The Unequaled Quality And Beauty Of Handmade Quilts

Among the finest and most beautiful of handmade heirlooms are quilts

. Often passed down from generation to generation, handmade quilts evoke images of their crafters perhaps more than any other folk art form with visions of a mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother exacting each tiny, deliberate stitch. A quilt communicates loving attention to detail, dedication to the family who will be warmed by it on cold winter nights, and a contribution to an art form with a long, illustrious history.

Quilts are three-layered blankets, used for either bedding or occasionally decorative purposes. They consist of a top layer of typically colorfully designed patterns, a center layer of cotton batting, and a bottom layer of fabric backing. The top layer of most quilts are made from pieces of different patterned and solid colored fabrics that are sewn together in appealing designs, some of them very detailed and intricate. Historically, those pieces of fabric often came from previously worn items of clothing or other sources that were reused to make family bedding giving the quilts added sentimental value.

Quilting is the sewn design of the thread binding the layers together. Quilting alone can be the decoration as seen in Whole Cloth Quilts, made from a single, solid piece of fabric. The designs can be simple geometrics or elaborate designs of flowers, feathers, and other natural motifs. The trapunto technique, or art of stuffing a bit more batting into a small area to increase its height relative to the rest of the design, creates even more interesting and beautiful artwork.

The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. has quilts on display that date to the early 1700s. The evolution of quilts since the 1700s and earlier demonstrate a timeline of technological advances and economic conditions. The quilts from those days through the mid 1800s were typically crafted by wealthy ladies who had the time. The quilts they created were greatly valued heirlooms.

The Industrial Revolution of the mid 1800s introduced the cotton gin and the manufacture of cotton fabric. This made printed fabric more available to bring into vogue the patchwork patterns we see most often today. In the 1930s Depression years, companies sold sugar, flour, and chicken feed in printed cotton bags. Those bags were reused to make family clothing with the scraps saved for making quilts. Some of these Depression era quilts still exist.

Though machine made quilts are the most common and affordably priced today, the quality and beauty cannot equal that of handmade quilts that are still lovingly crafted and stitched by artisans. For a true piece of art and history, only a handmade quilt can qualify.

by: Art Gib

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