Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them (15 page)

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ORIGINAL DESIGNS FROM OLD QUILTS

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CHARTER OAK

With the American eagle in the border

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PUFFED QUILT OF SILK

This is a very popular pieced quilt, composed of carefully saved bits of silks and velvets

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. When many of the old quilts, now treasured as remembrances of our diligent and ambitious ancestors, were made,
one dollar per spool was the usual price paid for quilting. 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.

After the space of some twelve inches, which is as far as the quilter can reach conveniently, has been quilted, the completed portion is rolled up on the side of the frame nearest the quilter. From the other side another section is then unrolled and marked for quilting, and quilted as far as the worker can reach. Thus quilting and rolling are continued until the whole quilt is gone over, after which it is taken from the frame and the edges neatly bound with a narrow piece of bias material, either white or of some harmonizing colour. Since all of the stitches are taken entirely through the quilt, the design worked into the top is repeated on the lining, so that the back makes a white spread of effective pattern in low relief. Very often the back or reverse side is as beautiful as the top, and many lovely quilts have ended their
years of service as white counterpanes during that period when the vogue for white beds reigned. Now, however, owners are glad to display them in all their gorgeousness, and they no longer masquerade as white bedspreads.

Occasionally the date of making and the initials of the maker are quilted in a corner, but it is seldom that even this much is visible to tell of the quilt’s origin. 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. Threads of silk, cotton, linen, or wool are drawn through with coarse needles and the ends tied in tight, firm knots. These knots are arranged at close, regular intervals to prevent the interlining from slipping out of place. To this kind of covering is applied the very
appropriate name of “comfort.” Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and all of Scandinavia use quilted down and feather comforts. In fact, the down comfort has become international in its use. It is found in almost every home in the colder regions of Europe and America, and on chilly nights is a comfort indeed. They are usually made in one colour and, aside from the quilting, which is in bold, artistic designs, are without other decoration. The quilting on down comforts is done by machines made expressly for that work.

Quilting is not confined to the making of quilts. The petticoats worn by the women of Holland are substantial affairs made of either woollen cloth or satin, as the purse permits, heavily interlined and elaborately quilted. The Dutch belle requires from four to nine of these skirts to give her the figure typical of her country. Both the Chinese and Japanese make frequent use of quilting in their thickly padded coats and kimonos, and it may be that from them the early Dutch voyagers and traders brought back the custom to Holland.

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(
a
) Design from an Old English Quilt
 
(
b
) Medallion Design
 
(
c
) Pineapple Design

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VARIEGATED HEXAGON, SILK

Colours: cherry, light blue, pink, black, and a yellow centre

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ROMAN STRIPE, SILK

A knowledge of the simplest form of sewing is all that is necessary to piece quilts. The running stitch used for narrow seams is the first stitch a
beginner learns. There are other stitches needed to make a patchwork quilt, which frequently develops into quite an elaborate bit of needlework. The applied designs should always be neatly hemmed to the foundation; some, however, are embroidered and the edges of the designs finished with a buttonhole stitch, and other fancy stitches may be introduced.

In quilt making, as in every other branch of needlework, much experience is required to do good work. It takes much time and practice to acquire accuracy in cutting and arranging all the different pieces. A discriminating eye for harmonizing colours is also a great advantage. But above all requirements the quilt maker must be an expert needleworker, capable of making the multitude of tiny stitches with neatness and precision if she would produce the perfect quilt.

Appreciation of nature is an attribute of many quilt makers, as shown by their efforts to copy various forms of leaf and flower. There are many conventionalized floral patterns on appliqué quilts that give evidence of much ability and originality in their construction. For the pioneer woman there was no convenient school of design, and when
she tired of the oft-repeated quilt patterns of her neighbourhood she turned to her garden for suggestions. The striking silhouettes of familiar blossoms seen on many quilts are the direct result of her nature study.

A
MONG the most fascinating features of quilt lore are the great number and wonderful variety of names given to quilt designs. A distinct individuality is worked into every quilt by its maker, which in most instances makes it worthy of a name. The many days spent in creating even a simple quilt give the maker ample time in which to ponder over a name for the design, so that the one selected generally reflects some peculiarity in her personality. History, politics, religion, nature, poetry, and romance, all are stitched into the gayly coloured blocks and exert their influence on quilt appellations. Careful consideration of a large number of quilts reveals but few that have been named in a haphazard way; in nearly every instance there was a reason or at least a suggestion for the name.

In most cases the relation between name and design is so evident that the correct name at once
suggests itself, even to the novice in quilt making. The common “star” pattern, in which one star is made the centre of each block, is invariably known as the “Five-pointed Star.” A variation in the size of the stars or the number of colours entering into their composition has not resulted in any new name.

It is quite usual, however, when there is a slight deviation from a familiar pattern, resulting from either the introduction of some variation or by the omission of a portion of the old design, to make a corresponding change in the name. Good illustrations of this custom are the minor alterations which have been made in the tree trunk of the “tree” pattern. These may be so slight as to be entirely unobserved by the casual admirer, yet they are responsible for at least three new names: “Pine Tree,” “Temperance Tree,” and “Tree of Paradise.” A minor change in the ordinary “Nine Patch,” with a new name as a result, is another striking example of how very slight an alteration may be in order to inspire a new title. In this case, the central block is cut somewhat larger than in the old “Nine Patch,” and the four corner blocks are, by comparison with the centre block, quite small. This slight change is in reality a magical
transformation, for the staid “Nine Patch” has now become a lively “Puss-in-the-Corner.” The changes in some patterns have come about through efforts to make a limited amount of highly prized colour brighten a whole quilt. This circumstance, as much as any other, has been the cause of new names.