Who Had Time To Quilt?

This 'tavern check' design is traditional but available now from American Heritage Fabric

Depending on how you look at it, quilting has been around for thousands of years. Quilting is the process of sewing layers together, after all. Fabrics are one of my obsessions and I find playing with it very relaxing. I always have. Recently, I went on a virtual research run into the history of quilting because I was curious what kind of filling or batting was used in the colonial era, if any. From what  I could find, batting was generally another layer of patched fabric, often wool or cotton. When it came to practicality, it was likely an old quilt in need of a new cover!

I was surprised to find that many historians wanted to clear up the misconception of ‘colonial quilts’.

Let me explain. While women—and men—have long used skins and fabrics for clothing and bedding, pretty quilts were in the realm of the wealthy. Incredible pieces of fabric work such as tapestries were found in homes where women were paid (or forced) to do the intricate work. If we jump to the colonial era, we find that women responsible for bedding in their own homes were far more likely to be spinning wool or flax after completing the work of ‘raising’ it. Add in weaving and keeping up with the darning and repairs. And that didn't include cooking, cleaning and raising a family.  They were lucky to get to bed at a decent hour without adding an aesthetic hobby.

Here is where the tradition of applique quilting comes in. Applique is the addition of a secondary piece of fabric, generally cut into a shape, and stitched on over the top layer of fabric.  An excellent way to hide holes and stains!

And who in the world has the eyesight to make those tiny itches by firelight? Not me!

From the Williamsburg Collection.  A "Baltimore Quilt" requiring hundreds of hours of labor.

Bedding made of layers was a great way to increase warmth and incorporate smaller pieces of fabrics. Especially scraps. Scrap quilts will always be loved for their link to frugality!

If a woman had a nice quilt, or counterpane, for her bed, it was often something she made as a young woman in preparation for her wedding. That work of love would have to last. Once marriage and childbearing came about… well, you know the rest. Colonial era quilts that have survived were probably created and never used. Perhaps by a woman who died early, or had the luxury of keeping it tucked away.

In the early decades of the 19^th century, ready-made cotton fabric became available and the boom in quilting ensued. Even so, only the middle class bought new fabric for bedding. It is believed by many scholars that fabric by the bolt also brought about the ‘retro’ interest in colonial quilts, or at least the notion of what a colonial quilt would look like because few pieces survived.  Few families had the luxury of caring for a quilt and not actually using it! Hand scrubbing, lye soaps, boiling water and families of ten or twelve were not friendly to fancy quilts!

This is from the Williamsburg line of fabric from  Peach Tree Fabrics.  I love it!

If you too are a fabric fanatic, let’s commiserate.  I’d love to hear from readers, and find out your links to old quilts in your family or those you’ve seen in museums.  What kind of hand crafts would you be mostly like to do if you were a colonial wife?

I'm currently promoting a novella collection for Valentine's Day. While not Colonial by any means, this collection has both contemporary and traditional stories that are sweet, clean romances.
Stop in Friday, February 3rd, for our tea party where I'll be giving away a quilted Valentine table topper I've named "Chocolate Covered Cherries!"

the NINE novella collection is only 99cents. BUY now for Amazon Kindle

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. Her published novellas include, “Alarmingly Charming” in Austen in Austen Vol 1 from WhiteFire Publishing, “Desert Duet”, "Starlight Serenade" and "Why Not" from Forget Me Not Romances, after many unpublished contest successes including two finals for the Daphne DuMaurier award. Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends

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