Quilts, as known and used to-day, may be divided into two general cla.s.ses, washable and non-washable, depending upon the materials of which they are made. The methods for constructing each cla.s.s are the same, and are so very simple that it seems hardly necessary to explain them.
The name quilt implies two or more fabrics held together with many st.i.tches. Webster defines a quilt as "Anything that is quilted, especially as a quilted bedcover or a skirt worn by women; any cover or garment made by putting wool, cotton, etc., between two cloths and st.i.tching them together." The verb, to quilt, he defines as "To st.i.tch or to sew together at frequent intervals in order to confine in place the several layers of cloth and wadding of which a garment, comforter, etc., may be made. To st.i.tch or sew in lines or patterns."
The "Encyclopaedia Britannica" is a little more explicit and also gives the derivation of the name, quilt, as follows: "Probably a coverlet for a bed consisting of a ma.s.s of feathers, down, wool, or other soft substances, surrounded by an outer covering of linen, cloth, or other material." In its earlier days the "quilt" was often made thick and sewed as a form of mattress. The term was also given to a st.i.tched, wadded lining for body armour. "The word came into English from old French _cuilte_. This is derived from Latin _culcitra_, a stuffed mattress or cushion. From the form _culcitra_ came old French _cotra_, or _coutre_ whence _coutre pointe_; this was corrupted into counterpoint, which in turn was changed to counterpane. The word "pane" is also from the Latin _pannus_, a piece of cloth. Thus "counterpane," a coverlet for a bed, and "quilt" are by origin the same word."
Broadly speaking, from these definitions, any article made up with an interlining may be called a quilt. However, usage has restricted the meaning of the word until now it is applied to a single form of bed covering. In the United States the distinction has been carried even farther and a quilt is understood to be a light weight, closely st.i.tched bedcover. When made thicker, and consequently warmer, it is called a "comfort."
The three necessary parts of a quilt are the top, the lining or back, and the interlining. The top, which is the important feature, unless the quilting is to be the only ornamentation, may be a single piece of plain cloth; or it may be pieced together from many small pieces different in size, colour, and shape, so as to form either simple or fanciful designs. The top may also be adorned with designs cut from fabrics of varying colours and applied to the foundation with fancy st.i.tches, or it may be embroidered. The materials may be either cotton, linen, wool, or silk. The back is usually of plain material, which requires no description. The interlining, if the quilting is to be close and elaborate, must be thin. If warmth is desired a thicker interlining is used and the lines of quilting are s.p.a.ced farther apart. The design of the top and the quilting lend themselves very readily to all manner of variations, and as a result there is an almost infinite variety of quilts.
For convenience in making, nearly every quilt is composed of a number of blocks of regular form and size which, when joined together, make the body of the quilt. Each of these blocks may have a design complete in itself, or may be only part of a large and complicated design covering the whole top of the quilt.
[Ill.u.s.tration: HARRISON ROSE
This quilt is at least 75 years old. The rose is pieced of old rose and two shades of pink; the stem and leaves are applique]
[Ill.u.s.tration: DETAIL OF HARRISON ROSE, SHOWING QUILTING]
[Ill.u.s.tration: QUILTING DESIGNS
(a) Single Diagonal Lines (b) Double Diagonal Lines (c) Triple Diagonal Lines]
There is a radical distinction between the verbs "to piece" and "to patch," as used in connection with the making of quilts. In this instance the former means to join together separate pieces of like material to make sections or blocks that are in turn set together to form the top of the quilt. The pieces are usually of uniform shape and size and of contrasting colours. They are sewed together with a running st.i.tch, making a seam upon the wrong side. The quilt called "Star of the East" is an excellent example of a pieced quilt in which a number of small pieced sections are united to form a single design that embraces the entire top of the quilt.
Patches are commonly a.s.sociated with misfortune. The one who needs them is unfortunate, and the one who has to sew them on is usually an object of sympathy, according to a wise old saw: "A hole may be thought to be an accident of the day, but a patch is a sure sign of poverty." But patch quilts belong to a different cla.s.s than the patches of necessity, and are the aristocrats of the quilt family, while the pieced quilts came under the heading of poor relations.
However, this term is a misnomer when applied to some pieced quilts.
Many of the "sc.r.a.p quilts," as they are called in some localities, are very pretty when made from gay pieces--carefully blended--of the various shades of a single colour. The stars in the design called "The Unknown Star" are made of a great variety of different patterns of pink calico, yet the blending is so good that the effect is greatly heightened by the multiplicity of shades.
Pieced quilts make a special appeal to women who delight in the precise and accurate work necessary in their construction. For those who enjoy making pieced quilts, there is practically no limit to the variety of designs available, some of which are as intricate as the choicest mosaic. The bold and rather heavy design known as "Jacob"s Ladder" is a good example of the pieced quilt. Another is the "Feathered Star," whose lightness and delicacy make it a most charming pattern. The pieced quilt with one large star in the centre, called by some "The Star of the East" and by others "The Star of Bethlehem," is a striking example of mathematical exactness in quilt piecing. In quilts made after this pattern all the pieces must be exactly the same size and all the seams must be the same width in order to produce a perfect star.
The French word "applique" is frequently used to describe the patched or laid-on work. There is no single word in the English language that exactly translates "applique." The term "applied work" comes nearest and is the common English term. By common usage patchwork is now understood to mean quilt making, and while used indiscriminately for both pieced and patched quilts, it really belongs to that type where the design is cut from one fabric and applied upon another. "Sewed on"
and "laid quilts" are old terms given to applique or patched quilts.
The distinction between "pieced" and "patched" quilts is fittingly described by Miss Bessie Daingerfield, the Kentuckian who has written interestingly of her experiences with mountain quilt makers. She says: "To every mountain woman her piece quilts are her daily interest, but her patch quilts are her glory. Even in these days, you women of the low country know a piece quilt when you see one, and doubtless you learned to sew on a "four-patch" square. But have you among your treasures a patch quilt? The piece quilt, of course, is made of sc.r.a.ps, and its beauty or ugliness depends upon the material and colours that come to hand, the intricacy of the design, and one"s skill in executing it. I think much character building must be done while hand and eye cooperate to make, for example, a star quilt with its endless tiny points for fitting and joining, but a patch quilt is a more ambitious affair. For this the pattern is cut from the whole piece and appliqued on unbleached cotton. The colours used are commonly oil red, oil green, and a certain rather violent yellow, and sometimes indigo blue. These and these only are considered reliable enough for a patch quilt, which is made for the generations that come after. The making of such a quilt is a work of oriental patience."
[Ill.u.s.tration: ORIGINAL ROSE DESIGN MADE IN 1840
The maker was lame, and only able to walk about in her garden. Colours: red, green, pink, and yellow]
[Ill.u.s.tration: PINEAPPLE DESIGN
Colours: red and green]
"Applique work is thought by some to be an inferior kind of embroidery, although it is not. It is not a lower but another kind of needlework in which more is made of the stuff than of the st.i.tching.
In applique the craft to the needleworker is not carried to its limit, but, on the other hand, it calls for great skill in design. Effective it must be: coa.r.s.e it may be: vulgar it should not be: trivial it can hardly be: mere prettiness is beyond its scope: but it lends itself to dignity of design and n.o.bility of treatment." The foregoing quotation is from "Art in Needlework" by Louis F. Day and Mary Buckle. It is of interest because it explains how applique or "laid-on" needlework ranks with other kinds.
After all the different parts of a quilt top are either pieced or decorated with applied designs, they are joined together with narrow seams upon the wrong side of the quilt. If a border is included in the design it should harmonize in colour and design with the body of the quilt. However, in many quilts, borders seem to be "a thing apart"
from the remainder of the top and, apparently, have been added as an afterthought to enlarge the top after the blocks had been joined. In old quilts a border frequently consisted of simple bands of colours similar to those found in the body of the quilt, but more often new material entirely different in colour and quality was added when greater size was desired. Many old quilts were three yards or more square, generous proportions being very essential in the old days of broad four-posters heaped with feather beds.
[Ill.u.s.tration: QUILTING DESIGNS
(a) Diamonds (b) Hanging Diamonds (c) Broken Plaid]
The top being completed, the back or lining, of the same dimensions as the top, is next made of some light-weight material, usually white cotton. The quilt, to quote the usual expression, is then "ready for the frames." In earlier days the quilting frame could be found in every home, its simple construction making this possible. In its usual form it consists of four narrow pieces of wood, two somewhat longer than a quilt, and two shorter, perhaps half as long, with holes bored in the ends of each piece. These pieces are made into an oblong frame by fastenings of bolts or pegs, and are commonly supported on the backs of chairs. More pretentious frames are made with round pieces for the sides, and with ends made to stand upon the floor, about the height of a table, these ends having round holes into which the side pieces fit. Such a frame is then self-supporting and frequently has a cogwheel attachment to keep the sides in place and to facilitate the rolling and unrolling of the quilt. The majority of frames are very plain, but occasionally a diligent quilter is encountered who has one made to suit her particular requirements, or has received an unusually well-built one as a gift. One old frame worthy of mention was made of cherry with elaborate scroll designed ends, cherry side bars, and a set of cogwheels also made of cherry; all finished and polished like a choice piece of furniture.
[Ill.u.s.tration: VIRGINIA ROSE
This original rose design was made by Caroline Stalnaker of Lewis County, West Virginia. She was one of the thirteen children of Charles Stalnaker, who was a "rock-ribbed" Baptist, and an ardent Northern sympathizer. During the Civil War this quilt was buried along with the family silver and other valuables to protect it from depredations by Confederate soldiers.
One of Caroline Stalnaker"s neighbors and friends was Stonewall Jackson.
In this quilt, as in many old ones, the border has been omitted on the side intended to go at the head of the bed. This quilt is still unfinished, having never been quilted]
[Ill.u.s.tration: ROSE OF LEMOINE
An old and distinctly American design]
Each side bar or roll of the quilting frame is tightly wound with cotton strips or has a piece of muslin firmly fastened to its entire length, to which is sewed the edges of the lining, one side to each bar. Then the extra length is rolled up on one side of the frame, and after being tightly stretched, the wooden pieces are securely fastened. On this stretched lining or back of the quilt, the cotton or wool used for filling or interlining is spread very carefully and smoothly; then with even greater care the top is put in place, its edge pinned or basted to the edge of the lining, and drawn tightly over the cotton. The ends of the quilt must also be stretched. This is done by pinning pieces of muslin to the quilt and wrapping them around the ends of the frame. Great care is required to keep all edges true and to stretch all parts of the quilt uniformly.
Upon this smooth top the quilting is drawn, for even the most expert quilters require outlines to quilt by. If the quilt top is light in colour the design is drawn with faint pencil lines; if the colours are too dark to show pencil markings, then with a chalked line. It is a fascinating thing to children to watch the marking of a quilt with the chalk lines. The firm cord used for this is drawn repeatedly across a piece of chalk or through powdered starch until well coated, then held near the quilt, and very tightly stretched, while a second person draws it up and lets it fly back with a snap, thus making a straight white line. How closely the lines are drawn depends wholly upon the ambition and diligence of the quilter. The lines may be barely a quarter of an inch apart, or may be placed only close enough together to perform their function of keeping the interlining in place.
Patterns of quiltings are not as plentiful as designs for the patchwork tops of quilts; only about eight or ten standard patterns being in general use. The simplest pattern consists of "single diagonal" lines, s.p.a.ced to suit the work in hand. The lines are run diagonally across the quilt instead of parallel with the weave, in order that they may show to better advantage, and also because the cloth is less apt to tear or pull apart than if the quilting lines are run in the same direction as the threads of the fabric. The elaboration of the "single" diagonal into sets of two or more parallel lines, thus forming the "double" and "triple" diagonals, is the first step toward ornamentation in quilting. A further advance is made when the quilting lines are crossed, by means of which patterns like the "square," "diamond," and "hanging diamond" are produced.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SUNFLOWER QUILT
Shows a realistic, bold design of vivid colouring. The border is harmonious, suggesting a firm foundation for the stems. The quilting in the centre is a design of spider webs, leaves, and flowers]
Wavy lines and various arrangements of hoops, circles, and segments of circles are among the more complex quilting patterns, which are not particularly difficult. Plates and saucers of various diameters are always available to serve as markers in laying out such designs. The "pineapple," "broken plaid," and "sh.e.l.l" patterns are very popular, especially with those who are more experienced in the art. One very effective design used by many quilters is known as the "Ostrich Feather." These so-called feathers are arranged in straight bands, waved lines, or circles, and--when the work is well done--are very beautiful. The "fan" and "twisted rope" patterns are familiar to the older quilters but are not much used at the present time.
[Ill.u.s.tration: QUILTING DESIGNS
(a) Rope (b) Sh.e.l.l (c) Fan]
[Ill.u.s.tration: QUILTING DESIGNS
(a) Feathers in Bands (b) Feathers in Waved Lines (c) Feathers in Circles]
Frequently the quilting design follows the pieced or patched pattern and is then very effective, especially when a floral pattern is used.
Some quilters show much originality and ingenuity in incorporating into their work the outlines of the flowers and leaves of the quilt design. Sometimes the pieced top is of such common material as to seem an unworthy basis for the beautiful work of an experienced quilter, who st.i.tches with such patient hand, wasting, some may think, her art upon too poor a subject. However, for the consolation of those who consider quilting a wicked waste of time, it may be added that nowadays expert quilters are very few indeed, and enthusiasts who have spent weeks piecing a beautiful quilt have been known to wait a year before being able to get it quilted by an expert in this art.
On the thin cotton quilts that have the elaborate quilting designs and are the pride of the owner, the quilting is done with fine cotton thread, about number seventy. The running st.i.tch used in quilting should be as small and even as it is possible for the quilter to make.
This is a very difficult feat to accomplish, since the quilt composed of two thicknesses of cloth with an interlining of cotton is stretched so tightly in the frame that it is quite difficult to push the needle through. Also the quilter, while bending over the frame with one hand above and one hand below, is in a somewhat unnatural strained position. It requires much patience to acquire the knack of sitting in the rather uncomfortable quilter"s position without quickly tiring.
Skill and speed in quilting can be acquired only through much practice. Perfect quilting cannot be turned out by a novice in the art, no matter how skilful she may be at other kinds of needlework.
The patience and skill of the quilter are especially taxed when, in following the vagaries of some design, she is forced to quilt lines that extend away from her instead of toward her. As the result of many years spent over the quilting frame, some quilters acquire an unusual dexterity in handling the needle, and occasionally one is encountered who can quilt as well with one hand as with the other.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ORIGINAL DESIGNS FROM OLD QUILTS]
[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARTER OAK