Crazy Quilts, Redwork Quilts and the Centennial Fair
By Kimberly Wulfert
For centuries embroidery had been a favored form of needleworked decorative arts in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the British Isles. When Britain's Royal School of Art Needlework displayed an exhibit at the Centennial Fair in 1876 in Philadelphia, it opened American women's eyes. At first the women of leisure helped progress the art and use of embroidery on quilts in the late Victorian period. This resulted in the American crazy quilt.
Fancy crazy quilts were the fad from about 1880 to the early 1890s. This type of crazy quilt was heavily decorated. It is recognized today by its elaborate embroidered and painted pictorial designs on colorful pieces of silks, velvets, satins, and silk ribbons with a fanfare of colorful stitches covering the seams lines.
The fanciest Crazy quilt tops signified a needleworker was living the good life. It indicated to visitors that the maker had hired help in her home, leaving her plenty of leisure time in which to embroider. The special dress and furnishing fabrics costs more than common cottons used in patchwork quilts. The fancy Crazy quilt epitomized the affluent woman's lifestyle.
During the fad, fancy crazy quilts were show-off pieces in women's parlors and other public spaces in her home. Actually Crazy "quilt" is a misnomer, as they were not a quilt. There was little need for batting or a layer of fabric for a back, as they were not put on beds, but thrown over couches and tables for show in the main parlors.
Not all women were ladies of leisure, but they too wanted to make their home and bedding more beautiful. "Redwork" offered that opportunity. An outline or stem embroidery stitch formed a simple stitch that outlined a picture of a simple object such as an animal, flower, or a face. Any simple line drawing could be used as a pattern to embroider onto muslin blocks. Joined in rows with a thread and needle they made a decorative quilt top. Women would tie or quilt three layers together and place the Redwork quilts on beds for warmth and decor. Eventually other colors of floss were used besides red, yet the quilts are still commonly described as Redwork because of their style.
Mothers could use Redwork blocks to teach their children the name of simple things like zebras, chickens, buildings, and flowers. The faces of former President's of the united States were popular patterns, as were scenes from the Bible. Redwork quilts with 48 or 50 different blocks, one for each state in the United States were very popular in the twentieth century. An embroidered block included a state's flower, bird, outline of it shape and an abbreviation of it's name were also outline stitched on the block.
Kate Greenaway's (1846-1901) illustrations of young women and little girls, dressed in bonnets and long dresses with empire waistlines, long after this fashion had ended. First they were a most popular motif embroidered on crazy blocks, then more often on Redwork blocks, as fancy crazy quilts went out of style.
Quilts were made by women from all walks of life. Studying them can open our eyes and our heart to the lives and attitudes of those who created fabric art before us.
Kimberly Wulfert is a quilt historian and speaker. Quilt styles are important in determining a quilt's age and era. She published an easy guide to dating quilts by style for the quilt owner and collector new to dating quilts. http://antiquequiltdatingguides.com More on quilt history here http://antiquequiltdating.com
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Patchwork Quilting – A History Summary
By Erin Mayers
Patchwork Quilting goes back many years. Examples of quilting have been found in tombs of Pharohs dating back to 3400BC. Joseph’s coat of many colors was probably patchwork. Even armour was made by quilting heavy fabrics together. Quilted bed covers were recorded in household inventories from the 17th century. Patchwork quilting has even evolved into an art form known as art quilts. The Amish have developed the quilting traditions of other immigrants into America, into their own style.
Emigrants from Europe took their traditions of making quilts from scraps with them to America. Ideas and designs and even fabrics were exchanged across the Atlantic. The Log Cabin Quilt Design that was originally known in Ireland as the Folded Quilt Design, was a good way of using small scraps of fabric to create a very practical piece of art. It is doubtful if women quilters viewed their creations as art, it is much more likely they were simply seen as a quilt to cover a bed and provide warmth, albeit still a beautiful item. Crazy quilts are made from randomly stitching together odd pieces of cloth. In colonial times all cloth had to be shipped from Europe at great expense so nothing could be wasted.
A patchwork quilt was never regarded as being finished until it had been quilted. Quilting combined the three layers of the quilt – the backing, the wadding and the pieced top together, so the woollen or cotton wadding would be held in place. Quilting was a time consuming yet essential task as it provided a hard wearing warm durable quilt that had cost very little as it was made of the scraps from other projects.
Quilting is generally regarded as a female pastime since traditionally men did not learn to sew, while sewing was an essential skill for a young woman. Quilting was also a social pastime. Women would gather together to piece the top together and while they worked they would exchange gossip and tales. Sometimes after a quilting party the men would join the women for supper and often romances would begin.
Lives are displayed in traditional patchwork quilts. Part of the dress of a dead child or part of a cherished Father’s shirt could be pieced in to allow the maker to hold her memories. Quilts have been made over years, lifetimes or even generations. Telling the tales of women’s lives though embroidery, color and embellishment.
One group of special mention is the Amish, a religious group who migrated to America in the 1800s’. Quilting was not a skill they bought to America, but rather a skill they learnt from ex-English neighbours in their new land. In Amish societies, a simple life is a core belief and continues to be today avoiding modern mechanisation. While they do use a treadle-operated sewing machine to piece their quilts together the quilting is always done by hand.
The Amish do not use patterned fabrics in their quilts, the piecing patterns they use readily distinguish Amish quilts from other varieties of patchworking. The patterned fabrics are considered to worldly for use in a conservative Amish home. Some Amish quilts do not even use pieced tops; the only pattern is the intricate quilting designs. For an Amish woman an elaborately quilted design is not extra work but a creative outlet.
Traditionally Amish quilts were made from scraps left from clothes or recycled fabrics. This is another Amish value to waste as little as possible. Characteristically Amish quilts will have borders (almost always at least one and usually two) added because they increase the size and frame the pieced design. Borders are cut conservatively on the grain so as not to waste fabric. The inner border is cut from strips of cloth with a square in the corner to join it. Mitre corners or bias cut borders are rarely used as this wastes fabric. Often the quilts are bordered simply by cutting the backing larger, allowing it to be folded over.
Amish quilts are very striking despite their simplicity. This is usually due to the colors used. Although it is commonly believed that there are color restrictions in Amish quilts, this does not appear to be true. The only restriction is what is available to the quilter and the quilter’s own color sense. Typically an Amish quilt will feature two or three dominant colors with an accent color, e.g. Slate blue, black and deep mauve. White is not often used as it is hard to keep clean.
For the wider quilting enthusiast population, quilting has evolved into more of an art form. While traditional patchwork relies on pattern and color to create an image. Art quilts (or water color quilts) are more like painting with fabric than traditional patchwork designs.
Art quilts range in size but generally they are more often seen hanging on a wall rather than on a bed. There is no form of embellishment that is forbidden in Art Quilting, if you can imagine it you can use it. Because of these rather vague boundaries this is the perfect art form, for any creative fabric artist.
There are many groups for modern quilters to join and sell their works. The internet provides an excellent medium for groups to collaborate with each other to create a quilt together. Thanks to T.V. shows, Quilting is reaching a wider audience and is no longer viewed solely as a women’s pastime. Quilts and quilting have never been more popular.
Erin Mayers
http://www.readymadequilts.com
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Make The Best Quilts With The Long Arm Quilting Machine
By Clive Jenkins
It is said that the first signs of quilting originated in Egyptian historical clothing artifacts and in the times of the templer knights. It was originally used to re-enforce clothes in order to make them warmer for winter. Contemporary quilting has become a rather work of art instead of a clothing necessity and there are many exhibitions that support the beautiful creations of quilt makers. People that choose to make quilts for a living can be considered true artists, even if they do not use the hand quilting techniques. The modern technology helps them to express their artistic ideas in modern or traditional patterns of their quilts, using the Long Arm Quilting Machine. It is perfect for the people who want to begin a business related to quilts sale and need to create a larger number of quilts. Therefore, the long arm quilting machine can assure you a high productivity and an increased efficiency.
Before women were able to work, they often spend their time quilting and sewing. Few women came to the quilter's house and spend their nights working together at the quilt. It was a great occasion for them to talk about food recipes, new quilt designs and share their experience to younger women. They managed to ease the long hours of hand quilting by the pleasant company. Today women are working mothers or corporate individuals and they have so little time that they would rather get together for a quick coffee instead of sewing together for a quilt.
That is why instead of hand quilt and waste the few spare moments you have in your life you should use a long arm quilting machine. It is better than struggling with a king size quilt on your sewing machine. This will help you realize how you have worked on different parts of your quilt almost effortless and allow you to create your own king size or queen size quilt according to your own color or patterns preferences.
Many traditional hand quilters don't agree with the fact that the Long Arm Quilting Machine was added to the list of the necessary tools in creating a quilt, considering that it would take the pleasure and the individuality of quilting.
There are two types of quilting machines: regular quilting machines and long arm quilting machines. The first category includes the machines with an approximately 7 inches arm. They allow you to work on different parts of the quilt, but you will have to change your position quite often because the arm is short. The long arm-quilting machine has an approximately 16 inch arm and does the exactly same thing but the longer arm allows you to work without having to change your position and this means extra-time for you in the process of creating the quilt. It works on the principle based on several poles that hold your quilt tight on the position and a sewing machine rides along the track, quilting as it goes. But what are the advantages of a long arm quilting machine compared to the other quilting machines? It has a synchronous belt, which increases the speed and eliminates slippage. It wraps around the pulley and eliminates the tear and wear of the machine, and reduces the noise level too. The synchronous drive system gives you efficiency, saving energy and has a low maintenance quilting machine. It can also give you a better perspective upon the work you have done so far, how you have assembled the pieces, while keeping them tight for you to work on.
If you intend to start a quilts business, you should probably invest a higher budget on a Long Arm Quilting Machine that can assure you swift and accurate work. Some of the biggest names of the manufacturers that produce long arm quilting machines are Gammil, Nolton and Hanson, but the best European models might get up to 3000$. Therefore, the more quality the machine produces, the more expensive might get and in order to have the best quilts for sale you need the best long arm machine you can get. The quality of your quilts will draw more customers you could handle. Though, you can find less expensive models if you do not afford a top-line model and you intend to create quilts just for your own personal use. If you decide you want a more performing one later for business purposes, do not worry the offer is very rich.
Using a long arm-quilting machine can help you in your quilt business or to create king size quilts in a variety of patterns, colors and designs for your own home and you will have the satisfaction of having accomplished it by yourself.
If you are truly interested in learning more about quilting then you absolutely must visit the Long Arm Quilting Machine Site. Clive thoroughly recommends this site so check it out today here: - http://www.longarmquiltingmachinesite.com For comprehensive and helpful quilting advice and tips. Ever thought about doing something seasonal this year? Why not try christmas fabric for quilting
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