Quilt Pattern
Quilt pattern collecting and history almost invariably uncovers an affinity between quilts and the lives of women that made quilts.Whether inspiration was a result of their environment, their family life, their religious beliefs, political or national commemorative events of their time, women seemed to have told the story through their creative quilt pattern and resulting quilts.
During America's early beginnings, women's humbly built homes and contents where far from comfortable. Food was scarce and their diets were poor. The ordinary colonial woman would have produced patchwork quilts for the primary function of protection from the elements (most probably without any quilt pattern as such i.e. "log cabin" quilts) from whatever scraps of material she could find. She barely had time for labor intensive creative hand quilting as she was always preoccupied with the traditional household chores and looking after her family.
The more affluent colonial woman would have had more time for creative needlework and their quilt pattern and quilting methods depicted styles from their respective mother lands. Quilt pattern for broderie perse style of quilting was popular with these women because availability of richly printed fabrics was low. Quilt makers would turn a small seam and appliqué say, floral motifs (cut from small pieces of printed fabric) to a bed size cloth backing in order to maximise the usage of these fabric scraps.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, printing processes and fabric manufacturing advanced to the extent that fabrics became more affordable for the average American. Fabrics imported mainly from England and France were still expensive, however quilt pattern design and quilt making became popular pastime for a growing number of American women who had time for quilting.This transitional period for quilt pattern design saw quilt styles like the embroidered or stenciled quilt pattern overtaken by the influx of new appliqué quilt pattern designs. The medallion quilt pattern, strip quilt pattern, whole cloth quilt pattern, appliqué and patchwork quilt pattern evolved with the new fabrics.
By this time the tradition among women of naming quilt pattern and sharing quilt pattern was long established; quilting circles and the social implications they had on communities saw to that. Indeed the origin of names given to some of these vintage quilt pattern (particularly friendship or album quilt pattern) is still a source of intrigue today.
During America's early beginnings, women's humbly built homes and contents where far from comfortable. Food was scarce and their diets were poor. The ordinary colonial woman would have produced patchwork quilts for the primary function of protection from the elements (most probably without any quilt pattern as such i.e. "log cabin" quilts) from whatever scraps of material she could find. She barely had time for labor intensive creative hand quilting as she was always preoccupied with the traditional household chores and looking after her family.
The more affluent colonial woman would have had more time for creative needlework and their quilt pattern and quilting methods depicted styles from their respective mother lands. Quilt pattern for broderie perse style of quilting was popular with these women because availability of richly printed fabrics was low. Quilt makers would turn a small seam and appliqué say, floral motifs (cut from small pieces of printed fabric) to a bed size cloth backing in order to maximise the usage of these fabric scraps.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, printing processes and fabric manufacturing advanced to the extent that fabrics became more affordable for the average American. Fabrics imported mainly from England and France were still expensive, however quilt pattern design and quilt making became popular pastime for a growing number of American women who had time for quilting.This transitional period for quilt pattern design saw quilt styles like the embroidered or stenciled quilt pattern overtaken by the influx of new appliqué quilt pattern designs. The medallion quilt pattern, strip quilt pattern, whole cloth quilt pattern, appliqué and patchwork quilt pattern evolved with the new fabrics.
By this time the tradition among women of naming quilt pattern and sharing quilt pattern was long established; quilting circles and the social implications they had on communities saw to that. Indeed the origin of names given to some of these vintage quilt pattern (particularly friendship or album quilt pattern) is still a source of intrigue today.