Quilt - Traditions

Traditions

Quilting traditions are particularly prominent in the United States, where the necessity of creating warm bedding met the paucity of local fabrics in the early days of the colonies. Imported fabric was very expensive, and local “homespun” fabric was labor intensive to create and tended to wear out sooner than commercial fabric. It was essential for most families to use and preserve textiles efficiently. Saving or salvaging small scraps of fabric was a part of life for all households. Small pieces of fabric were joined together, to make larger pieces, in units called “blocks”. Creativity could be expressed in the block designs, or simple “utility quilts”, with minimal decorative value, could be produced. “Crib quilts” for infants were needed in the cold of winter, but even early examples of beautiful baby quilts indicate the efforts that women made to welcome a new baby.

Quilting was often a communal activity, involving women and girls in a family, or in a larger community. The tops were prepared in advance, and a "quilting bee" was arranged, during which the actual quilting was completed by multiple people. "Quilting frames" were often used to stretch the quilt layers, and maintain even tension to produce high quality quilting stitches, and to allow many individual quilters to work on a single quilt at one time. Quilting bees were important social events in many communities, and were typically held between periods of high demand for farm labor. Quilts were frequently made to commemorate major life events, such as marriages.

There are many traditions of the number of quilts a young woman (and her family) were expected to have made prior to her wedding, for the establishment of her new home. Given the demands on a new wife, and the learning curve in her new role, it was prudent to provide her some reserve time with quilts already completed. Specific wedding quilts continue to be made today. “Wedding ring” quilts have been made since the 1930s, and represent two interlocked rings in the patchwork design. White, wholecloth quilts with high quality, elaborate quilting and often trapunto decorations, are also traditional for weddings. Interestingly, it was considered bad luck to incorporate heart motifs in a wedding quilt (the couples’ hearts might be broken if such a design were included), so tulip motifs were often used to symbolize love in wedding quilts. Quilts were often made for other events, such as graduations, or when individuals left their homes for other communities. Farewell gifts for pastors were made, and some were “subscription” quilts. Community members would pay to have their names embroidered on the quilt top, and the proceeds were given to the departing minister. Sometimes the quilts were auctioned, for further money, and the quilt might be donated back to the minister by the winner. It was a logical application of this tradition to raising money for other community projects, such as recovery from a flood or natural disaster, and later, for fundraising for war. Subscription quilts were made for all of America’s wars. In a new tradition, quilt makers across the United States have been making quilts for wounded veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. These quilts symbolize the respect the community feels toward the veterans, who put themselves at risk, serving their country.