Quilting Tools: A Remarkable Sample Of Quilting History

The European and American quilting tradition was started as a way to add warmth and weight to the undergarments for armor. From that beginning the tradition diverged slightly.

Some European, Victorian age, quilters used every scrap of cloth they had left over from other projects in piecing together what was know as a crazy quilt. Many of these were often used as decorative showpieces for their homes.

Of necessity, American quilters created quilts for a more utilitarian purpose. They made use of the material on hand, including feed sacks, in their fabric blocks to save funds. Many made a living at selling their quilts to unattached men, but the main goal was to provide warmth on cold nights for their families.

No single quilt design is more popular than the others. Religion, end purpose of the quilt, and region in which it is produced, often are influences in the choice of pattern. One interesting use to which quilt making was put was at a time when paper and ink were not readily available was the recording of history on a local, family and national level.

Other quilt designs were used to express friendship and care to close friends or family. One such design was actually named the friendship quilt. A group of quilters would decide to sew a quilt for a special person. Each participant would make one or more pieces of the quilt. Then the quilt would be pieced together when the group gathered in a quilting circle or bee.

A signature or autograph quilt is another type of friendship quilt. Community, friends and family would autograph individual quilt pieces, which would be collected together for assembly into the quilt. An individual or a group of quilters would then sew it together for the commemoration of a significant event in the life of the one who is to receive it.

Not every signature quilt is, or was, created for showing friendship. The raising of funds was the goal. Autographs of notable people are collected on quilt blocks. The blocks would then be sewn together to make a quilt that would be auctioned off, or raffled. Another way the signature quilt would be used in raising money was to charge a fee to those in the community who wished to sign a quilt block themselves.

Another use of a quilt design for raising money was the crazy quilt. Quilters would write to famous people for scraps from their clothing for incorporating into their quilt. Then the finished product would be auctioned off for a good cause.

Practicers of the art of quilting are able to use their skills for more than just the providing of warmth or weight to undergarments. Preserving memories and the raising of funds for charity is also a significant part of the tradition of quilting.