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  • 17Jun

    Quilt Restoration and Repair

    Antique Fabrics, Crazy Quilts, General Quilting & FUN, Restore a Quilt No Comments

    If your antique quilt is in poor condition, there may be help for it.

    Check this website, Heirloom Quilt Restoration at www.restorequilts.com for more information. The restoration process is tailored individually to each quilt, addressing specific needs. There are many kinds of deterioration that can occur with different kinds of textiles, and of course, a quilt’s prior storage and care play a big part in its present condition.

    There is a small fee for an evaluation. However you are always welcome to email images of your quilt to me at no cost. I can’t offer any estimate or specific information without seeing a quilt in person, but pictures are a good way to get some preliminary information without the expense of shipping a quilt.

    Check the pages on the website for lots of pictures of various types of quilt restoration work and quilt repairs. There are examples of different types of repairs to silk crazy quilts, both in the shattered fabrics and in shredded embroideries. One page has photos of different cotton fabric comparisons, and it explains how close to the original fabric color and print a restoration piece should be to the original fabric. And another page gives sequential views of restoration made to a mouse hole, a very common type of damage to cotton quilts. The mouse hole pictured had been chewed completely through all layers of the quilt, and you can see from the pictures how the repair is made and is nearly invisible when completed.

    There are some tips for wrapping your quilt with acid free tissue and protecting individual embellishments. If you have antique quilts in disrepair, the pages here will let you know that there IS help available!

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  • 11Jun

    The International Quilt Study Center

    Antique Fabrics, General Quilting & FUN, Quilt Tips and Ideas, Restore a Quilt No Comments

    The International Quilt Study Center and Museum of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a place unlike any other.  The institution is devoted to the research, preservation, and display of  over 2300 quilts, and works diligently to study the cultural, social, and political history which is hidden within the stitches of every beautifully pieced quilt.  Besides the research center and museum, the center also hosts a wonderful website where the collections of quilts can be viewed digitally, giving those who do not have the opportunity to make the trip a chance to learn about quilting history.

    The International Quilt Study Center and Museum got its start when the generous Ardis and Robert James donated their collection of 950 stunning quilts to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1997.  This donation was backed by substantial monetary support, and the center has grown to become the leader in quilt studies.  The center has published several books, with the most recent one published in 2003.

    While the International Quilt Study Center and Museum welcomes all visitors, it is also a part of the Department of Textiles, Clothing, and Design in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Here, it is possible for a student to obtain a Master of Arts degree in textile history, with an emphasis on quilt studies.

    For the visitor to the museum, there are a variety of tour options.  Guided tours are offered Wednesdays and Saturdays year round.  Group tours are also available by reservation.  Six to eight exhibits are displayed each year, with fifteen to twenty quilts in each exhibit, all researched with diligent care.  For any quilt enthusiast, a visit to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum will be an enriching and valuable experience.

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  • 06Jun

    Feed Sack Quilts

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    Feed sacks are cloth bags in which animal feed or flour, sugar, coffee or other commodities were packaged. The bags were made in many different sizes to accommodate goods sold in different weights. Originally the feed sacks were made to hold anywhere from one pound to twenty-five or fifty pounds. In 1937 there was a standardization of the sizes, which made product packing, shipping, and storage much easier. The standardization also made it easier for quilters to judge how many feed sacks they would need to sew a project.

    Feed sack quilts were made as early as the first part of the 19th century, utilizing the precious woven cloth that was a bonus from store-bought goods. There were different quality sacks, with grain bags being the coarsest and sugar and flour being made from a finer cloth. The early bags were not colored, and women dyed them to meet their needs. Some early bags were printed with heavy ink labeling which had to be removed. Sometimes it required soaking in kerosene or rubbing with unsalted lard to soften the ink before washing the bags in lye soap.

    During the 1930s and the Great Depression, printed designs began to be used on feed sack fabrics. Frugal housewives collected bags with identical prints and used the fabric for everything from curtains to clothing to quilts. Many times a swatch of fabric was sent to town with a husband buying feed, and he was given instructions to bring home the sacks that matched.

    Manufacturers of feed sacks soon began competing with new printed fabrics and colors, using a wide variety of designs and even popular cartoon characters of the day. The feed sacks became an important marketing ploy for many years, continuing until the 1960s.

    In some areas of the country you can still buy feed, grain, and flour in cloth bags, although they are not the finely printed types like those from the early 20th century. Perhaps with our new, greener economy we will see a return of the fabric bags?

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  • 03Jun

    Crazy Quilting

    Antique Fabrics, Crazy Quilts, General Quilting & FUN, Restore a Quilt No Comments

    Crazy Quilting is a style of quilt making that began in the mid 19th century and grew in popularity after examples and instructions were printed in some of the first ladies home arts magazines which appeared during the latter quarter of the 19th century.

    Crazy quilt blocks are made by using odd shapes and sizes of beautiful fabrics. The fabrics usually used were silks, often elaborate brocades, velvets or other special pieces. Women sometimes traded fine silk pieces with their family and friends to collect a wider variety of fabrics.

    Crazy quilt blocks are foundation pieced, that is, the silk fabrics were stitched onto a base fabric which provided stability. The base fabric was usually cotton, often muslin, and sometimes large scraps of various printed cottons. The silk fabrics were stitched onto the base without a formal pattern, but rather helter-skelter, until the entire base fabric was covered. Then the seamlines of the pieces were covered with lovely and elaborate embroidery.

    Often the quilt maker embroidered various designs or pictures on her silk pieces before sewing them onto the base block. Sometimes painted pictures were used, or lithographed fancy ribbons or fabrics. Lace may have been added, or appliqued designs. A crazy quilt was a needlewoman’s showcase, and the embellishments were as beautiful and decorative as she could make them. A crazy quilt was a very personal creation where each stitcher’s skill was obvious.

    Crazy quilts usually were not used on beds. They were decorative pieces of art displayed in parlors, sometimes put away and brought out when company came.

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  • 09May

    An Historical Perspective of Quilting

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    For an article to meet the definition of “quilted”, it must consist of three layers, a top and back layer with an insulating layer of some kind in between. The three layers must be fastened together at intervals by means of stitching or tying. The origin of the first quilted piece is really unknown, although several archives claim that distinction. There are fragments found in a Mongolian cave and dated from 100BC to 200AD, and there are ancient Egyptian pieces even older. The Chinese, too claim extremely early quilted silk; in fact there are examples of fine woven silks that are 3,000 years old. The fleeting nature of textiles makes it nearly impossible to know true origins. Sooner or later, all textiles will deteriorate.

    The history of quilting as a needleart is a bit easier to trace. Quilting as we know it has been done in the last few centuries. In Europe, there are records dating from the 12th century of quilted garments which were worn under mail and armor. In some cases, the mail was sewn to the quilted jacket, which no doubt gave shape to the mail. The quilted lining was part of the suit of armor, providing protection from blunt trauma as well as insulation and padding for comfort from the heavy metal armor.

    In Europe and America, some of the earliest decorative quilting was done on women’s underskirts, which were worn for warmth. The overskirt was often split-front style at this time, exposing the beautiful and intricate quilting and needlework beneath. Wool blankets were the natural choice for warm coverings for sleeping. Some of the first quilted bedclothes were actually the bed curtains which were hung around a bed to block drafts and to help retain body heat.

    The colonization of America shaped the development of quilting in America. In the colonies, raw materials for making textiles were shipped back to the textile mills in England and Europe, and finished fabrics were then shipped back to the Colonists for purchase. Private home spinning and weaving was done, but there were certain periods and certain locations where looms were broken and burned by the British in the Colonies. In fact, the first textile mill in the United States was not founded until 1790. Most fabrics used for clothing and home decorating were imported from England and France, where the Industrial Revolution had placed their textile production facilities way ahead of the rest of the world.

    As the United States grew, and the textile industry continued to see improvements and inventions, finer fabric weaves and new fabric printing methods were developed. The early 19th century brought huge changes to the American lifestyle, especially in the eastern cities or on plantations where there were servants or slaves to do housework. Women had leisure time to take up needlearts, and quilting was one of the ways they spent their time. Women still did not own property in most states, except for some household goods like linens and cookware. Wills, tax listings, and old shipping records where possessions and furnishings were listed as a husband’s property attest to this. Quilts were the property of women, however, which may have prompted their popularity to some extent.

    Quilts were often given as gifts or made for celebrations or to mark events such as births and marriages. Styles of quilt designs have changed along with fashions. Often this was due to different materials becoming available, or new inventions, such as the sewing machine. After the Civil War, American made cotton fabrics were cheap and plentiful, and this was one reason for the huge number of patchwork quilts made during this time period.

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  • 07May

    Crazy Quilt Embroidered Motif

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    Crazy quilts were a showcase for fine needlework. They usually were not used as bed quilts. They were typically somewhat smaller in size than a bed quilt, and they were often displayed in a parlor, perhaps gracing the top of a piano or settee.

    Crazy Quilt Embroidered Peacock Motif (PIC)

    The embroidered peacock above is a very densely hand-stitched piece. This particular motif was embroidered separately and then sewn to the silk patch of the quilt before it was added to the quilt. While many quilt makers of the period did all their own stitching, it was not uncommon for them to purchase pre-made hand-embroidered motifs to apply to their quilts. Many women also did their own design and embroidery on a separate piece, and then used it as a motif to apply to their quilt.

    Women who were adept at embroidery created these motifs and sold them as a source of income.

    Many quilters did their own embroidery directly onto the fabric used in the crazy quilt. You can tell the difference between the direct embroidered motifs and the applied ones by carefully examining the edges of the motif. The applied motifs usually have an edge stitch of some kind that served to seal the edge and prevent raveling. Often it was a very closely spaced buttonhole stitch. Sometimes you can see the stitches that anchor the motif to the quilt.

    Always be very careful if you are handling an antique quilt, and don’t poke or pick at the edges of the embroideries. The old threads are bound to be fragile, and if you should break one it could set off a chain of events that could ruin that area of the quilt.

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  • 15Mar

    Quilt Restoration Questions

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    Recently I have had several questions about quilt restoration, and I’ll break them down by topic into a few posts here. For more information, be sure to check Heirloom Quilt Restoration.

    Quilt Restoration Question:
    I have three quilts that my great-grandmother made in the 1920s. Along their journey to me, they have been machine washed, and now the batting is bunched up into little balls in some places inside the quilts. Is there anything that can be done?

    Quilt Answer:
    Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done with bunched up batting. There is one remedy that I’ve used for small areas, and although it is extremely tedious and difficult, it does help, especially if the batting has become hard little clumps inside the quilt.

    The idea is to break apart the hard clumps and redistribute the batting within the little quilted “pocket” between the rows of quilting stitches. This will have to be done without damaging the rest of the quilt, so it is very careful work. I have used a long hatpin from the back of the quilt to reach inside and just poke apart the batting, then push it around inside the little “pocket”. Always go in from the back of the quilt so nothing will show from the front. In case a small rip should occur (Heaven forbid!) you can mend it on  the back without ruining the front. Count on about 20 minutes for one small clump of batting. Work very slowly and carefully. One little slip can make a rip, and you certainly don’t want to cause any damage.

    Often quilt backs are a fabric with a looser weave, and the spaces between threads are larger than tightly woven dress fabrics you may find on the front of the quilt. This makes it easier to shift batting around with the pin without making a hole. If you are really lucky, the back will be some kind of cheap but sturdy cloth with spaces between the threads large enough that you can slip a lace-making crochet hook through. A hook may break apart batting lumps and move the fluff around more easily than a hatpin. But, if you slip with a hook, it will definitely make a larger hole or rip than a pin, so use caution. Don’t pierce the fabrics, go through the spaces between the woven threads, and if any fabric is brittle or shows signs of crumbling, just leave the quilt as it is. Please.

    The remedy above is a last resort. If you lay your quilts out on an unused bed for a few days and just get used to them, you might decide that they are fine just the way they are, lumps and all. You can consider the bunched up batting to be part of their provenance, and celebrate the fact that you will never feel the urge to wash them.

    And you do need to remember that quilts like this were made to be used. It is safe to assume that they have been sat on, slept under, and laundered many times during their lifetime. It is likely that they may have been through a wringer! You have to marvel that so many quilts of that era have survived at all.

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  • 19Jan

    Quilt Fabric: Aunt Grace Classic

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    Judy Rothermel’s popular Aunt Grace fabrics are such wonderful reproductions of the 1930’s prints we love in our grandmothers’ quilts.

    We often tend to think of them in Wedding Ring, Dresden Plate, or Sunbonnet Sue designs. But they are wonderful when used in any quilt block pattern. If you are a beginning quilter, and you love the 1930s look, try a simple quilt that uses Four Patch or Nine Patch blocks. The sweet pastels of Aunt Grace fabrics work no matter how you use them.

    Aunt Grace Fabric (PIC) LINK

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  • 05Jan

    Antique Quilt, Stuffed Whitework or Trapunto

    Antique Fabrics, Crazy Quilts, FREE QUILT PATTERNS, Gardening, General Quilting & FUN, Restore a Quilt No Comments

    The following quilt is referenced from the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska at the University of Nebraska. The new facility is outstanding, and if you are interested in quilts you should plan a trip there. See link below.

    I find this particular quilt very interesting, because the possible geographical origin is not far from me. Dale, Indiana is a very small town, near the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial and Lincoln State Park. The quilt is dated 1868, during the reconstruction after the end of the Civil War.

    IQSC White Stuffed Work Quilt c.1868
    Primary Pattern: Whole Cloth
    Alternate Pattern: White-on-white
    Brackman #:
    Title:
    Quiltmaker: Clark, Eliza G.
    Geographical Origin: Possibly made in Dale, Indiana, United States
    Date: Dated 1868
    Style/Type: Whitework; Whole Cloth/Framed
    Dimensions (LxW): 94 x 85 Inches
    240 x 216 Centimeters
    Primary Technique: Whole Cloth
    Other Techniques: Corded/Stuffed
    Primary Fiber: Cotton
    Primary Fabric: Broadcloth/Muslin
    Quilt Stitches/Inch: 11-13
    Binding: Straight Applied
    Inscription Type: Quilted
    Exhibitions: IQSC Collection: Ardis and Robert James Collection
    IQSC Object Number: 1997.007.0417

    Visit the website here. link to IQSC

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  • 01Jan

    Quilt Question: Is trapunto always done on a wholecloth quilt?

    Antique Fabrics, General Quilting & FUN, Quilt Tips and Ideas, Restore a Quilt No Comments

    Quilt Question:
    Is trapunto always done on a wholecloth quilt?

    Quilt Answer:
    A wholecloth quilt is a quilt where the top layer is not pieced, but is a single large piece of fabric, quilted so that the quilting stitches are the design element of the quilt. Sometimes large pieces of fabric had to be joined to get the size for the quilt top, but a wholecloth quilt top is not pieced in any way like patchwork or appliqué would be.

    Trapunto was originally done on wholecloth, and doing fine needlework and stuffed work was a sign of an accomplished needlewoman. The type of large petticoat worn with an open, split-front overskirt in the 1500-1600s were usually quilted for warmth, and it made a fine way to show off needle skills and trapunto.

    Early trapunto quilts were quite elaborate, with fanciful designs or flowers and birds. As appliqué came into vogue, some fine appliqué work was enhanced by trapunto quilting, and the results were beautiful. Quilters today use trapunto techniques on all kinds of quilts. Art quilts often rely on special techniques like this for depth and dimension, and even motifs on baby quilts are enhanced by a raised design.

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