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The Art of Quilting "It is as scandalous for a woman not to know how to
use her needle and thread as it is for a man not to know how to use his
sword." The art of patchwork quilting, which traveled from Great Britain to America with the colonists, has long played a significant role in America’s culture, especially flourishing during the period 1775-1875. Patchwork quilts, models of thrift and economy, practically epitomize the phrase "waste not, want not." Pieced memory quilts, charm, signature, autograph, and friendship quilts, made from left over clothing fabric, are tributes to the frugal quiltmaker’s scrap bag and to the tradition of sharing among quilters. A popular nineteenth-century book, The American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child, offered the following advice: The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing is lost. I mean fragments of time, as well as materials. Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be; and whatever be the size of a family, every member should be employed either in earning or saving money... In this point of view, patchwork is good economy. It is indeed a foolish waste of time to tear cloth into bits for the sake of arranging it anew in fantastic figures; but a large family may be kept out of idleness, and a few shillings saved, by thus using scraps of gowns, curtains, &c. This emphasis on economy and thrift extended to the many uses to which quilts were put. Quilts were used not only as bedcovers, but as room dividers, blankets for additional warmth, and insulation from drafty windows. Pioneers carried them in their covered wagons, and cowboys slept on quilted bedrolls called "suggans." Farmers threw quilts over tobacco to keep it moist in sheds. Quilts often marked life’s rites of passage:birth, friendship, betrothal, marriage, and death.
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A quilt consists of three layers: a top; a middle layer of batting made from cotton, wool, or old quilts; and a backing, either pieced together or a single large piece of fabric such as muslin. The top, which gives the quilt its distinctive look, is made in any of several ways: piecework, or sewing predetermined small sections together; applique, sewing down onto a solid ground an applied design; or whole-cloth, quilting a plain or solid expanse of fabric with elaborate stitchery. Occasionally the three layers are held together by tying them at regular intervals. Otherwise the layers are bound together by tiny running stitches laid down in a prescribed manner.
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Quilts played an important role in the life of the community. Tradition says that a chest filled with thirteen quilts was the goal of every young woman. When she was old enough to be taught to sew, a girl made a plain quilt. In succeeding steps she learned the complications of cutting, piecing, designing, and quilting. Her last quilt was the most ambitious in design, and she did not quilt it herself; instead, it became the "Bride’s Quilt," and her friends were invited to spend the day at a "quilting bee" to enjoy each other’s company and help quilt the spread. The young men would join the women in the evening, and thus made a real event of the occasion. A quilt survives that has embroidered on it the following admonition to other young women:
At your quilting, maids don’t dally, |
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