Fabric Quilt

In the article, Medieval & Renaissance Quilting, quilt historian Lisa Evans wrote, "Quilted garments padded Crusader mail, quilted linens adorned Renaissance bedchambers, and quilted Evangelists were treasured at 15th century monasteries. more...

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" Quilting (stitching together layers of padding and fabric) is as old as ancient Egypt if not older and wholecloth quilts were very common trade goods in wealthy circles in Europe and Asia going back as far as the 15th century.

Piecing fabric together is also very old. It was more often used for clothing but also occasionally for decorative objects like this exquisite pieced pillow from the 15th century.

The making of pieced quilts made up of cut pieces of fabric sewn in block form with the blocks then sewn together to make the quilt is a more recent development. Pieced block quilts, often called patchwork quilt, did not become the dominant form of quilt making until the mid-19th century, and still is not the traditional form in Provence, Wales, and parts of India.

In this article "piecing" refers to the sewing together of fabric to create the quilt top. "Quilting" refers to stitching the three layers of fabric together; the quilt top, batting (also called wadding) in the center, and the fabric backing.

Quilting at the dawn of the nineteenth century

Quilt making was uncommon in America in the late eighteenth century and early years of the nineteenth. Most women were busy spinning, weaving and sewing in order to clothe their family. Commercial blankets or woven coverlets were a more economical bedcovering for most people. Only the wealthy had the leisure time for quilt making so Colonial Quilting was done by only a few.

Obviously quilts were not made of left over scraps or worn clothing as a humble bedcovering during this period. Instead they were decorative items that displayed the fine needlework of the maker.

Whole cloth quilts, broderie perse and medallion quilts were the styles of quilts made during the early 1800s.

Whole cloth quilt

Quilts made of a solid piece of fabric are referred to as Whole Cloth Quilts. The three layers of top, batting and backing were quilted together. The quilting itself became the decoration.

Both wool and cotton solid color quilts and white quilts were made during this period. The white ones are sometimes called "whitework".

A few were made with a simple overall quilting design but many were works of art with beautiful quilting including feathers, flowers and other natural motifs. Some were made even more exquisite by a method called trapunto. Trapunto is the technique of slipping extra stuffing into certain areas of a quilt to bring out the quilting in that area. For example trapunto can make the area inside a feather or flower making that part of the quilt a little thicker. Women were proud of fine and even quilt stitches in these quilts

Read more at Wikipedia.org