A hand-pieced quilt by Kelsay Buck (1839–1901), New Jersey, 1870–1880, Honolulu Museum of Art. Photo Hiart, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The patchwork quilt
What it took directly
- documentedThe pieced quilt hung as art comes from Abstract Design in American Quilts, the Whitney Museum of American Art's 1971 exhibition"Widely credited with helping bring art world attention to quilts, the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 1971 exhibit, Abstract Design in American Quilts, featured graphic pieced quilts hanging on the walls" International Quilt Museum (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedAbstract Design in American Quilts took from Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof's own antique bed quilts, set beside mid-century abstract painting"The exhibit’s curators, Jonathan Holstein and Gail van der Hoof, had begun comparing the antique American bed quilts in their collection to these very same paintings" International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedAbstract Design in American Quilts comes from Jonathan Holstein, whom the Whitney's own record credits as its curator (the International Quilt Museum names Gail van der Hoof alongside him)"Abstract Design in American Quilts was curated by Jonathan Holstein." Whitney Museum of American Art, exhibition archive
- documentedThe quilt revival comes from what Life magazine called a "Craze for Quilts" in 1972"When Life magazine published a 1972 article on the growing popularity of quilts and quiltmaking, it highlighted several concurrent trends that had led to what it described as a “Craze for Quilts.”" International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedThe quilt revival took from the Freedom Quilting Bee and Mountain Artisans, cooperatives spurred by civil rights workers and volunteers who wanted to alleviate poverty"The article showcased quilts made by the Freedom Quilting Bee and Mountain Artisans, part of a new generation of quilt cooperatives spurred by volunteers in Appalachia and civil rights workers in the Deep South who wanted to alleviate poverty." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedThe crazy quilt took from the celebration of the United States Centennial in 1876"For quilters, inspiration came from the celebration of the nation’s Centennial in 1876. Crazy quilts that used luxury fabrics fit Victorian ideals of decoration while their asymmetrical arrangements allowed significant freedom in design." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedThe late-20th-century quilt resurgence comes from the United States Bicentennial, when museums began to display quilts"As Americans celebrated the bicentennial of the country, they turned to the past to refashion traditional values. Museums started to display quilts" Clio Visualizing History, Quilts as Visual History
- documentedThe 1930s pieced quilt took from Ruby Short McKim's modern designs, syndicated in newspapers across the country"she created and sold hundreds of restrained modern designs for pieced and embroidered quilts and other decorative textiles for the home. Many newspapers throughout the country syndicated McKim’s designs for quilts in the 1930s" International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
What it learned to do
- documentedThe patchwork quilt learned from piecing: cutting cloth apart and sewing it back together to a named pattern"On a patchwork quilt, the maker cuts fabrics of different colors or prints and then sews them back together according to a specific pattern, such as Log Cabin, Pinwheel, or Eight Pointed Star." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedBritish patchwork learned from piecing over paper"In Britain, the most enduring method is known as 'piecing over paper'. In this method, the pattern is first drawn onto paper and then accurately cut." Victoria and Albert Museum, An introduction to quilting and patchwork
- statedMichael James, studio quiltmaker learned from the quilt's bond between good design and good workmanship"My initial fascination with the form was deepened by awareness of the complete interdependence struck between good design and good workmanship in a successful final product." Michael James, The Quiltmaker's Handbook (1978), quoted by the International Quilt Museum
The tradition it sits in
- documentedThe patchwork quilt comes from English mosaic patchwork, made in the 18th century to show off small printed cottons"Some Europeans lucky enough to acquire cotton began to integrate it into quilted bedcovers in the 18th century. In England, women adopted a mosaic patchwork technique that often showcased the small floral designs printed on cottons." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedQuilting in North America comes from early settlers from England and Holland"Particularly in north America, where early settlers from England and Holland established quilting as a popular craft, there is a tradition of a quilt-making 'bee' for a girl about to get married, with the aim of stitching a whole quilt in one day." Victoria and Albert Museum, An introduction to quilting and patchwork
- documentedThe story of the thrifty colonial scrap quilt comes from mid- to late-19th-century American nostalgia for colonial forebears"In the mid- to late 19th century, some Americans—fueled by an admiring respect for their colonial forebearers—began to imagine quilts as objects made by hardworking, ingenious, yet humble colonial Americans, who lovingly stitched them together from scraps" International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story (Beyond the Myths)
Where the whole form comes from
- documentedThe American patchwork quilt took from cheap printed cotton from the Industrial Revolution's mills"Only once fabric was cheap and readily available thanks to the advances of the Industrial Revolution would American women choose to cut it up only to sew it back together into a patchwork quilts." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedThe European medallion quilt comes from Indian palampores (painted and dyed cotton bed covers)"As the 19th century dawned, Europeans produced medallion quilts with brightly colored glossy chintz fabrics, whose overall format was influenced by Indian palampores." International Quilt Museum, World Quilts: The American Story
- documentedQuilting comes from medieval bed covers, with early examples from Europe, India and the Far East"The history of quilting can be traced back at least to medieval times. The V&A has early examples in its collection from Europe, India and the Far East." Victoria and Albert Museum, An introduction to quilting and patchwork
- inferredThe American medallion quilt comes from Indian palampores, by way of Europe"All of these styles eventually made their way to North America as cosmopolitan colonists imported both expensive cloth and quiltmaking practices." inferred — the International Quilt Museum ties European medallion quilts to Indian palampores and says European styles crossed to North America with colonists; it does not itself trace the American medallion quilt back to India in one line
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