Quilting

“ The real wonder is the quilting. This consisted in copying the design, petal for petal, leaf for leaf, in needlework upon every alternate block of white muslin. How these workers accomplished the raised designs on plain white muslin is the mystery. How raised flowers, leaves, plumes, baskets, bunches of fruit, even animal and bird shapes, could be shown in bas-relief on these quilt blocks [Pg 143] without hopelessly ‘puckering’ the material, none of us can imagine.”
No other inspiration that can equal our fairs has been offered to the quilters of our day. ”

“ Perfect quilting cannot be turned out by a novice in the art, no matter how skilful she may be at other kinds of needlework. The patience and skill of the quilter are especially taxed when, in following the vagaries of some design, she is forced to quilt lines that extend away from her instead of toward her. As the result of many years spent over the quilting frame, some quilters acquire an unusual dexterity in handling the needle, and occasionally one is encountered who can quilt as well with one hand as with the other. ”

“ One of the occasional domestic functions of our home was a quilting bee, in which friends and neighbors joined for the purpose of quilting a counterpane or bed quilt, made of patchwork. We had a set of quilting bars, four strips of wood about eight feet long, with holes a few inches apart, which when resting on the tops of chairs, could be put together by means of pegs at the corners, and enlarged as the quilt required more space between the side bars. ”

“ Frequently the quilting design follows the pieced or patched pattern and is then very effective, especially when a floral pattern is used. Some quilters show much originality and ingenuity in incorporating into their work the outlines of the flowers and leaves of the quilt design. Sometimes the pieced top is of such common material as to seem an unworthy basis for the beautiful work of an experienced quilter, who stitches with such [Pg 106] patient hand, wasting, some may think, her art upon too poor a subject. ”

“ The design at the bottom of page 79 is the very latest design, and is suitable for scraps of silk, the fashionable colours of black and white being combined in the sample. Blue and white, pink and white, green and white, or any other colours can be substituted. The border has an appliqué of roses cut from cretonne. [82] Each motif has its edges turned under, then tacked to the quilt or bedspread when the quilting is finished. The edge is worked over with green “Peri-Lusta” of the same shade as that with which the “quilting” was done, using outline stitch. ”

“ I do not profess to understand the varieties of the species.
Marianne.—Well, I was going to tell you, that after a sitting of half an hour, Susan Davison, as she 134 rose to depart, uttered an invitation to her quilting to-morrow.
Charlotte.—And what is a quilting?
Marianne.—Now, I am sure you must have heard of quiltings. It is an assemblage of all the females in the neighbourhood, for the purpose of quilting, in one afternoon, a whole patch-work bed-cover.
Charlotte.—I shall certainly not go. I never quilted any thing in my life, and I hate the sight of a patch-work bed-cover. ”

“ Miss Bessie Daingerfield, a Kentuckian, who is in close touch with these mountaineers, tells us what a void the quilt fills in the lives of the lonely women of the hills: “While contemporary women out in the world are waging feminist war, those in the mountains of the long Appalachian chain still sit at their quilting frames and create beauty and work wonders with patient needles. There is much beautiful and skilful handiwork hidden away in these hills. The old women still weave coverlets, towels, and table linen from wool from their own sheep and from flax grown in their own gardens. ”

“ As known to-day, the quilt is the result of combining two kinds of needlework, both of very ancient origin, but widely different in character. [Pg xvii] Patchwork—the art of piecing together fabrics of various kinds and colours or laying patches of one kind upon another, is a development of the primitive desire for adornment. Quilting—the method of fastening together layers of cloths in such a manner as to secure firmly the loose materials uniformly spread between them, has resulted from the need of adequate protection against rigorous climates. ”

“ The running stitch used in quilting should be as small and even as it is possible for the quilter to make. This is a very difficult feat to accomplish, since the quilt composed of two thicknesses of cloth with an interlining of cotton is stretched so tightly in the frame that it is quite difficult to push the needle through. Also the quilter, while bending over the frame with one hand above and one hand below, is in a somewhat unnatural strained position. It requires much patience to acquire the knack of sitting in the rather uncomfortable quilter’s position without quickly tiring. ”

“ Although we have found no "Fair Play" pattern, we do know that the women of every frontier household sewed, and, because of the demand for bed quilts, every scrap was saved for the quilt-making. Colbert's Journal tells of his dining at one Richard Manning's "with a number of women who were quilting." [50] Quilting parties were social events in the lives of these frontier women, and their objets d'art were fully discussed from patterns and designs down to the intricate techniques of needlecraft. Perhaps the patchwork quilt is the enduring legacy of frontier folk art. ”

“ How interesting it would be if some bits of the story of the maker could have been sewed into a few of the old quilts; for such works of art, that are so long in making, deserve to have some facts relating to them live at least as long as they.
When a bedcover of exceptional warmth is desired, several sheets of cotton or wool prepared for that purpose are laid one over the other between the top and back. As this is too thick to allow a needle to be pushed through easily, and even stitches cannot be taken, then quilting gives way to tying or knotting. ”

“ Taking a long thread of a bright-coloured cotton, carefully follow out the design of the quilting, which, in my particular case, was a very elaborate scroll, tacking the stitches right through the quilt to the new piece of material. If the design is very complicated this needs patience; but nowadays eiderdowns are more often quilted in straight lines, with perhaps a diamond centre.
Always tack your pattern on the plain side of the material, as it is so much easier to stitch on the machine later on if there is no pattern to dazzle your eyes. ”

“ Much of the social pleasure of the pioneer women was due to their widespread interest in quilts. Aside from the quilting bees, which were notable affairs, collecting quilt patterns was to many women a source of both interest and enjoyment. Even the most ambitious woman could not hope to make a quilt like every design which she admired, so, to appease the desire for the numerous ones she [Pg 136] was unable to make, their patterns were collected. These collections of quilt patterns—often quite extensive, frequently included single blocks of both pieced and patched designs. ”

“ When made thicker, and consequently warmer, it is called a “comfort.”
The three necessary parts of a quilt are the top, the lining or back, and the interlining. The top, which is the important feature, unless the quilting is to be the only ornamentation, may be a single piece of plain cloth; or it may be pieced together from many small pieces different in size, colour, [Pg 92] and shape, so as to form either simple or fanciful designs. The top may also be adorned with designs cut from fabrics of varying colours and applied to the foundation with fancy stitches, or it may be embroidered. ”

“ Its design is the familiar one known as the “Rose of Sharon”; both the needlework on the design and the quilting [Pg 144] are exquisite, the stitches being all but invisible.
A striking instance of the influence of fairs upon quilt making is shown in the number of beautiful quilts that have been made expressly for display in exhibitions at state fairs in the Middle West. One such collection, worthy of special notice, consists of seven quilts: three of elaborate designs in patchwork and four made up of infinitesimal pieces. ”

“ The quiltmaker is even more pleased when the young miss comes to take the day and she has the proud privilege of starting John’s or Tom’s future wife on her very first quilt. It is an occasion of merriment when the quilt is finally finished and taken out of the frames after many a pleasant quilting bee. ”

“ However, for the consolation of those who consider quilting a wicked waste of time, it may be added that nowadays expert quilters are very few indeed, and enthusiasts who have spent weeks piecing a beautiful quilt have been known to wait a year before being able to get it quilted by an expert in this art. ”

“ Sleigh-bells were heard at a distance, and the illuminated snow which lay beneath the windows was peopled with shadows moving over it, as one group after another passed out, anxious to obtain a view up the lane.
A knock at the nearest front door put us to flight. Three young gentlemen entered and found us sitting primly around the quilt, each with a thimble on and earnestly at work, like so many birds in a cherry-tree. Again the knocker resounded through the house, as if the lion’s head that formed it were set to howling by the huge mass of iron belabouring it so unmercifully. ”

“ Cradle-quilt; centre, crimson silk, embroidered with flowers in coloured silk, mostly outlined with gold thread, and here and there sprinkled with gold ornamentations, and surrounded by a broad satin quilting edged with a gold lace-like border. German, late 17th century. 2 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 2 inches.
The cradle-cloths, or quilts, are of common occurrence, and afford occasions for much elegance of design. ”

“ Not only did the making of quilts afford a chance to use up the material that could not be used otherwise and thus make coverings of value and warmth, it also gave to the women the opportunity for coming together and enjoying themselves, and so quilting-bees became one of the most social and enjoyable occasions. ”

“ In its suitability for manufacture within the home, the quilt possesses a peculiar merit. Although exposed for a full century to the competition of machinery, under the depressing influence of which most of the fireside crafts have all but vanished, the making of quilts as a home industry has never languished. Its hold on the affections of womankind has never been stronger than it is to-day. As a homemaker, the quilt is a most capable tool lying ready at the hand of every woman. The selection of design, the care in piecing, the patience in quilting ”

“ The feminine love of color, the longing for decoration, as well as pride in skill of needle-craft, found riotous expansion in quilt-piecing. A thrifty economy, [271] too, a desire to use up all the fragments and bits of stuffs which were necessarily cut out in the shaping, chiefly of women's and children's garments, helped to make the patchwork a satisfaction. The amount of labor, of careful fitting, neat piecing, and elaborate quilting, the thousands of stitches that went into one of these patchwork quilts, are to-day almost painful to regard. ”

“ Another phase of the same stitchery was working cotton and linen garments, hangings, and quilts in a kind of quilted pattern with yellow silk.
Anything more unlike the quilting of fifty years ago cannot be imagined. The finest materials were used, the padding being placed bit by bit in its place—not in the wholesale fashion of later years, when a sheet or two of wadding was placed between the sheets of cotton or linen, and a coarse back-stitching outlined in great scrawling patterns held the whole together. ”

“ Quilting is usually paid for by the amount of thread used, no consideration being given to the amount of time expended on the work. A spool of cotton thread, such as is found in every dry-goods store, averaging two hundred yards to the spool, is the universal measure. The price charged is more a matter of locality than excellence of workmanship. A certain price will prevail in one section among all quilters there, while in another, not far removed, two or three times that price will be asked for the same work. ”

“ However, as the number of quilters has decreased, the price of quilting has increased, until as much as five dollars per spool is now asked in some parts of the country. Even at the advanced prices, it is exceedingly difficult to find sufficient quilters to complete the many pieced and appliqué quilts being made. ”

“ Quilt′er, a person or machine for making quilting; Quilt′ing, the act of making a quilt: that which is quilted: a cotton or linen cloth, like diaper, with raised pattern, for vests, &c.: a kind of coating formed of sinnet, strands of rope, &c., outside any vessel containing water: a thrashing with a rope's end; Quilt′ing-bee, in New England, a gathering of women to help one in quilting a counterpane, followed by a supper to which men are admitted; Quilt′ing-cott′on, cotton-wadding; Quilt′ing-frame, an adjustable frame for holding a fabric for quilting. ”

“ The painstaking needlework required to produce a quilt deserved the best of material for its foundation. Silks, satins, velvets, and fine linen and cotton fabrics of delicate shades were not favoured as quilt material by the old-time needleworkers, who wrought for service first and beauty afterward.
A most beautiful example of the American quilt at its best is found in the “Indiana Wreath.” Its pleasing design, harmonious colours, and exquisite workmanship reveal to us the quilter’s art in its greatest perfection. ”