effort. I’ve seen many of these. Businesspeople, local philanthropists, private folks, paid a quilter a small fee for their names embroidered on quilt appliques. The finished quilt was raffled off with proceeds going to the Red Cross.

SB’s quilt, circa 1870, is worth $500. Older American quilts can go for much more in good condition. I advise speaking to a fabric conservator for treatment plans. For example contact Winterthur Museum in Delaware.