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Quilt
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A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to pass through all three layers of the quilt at regular intervals. These "ties" hold the layers together during use and especially when the quilt is washed.
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Encyclopedia
A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to pass through all three layers of the quilt at regular intervals. These "ties" hold the layers together during use and especially when the quilt is washed. This method is easier and more forgiving if the quilt is made by hand. Tied quilts are called, depending on the regional area, "lap", "comfort" or "comforter", among other names. Many quilts are made with decorative designs; some quilts are not used as bed covering at all, but are rather made to be hung on a wall or otherwise displayed.
In British English, quilt is another way of saying duvet, wadding is another way of saying batting, and calico refers to muslin rather than to a fabric with a printed pattern on it.
Some uses of quilts
- Bedding
- Decoration
- For wrapping bodies in
- Armoury (see Gambeson)
- Commemoration (e.g., the "Twentieth Century Women of Faith" quilt on the Patchwork page)
- Education (e.g., a "Science" quilt)
- Campaigning
- Documenting events / social history etc.
- Artistic Expression
- Traditional gift
Types and traditions
Amish
Amish quilts are reflections of the Amish way of life. Because the Amish people believe in not being "flashy" or "worldly" in dress and lifestyle, their quilts reflect this religious philosophy. They use only solid colors in their clothing and quilts. Some church districts limit the use of certain colors such as yellow or red because those are considered "too worldly". Black is a dominant color. Although Amish quilts appear austere from a distance, the craftsmanship is often of the highest quality and the stitching forms vigorous patterns that contrast well with the plain background. These traits appeal to a modern aesthetic; antique Amish quilts are among the most highly prized among collectors and quilting enthusiasts.
Bangladeshi Quilts
Bangladeshi quilts mainly known as Kantha are not piecing together of patches. They are two to three cloths/mainly used sharees joined together for thickness. They are made out of worn out clothes (saris) and mainly used for bedding, as a blanket, and sometimes as decorating piece as well. They are made in the leisure times of women mainly in the Monsoon before winter.
Baltimore album
Baltimore album quilts originated in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s, and are made up of in blocks in which each block is appliquéd with a different design. The designs are often floral, but many other motifs are also used.
Hawaiian
Hawaiian quilts are whole-cloth (not pieced) quilts featuring large-scale symmetrical appliqué in solid colors on a solid color (usually white) ground fabric.
Log Cabin
Log cabin quilts are pieced quilts featuring blocks made of strips of fabric typically encircling a small centered square. Dramatic contrast effects with light and dark fabrics are created by various layouts of the blocks when forming a quilt top. Of particular historical note are log cabin quilts sewn in the mid- to late 1800's in the US. Households along the path of the Underground Railroad would hang their handmade quilts on outside clotheslines, presumably to dry. If the center squares were red, then it signified that the home or farm was a station along the Underground Railroad. In this way, effective communication was made to an illiterate populace while still maintaining the necessary secrecy for the Railroad to continue its mission of aiding escaped slaves.
Tivaevae Cook Island quilts
Tivaevae are also quilts made by Cook Island women for ceremonial occasions. Quilting is thought to have been imported to the Islands by missionaries. The quilts are highly prized and are gifted with other finely made works on important occasions such as weddings and christenings.
Ralli quilts
Ralli quilts are traditional quilts made in Pakistan and India. Ralli quilts are called rilli quilts somewhere. Handmade ralli quilts are used as blankets and bedspreads. These ralli quilts make use of patchwork, appliqué and embroidery. Parents present rallis to their daughters on their weddings as a dowry.
Quillow
A quillow is a quilt with an attached pocket into which the whole blanket can be folded, thus making a pillow.
Quilting technique
As an example, the quilt image above has 24 blocks arranged in a 4x6 pattern, set with dark sashing strips, corner stones in a contrasting color, an outside sashing strip but no border, and a multicolored binding. Click on the image to see these details in a larger view.
Quilts on display
Amongst famous quilts in history is the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which was begun in San Francisco in 1987, and is cared for by The NAMES Project Foundation. It is periodically displayed in various arranged locations.
The Museum of the American Quilter's Society (also known as the National Quilt Museum) is located in Paducah, Kentucky. The museum houses a large collection of quilts, most of which are winning entries from the American Quilter's Society festival and quilt competition held yearly in April. The Museum also houses other exhibits of quilt collections, both historic and modern.
Many historic quilts can be seen in Bath at the American Museum in Britain, and Beamish Museum preserves examples of the North East England quiltmaking tradition.
The largest known public collection of quilts is housed at the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska.
and can be found in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in California also display traditional and modern quilts. There is free admission to the museum on the first Friday of every month, as part of the San Jose Art Walk.
In literature
- Ismat Chughtai wrote an Urdu-language story Lihaf (The Quilt) (1941) that lead to scandal and an unsuccessful attempt at legal prosecution of the author because it was about a lesbian relationship.
- Ralli Quilts The Traditional Texiles from Pakistan and India, By Patricia Sttoddard
- The Quilter's Apprentice and many others by Jennifer Chiaverini
- The Quiltmaker's Gift and The Quiltmaker's Journey by Jeff Brumbeau, illustrated by Gail de Marcken
- How to make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto
- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
- Wild Goose Chase by Terri Thayer
- Old Maid's Puzzle by Terri Thayer
Art quilts
Distinguishing art quilts from the main category of quilts can be difficult. Art quilts can be created using any of the techniques of a quilt - piecing, applique, whole cloth, or even machine embroidery. These are techniques, though, and art involves more than mere technique. Meaningfulness, in whatever way the viewer perceives it, is involved in the experience of an art quilt, as opposed to a quilt built as an exercise in craft or technical capabilities, or for practical bedroom purposes.
The term 'art quilt' itself is controversial, since it implies that quilts in other categories are not art. Quilts have always been made, however, with their aesthetic value as a consideration, even when makers were creating objects for practical use in their homes and bedrooms. To this extent, nearly all quilts evidence artistic/creative expression and their functional raison d'être as well as their materials and techniques support their visual statements, expressions that can be as powerful viewed on a bed as from the flat expanse of a gallery wall. What perhaps distinguishes the art of the home-based maker from that of the studio-based maker are context and intent. The works of makers such as the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama demonstrate, however, that notions of what distinguishes a so-called 'art quilt' from an everyday 'bed quilt' may reside less in the minds of the makers than in the eyes of the beholders.
Color theory and patterns
The colors used in art quilts are determined by their creators, but quilts which go beyond the basic "bed quilt" are usually distinguishable by non-traditional colors or pattern interpretation. Fiber Artists such as Valerie Page and Melody Crust demonstrate their vision by the use of complementary and contrasting colors, and complex and unpredictable but balanced patterns. The result may be mathematical in nature, as is the case with the Fibonacci number textile patterns Valerie Page creates.
Quilts are named
During the late 1900s, the quilt community started to encourage quilters to label their quilts, starting with a name for the quilt, in addition to their own name, and completion date for the work. This was an important step in taking the craft of quilting into the art realm. A quilt's name implies there is some meaning to a quilt beyond its creation, to whatever degree, though meaning is found in quilts without names as well.
See also
External links
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