Patchwork and Quilting

by Celia Eddy
published: 24/06/2001
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Patchwork and quilting have become so firmly associated with each other in the past hundred years that it is often difficult to remember that they are two distinct crafts, each with a separate history and tradition.

Nowhere is this more true than in the British Isles where early patchwork was often unquilted and wholecloth quilts, with their emphasis on quilting pattern, developed their own identity. Indeed, some of the very earliest recorded uses of quilted fabric were the padded garments worn underneath metal armour for comfort and protection. There are records of quilting used as a technique in the making of bedding and of quilted clothing as far back as the fourteenth century. From the eighteenth century there are surviving examples of exquisite quilting applied to many garments, including petticoats, coats and babies’ bonnets. The Heritage Collection of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles contains one beautifully quilted petticoat dated 1764 and said to have been made for a wedding in Scotland.

Janet Rae makes the interesting point that ‘quilting in Britain shows two diverse uses for the technique: utilitarian and ornamental.’ Early records relating to quilts, mainly those made for royal or noble households who could afford to pay for such high-quality and labour-intensive work, suggest that quilting was regarded as another branch of the embroiderers’ skill. Quilting was frequently used as a background to embroidery on bed-hangings, valances, coverlets and pillows. Such work might have been carried out in towns and cities by professional embroiderers, who would probably be members of an Embroiderers’ Guild.

In rural areas, by contrast, quilting would have been a real cottage industry, generally practised for more utilitarian reasons, to make warm and serviceable bed-coverings for cold winters. Strong and more artistic traditions of quilting developed notably in Wales and the North East – Durham and Northumberland. Women (and men) who earned a living as quilters were to be found in both rural and more populated areas: Mavis FitzRandolph distinguishes between’ Village Quilters’, who took orders for making quilts, often as a sideline to dress-making, and ‘Itinerant Quilters’, mostly confined to South Wales, who went from farm to farm and, in return for their keep, stayed to replenish the stocks of quilts. There were also professional quilt markers who, for a fee, would mark the pattern on a quilt top with a blue pencil ready for the owner to quilt over the lines. They used templates and free-hand drawings to mark the patterns and certain patterns became typical of different areas of the British Isles.

Patchwork as a distinct but complementary craft has had its own history. Since economy has always been one of the obvious motives behind making patchwork, it has at times been denigrated for its associations with poverty. The fact that patchwork would have been made from re-cycled fabrics which had already seen hard wear no doubt accounts for the fact that so few examples of early patchwork survive. Although there are some examples of English patchwork which show skilful technique and aesthetic awareness, it seems fair to say that it was the Americans who first raised patchwork to the status of’ textile art’.

Despite its associations with the ‘make do and mend’ philosophy of the less affluent, patchwork wasn’t only made in that context. One of the the earliest surviving example of patchwork in England is at Levens Hall in Cumbria and is believed to date from 1708. The work comprises a set of bed-hangings and a quilt, all made from imported chintzes and featuring patchwork, appliqué and quilting. The use of even tiny pieces of the printed calico, often pieced to make larger patches, probably reflects the value put on these imported Indian fabrics before the development of a calico printing industry in Europe. None of it was to be wasted, even in the relatively affluent home where this quilt was made.

The technique most often seen in early pieced quilts in Britain is what has come to be called ‘English Patchwork’. The shape used most often was the hexagon and pieces were assembled by tacking patches over paper templates, then over-sewing the edges together. In this way, very small, intricate shapes can be joined in tessellating patterns, which is why itís also known as ‘mosaic’ patchwork. By early Victorian times, this style of working had become popular as a hobby even among women who had no need at all to economise in this way and there are plenty of surviving examples from the period.(Illus.7 and 8) The method of sewing together random-shaped pieces of fabric, known as Crazy Patchwork, enjoyed tremendous popularity as part of the nineteenth century Victorian needlework craze for heavy ornamentation.The colours and fabrics used were those in fashion for dresses and other garments: silks, satins and velvets in bright, jewel-like colours with plenty of black for contrast.

Interest in patchwork and quilting as a hobby had almost died out by the beginning of the twentieth century though local quilting traditions survived in the North of England and Wales. Here, the production of high-quality quilted items enabled women in economically hard-pressed mining and industrial areas, to earn money. Their quilts were marketed in London during the twenties and thirties through a co-operartive venture which provided a much needed source of income. The Second World War brought extensive social and economic change to all parts of the British Isles. Women had to work in factories and on farms to support the war effort and when it ended in 1945, changes in fashion and an ever-increasing move to the use of ready-made clothes and bedding meant that patchwork and quilting were no longer of importance as sources of income nor even as hobbies.

Fortunately, enough women who remembered and practised the old skills survived to pass on their heritage to a younger generation and the most notable of these was the renowned North Country quilter, Amy Emms, MBE, who died in 1998 aged 94, a dedicated teacher and practitioner whose influence will long out-live her.

Of course, the briefest glance at today’s patchwork and quilting scene will confirm that the amazing revival inaugurated in America, which swept to Europe, Japan, South Africa and Australia, is also booming in the UK. The exhibition ‘The Pieced Quilt: an American Design Tradition’, which was brought to England in 1975 by Jonathan Holstein and Gail Van der Hoof, is largely responsible for the British resurgence in patchwork and quilting but it in turn has led to and increased interest in our home-grown traditions.

While embracing all the modern techniques, folk customs and styles of American patchwork and quilting, we see the development of characteristically British styles in contemporary work and also have quilters making exquisite traditional-style whole-cloth quilts. There is a newly-awakened interest in the study and appreciation of our uniquely British patchwork and quilting legacy. In 1998 the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles founded The British Quilt Study Group, which now encourages, supports and publishes research into British quilts and quilt history.

This is an exciting time of growth and development in crafts which, from sometimes humble beginnings, have captured the interest and imaginations of thousands of people. They range from un-self-conscious hobbyist who love creativity for its own sake, to textile artists who exploit all the creative and expressive potential of patchwork and quilting in producing aesthetically pleasing works or making artistic statements. To quote Schnuppe von Ginner: ‘Above and beyond all utility, [patchwork quilts] serve a people’s need for decoration and give free rein to their creative talents.’ This is as true here in Britain as it is in all the other countries where patchwork and quilting flourish and grow - and long may it remain so.

Notes and Reference
1.Averil Colby, Patchwork (B.T. Batsford, London, 1958)
2. Mavis FitzRandolph, Traditional Quilting (B.T.Batsford, London,1954)
3. Janet Rae, The Quilts of the British Isles, (Constable, London & E.P.Dutton, New York,1987)
4. Ibid.
5. Op.cit.
6. Various Authors, Quilt Treasures.The Quilters’ Guild Heritage Search (The Quilters' Guild and Deirdre McDonald Books, London, 1995)
7. Schnuppe von Gwinner, The History of the Patchwork Quilt, (Schiffer Publishing Ltd.,PA, 1988)
Full details of The Quilters’Guild of the British Isles and of The British Quilt Study Group can be found on the following Websites:
www.quiltersguild.org.uk
www.quiltstudy.org.uk

© Celia Eddy