There’s So Much History In Quilting !
Handy Dates
1. Introduction
2. Colonial Times 1750 – 1865
3. The Industrial Revolution 1813-1855
4. Pre-Civil War
5. The Civil War 1861-1865
6. The Victorian Era 1837-1901
7. The Great Depression 1929- 1939
8. WWII
9. Post WWII To the 1960’s
10. The 1970’s and Beyond
11. Conclusion
I remember one day as I was observing AJ in the process of making a very pretty quilt, I watched in awe of the ease that she was able to maneuver this large section of material over the “cylinders” of this huge quilting machine, pulling and twisting many different knobs, and making adjustments that could put an auto mechanic to shame.
Wow I thought, she makes it look so easy! But I know it can’t be as simple as it seems (she’s just so talented).
Then I began to wonder how simple women quilted in “the olden days” before machines and electricity. So I decided to look-up some quilting history and pass on some of the facts to you. Boy did I learn a lot! (For those who hated history in school- you can skip to the end and you’ll find other links there you might like better). For now, we’ll just take a peek at the good ole days in the USA. There is more than enough info. to learn in our country,
without even looking at other countries.
Colonial Times 1750 – 1865
It seems that in colonial times up until the 1800’s, Quilting was really only practiced and perfected by the wealthy and the upper classes. The more common and lower classes could not afford the cost of the material as it was very expensive to buy Wealthy women were able to afford the best spools of threads and the finer quality material that was available at that time. The lower classes were too busy farming and milking their cows, and trying to survive in a hard agricultural economy.
Poorer people had to settle for more spinning and weaving of thread in order to sew clothes for their families. The materials these hardworking classes used were odd pieces of cloth, or leftover scraps of torn clothing. Mostly it was sewn into clothing as they generally bought blankets form the store.
The wealthy had the means to buy their fabric in large pieces and then decorated it with very fine needlework. They were usually displayed like works of art, though some did end up on the beds. These pieces of whole cloths that were made into quilts are referred to as Whole Cloth Quilt, and are the resulting styles made during this period of the early 1800’s Colonial America. The decorative appliqués and cut out motifs of printed fabric that were sewn onto these solid backgrounds are referred to as Broderie perse.
All these creative appliqués of animals, flowers, leaves and such were sewn onto these solid pieces of fabric. This printed fabric was called chintz and frequently imported from India.
Another popular quilt of that time period was called a Medallion quilt which had a center motif (usually one piece of large fabric) and was surrounded by several borders. These borders could be of an appliqué design or pieced together. The result was still a unique design. That pretty much sums up quilting in colonial times. You can see why only a select few did it. What wonderful and dramatic changes came next in our history! Read on for more!
The Industrial Revolution 1813-1855
During the mid 1800’s, our country was literally thrown into an industrial revolution that transformed all that society had known before ,then “threw the baby out with the bath water”. Modern advances in machine –based technology began to change the world and made life a lot easier for everyone, man and beast alike. The textile industry began to manufacture materials on a widespread scale, making the fabric inexpensive and very accessible for all quilters. The advantages of the cost and the variety meant that no one had to be limited to certain blocks for their quilts.
Cotton prints could be purchased cheaply for not only for clothing, but for many variety of patterns for quilting Many of these block style prints had similar or identical blocks in the pattern. They were then sewn together and a border added to the outside. Many women did blocks by the buckets and put them away to be used at a later time to be made into quilts. Offer to clean out your grandma’s attic and see what she might have hidden away in an old box from her family. Often times, this is how many were found decades later!
By 1856, the adorable male idol of that time was not the guy who was eliminated in the final eliminations of the hit show American Idol, but Mr. Isaac Singer. The Singer Sewing machine became available in 1856, and by the 1870’s, the layaway plan (an American way of life) allowed most households to own one. What a difference in time spent sewing by women! This machine allowed us to sew clothes for our family quicker, and that left more time to use it on making quilts, the thing we loved most. It is no wonder that some women made “tons” of them to use later on! Machine sewing became more common and that left more time for all the fine embroidery and appliqué work to be done by hand.
Magazines and the print industry also took off, allowing many women who have been isolated for so very long, to buy quilting magazines loaded with new patterns made just for them. The stars and stripes became a popular pattern at that time. Now everyone could “ogle”” at many different patterns and prints available, and not just from the neighbor two miles down on the next farm Ah life just got better!!
Pre-Civil War
The Underground Railroad with the help of the abolitionists enabled many slaves to escape by hiding them in “safe houses” from the authorities, before escaping to Canada or Mexico. There are many stories passed down through the generations on how quilting was used to help emancipate the slaves. However there doesn’t seem to be much basis on fact. One story might be that the patterns in the quilt were done specifically to give directions for these freedom fighters, or clues and secrets regarding the escape routes planned. There must have been a lot of creativity involved, to dream up escape plans and secret escape routes in such a pattern. Indeed, they would make wonderful bedtime stories to pass on.
I found a great site if you want more info. on slavery and abolitionists.
Just click here to go to that site.
The Civil War 1861-1865
Then it happened! Our nation became torn apart as they became embattled in the Civil War!
It seems you can’t get away from politics, even in quilting. Even in the 1830’s, the women quilters were very much involved in voicing their opinions on slavery (you go girl). The abolitionists used this to their advantage and often displayed many of these more “opinionated” quilts at fairs and events. These quilts were inscribed with sayings and meaningful messages, embroidered with inscriptions of their feelings and negative attitudes “of the evils of slavery”.
There were many other handcrafted items sold at fairs across the northeast. The most well known fair was in 1834 and held in my hometown of Boston. All the proceeds for these items were to be used for the poor soldier’s comfort, while they were fighting for the freedom of the slaves. As you see, the abolitionist played a very important role in the history of this war. Now the patterns of these quilts were similar to earlier times, but it was obvious that the purpose of making these quilts were specifically directed to the cause. These abolitionists’ played it for all it was worth – didn’t they!
Southern women helped their soldiers the best way that they could. Cotton may have been grown in the south, but it was in the north that the manufacturing plants were located. This reason made it much more difficult for southern women to make quilts for their solders. They did their part, but it took a lot longer. Material was more expensive to buy as the north had control over the waters. One type of quilt made popular in the south was called gun boat quilts, and the proceeds did indeed go to buy gunboats for the South (three of them). They too had raffles and fairs to raise money, as well as other fundraisers.
When it seemed the North was to be victorious over the waters, the shift changed more towards the comfort and well-being of the confederate soldiers. Materials were getting hard to come by and many a bed was stripped of its fiber to be sewn for uniforms, blankets and such for the soldiers. These southern ladies now had to sew it all by themselves, as they no longer had slaves to do it for them. They had remarkable courage and fortitude as it was the South that had the least, and seemed to struggle the most.
(Where is my copy of Gone With the Wind when you need it?)
Anyway, it was a long four years in our nation’s history Then finally a period of well-needed peace!
The Victorian Era 1837-1901
This time period is of course named after Queen Victoria of England. What started overseas in Great Britain eventually made its way over to the states. It was a time of peace and quiet. In regards to quilting, there were some interesting fads that became popular during that time.
One such fad was called crazy quilting. What began with the wealthier classes, spread to all. The quilts looked like just what the name implied, “crazy”. The pieces of material were sewn together in no uniform way, just a “mish mash” of leftover pieces of fabric. If someone was lucky enough to get an expensive hand-me down from a relative, it was cut up into various pieces and sewn onto fabric for quilts, flannel shirts and other articles of cotton clothing. Most of the time there were no fancy stitches or appliqué on them, just material simply stitched together.
As there was much more textile plants available, the growing competition developed a cheaper quality cotton to appeal to all the classes. Of course the result was an inferior quilt, pretty as it might be. It did not hold up as well as the finer materials. On the bright side, they created hundreds of new material and patterns that women could now choose from. The darker colors of past were now being replaced by bright pastels like yellow pinks, purples and ice cream colors. Patterns started getting brighter.
Friendship and signature quilts were also very popular during this time period. It was very common to have many things inscribed on the material, such as quotes, bible verses and poems. A few other quilts that came out of this era were the redwork quilts, biscuit (or puff) quilts.
By the end of the late 1800’s the style returned back to the more simple and traditional quilts. The expression that some things never go out of style is true. Many women still preferred the traditional hand stitching of quilts despite the sewing machine availability. The patterns and the fabric reflected this simplicity of “olden” style of days gone by. This era has brought to us many new unique and distinctive quilted styles of beauty, yet still retaining the classic style that never went out of fashion.
Read on for more!