British Quilt Traditions A North Country Coverlet of 1868Some textile history and some notes on care and conservation of historic textiles

by Celia Eddy
published: 23/06/2005
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Although it seems that the patchwork and quilting tradition in West Cumbria, in the far north west of England, was nothing like as prevalent and defined as in the North East,quilts and coverlets were certainly made here and a few of them have survived. I have two examples, both acquired from local families who wanted them to ‘go to a good home’.

The one I want to tell you about now is a cotton coverlet inscribed in Indian ink on the back: M.Myers 1868. There’s no wadding between the pieced strips on the front and the calico backing fabric, so that means it’s a coverlet and not a quilt. The whole visual effect of it is light and airy; a fresh, summery bed-covering. It’s reasonable to assume that it was made here in Maryport since it had been handed down to the previous owner through her family.

Section of coverlet showing light and dark fabrics used.

The curious thing about this coverlet is that it is made entirely by machine, which, given that it is generally accepted that the sewing machine only came into common domestic use in about 1864, makes this an interesting example of the prompt application of modern technology to a traditional domestic activity.The style is the conventional 'Strippy' quilt more commonly found in the Nort East. The strips are pieced by machine and the whole surface is machined in a diamond grid of straight diagonal lines.

The coverlet is a generous double-bed size, measuring 82” X 90”. It is made from 15 X 51/2 “ strips, ten of which are of print fabrics, flowers and sprigs, all with a white background, the remaining five being of dark print fabric. This dark fabric has faded to various shades of brown ranging from light to medium, but I have an idea that originally it may have been lilac or purple. Why do I think that? Well, although purple was a popular colour from the latter part of the eighteenth century until well into the twentieth, the process by which it was produced prior to the introduction of synthetic dyes in about 1868 involved the use of an iron mordant. In Quilt Treasures it is noted that “During the documentation sessions a defect of iron purple was noticed in quilts from all periods. It seemed to revert to a brown through oxidisation.

Part of dark strip showing extreme wear and 'shattering' of fabric.

The intriguing thing is that while the white prints are in good condition, with no evidence of wear or shattering, the dark prints show very extensive wear and, in places, have disintegrated. If my theory, mentioned above, that these are iron-mordanted prints, could this have been a contributing factor to their poor condition relative to the white prints? The fabrics appear to be from a specific range of prints: all of the same quality and texture, the only distinction being in the printed patterns, although even these are clearly part of the same range of designs. One might almost imagine that they would have been off-cuts, remnants or fents, from a textile factory. This is not impossible, given the proximity of Maryport to Carlisle, once a thriving UK textile centre. Visiting the local fabric archive in Carlisle, will be my next move in trying to identify these fabrics and to date them. An alternative explanation for the deterioration of the dark fabrics, of course, is that they had been home-dyed using whatever dyeing agents would have been in domestic use in 1868 - these incude tea and coffee!

Preserving the coverlet
The condition of this coverlet raises some interesting questions about how to preserve it, which in turn throw light on some general questions surrounding the care and conservation of textiles. As I said above, most of the fabric is in good heart and the areas of wear are very defined. Although there is some staining on it, it looks and smells quite clean, which comes as no surprise knowing the family who owned it! I’m sure this coverlet would have gone through the wash time and time again. So, since in general one would avoid immersing any textile in water without taking strict precautions to check the way in which the fabrics and, importantly, dyes, will react to it, I’ve decided not to wash this coverlet, particularly having regard to the damaged portions. Although it looks clean, it IS old and, inevitably, dust and dirt accumulate in fabrics. It’s always sensible to remove as much of this as possible because the tiny particles of dust and dirt are in fact gritty and will, inevitably, cause wear.

Here’s what I shall do to surface-clean the coverlet, and it’s a method you can apply to textiles of any sort: use the small, flat head (what you’d use for curtains or upholstery) of a hand-held vacuum cleaner. Cover the head with light, thin cotton fabric, such as muslin or cotton gauze. Use the lowest suction possible and run the head over the entire surface of the object. You’ll be amazed how much dirt this lifts out.

Now, what am I going to do about the damaged areas of fabric? I know that some people like to try to repair patchworks and quilts by replacing patches or patching over damaged areas, and there are situations where this is an apprporaite choice. The problem with that is that your textile will end up as part modern, part old. Even if you’re able to track down appropriate reproduction fabrics (and they are easily available now) the old and new fabrics are unlikely to sit well together – although I have seen it done successfully. Personally, I don’t as a rule attempt to repair textiles, but prefer to try to preserve them by arresting any further deterioration. One good way of doing this is by ‘netting’, by which I mean covering the damaged area with fine net and gently hemming it down to the nearest good areas of fabric. This not only prevents further wear but also means that you can still see the original fabrics or what remains of them.

In the case of my coverlet, the problem is that I’ll have to net over five complete strips. However, that’s more time-consuming than arduous so that’s what I intend to do. Next question: what do you use for the netting and where do you get it? Well, the specialist textile conservation suppliers stock a fabric called Crepeline (in UK. Is there something similar in US?), which is extremely sheer silk and, undoubtedly, is the fabric of choice. But it’s very expensive and for the amount I need the cost would be prohibitive. Fortunately, a supplier of a less expensive, but satisfactory, alternative has been found. Their 45” wide cotton netting is perfect and I estimate I’ll need just over 2 metres for the job in hand. What do I mean by ‘satisfactory’? First, the netting must NOT be synthetic as synthetics are harsh and could themselves cause wear. Check that the netting is silk or cotton. Next, the netting must not fray because if it does you have to turn the edges under to sew them down and you end up with a double thickness at that point.

A final point, in undertaking any restoration project, do try to take Before and After photographs of the item. I’m hoping to get some digital shots of my coverlet and will, in due course, post them here.

Note
I should be most interested if anyone can throw more light on the reasons for the extreme wear and tear on the dark fabrics, as described above. Mesasages, please, to celia.eddy@btinternet.com

NOTES AND REFERENCES Quilt Treasures, The Three Year Documentation Project of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, The Quilters’ Guild and Deirdre McDonald Books, 1995 ISBN 1 898094 09 8
Janet Rae, The Quilts of the British Isles, E. P. Dutton, N.Y.1987 ISBN 0 525 488348 1
Karen Finch and Fita Putnam: The Care and Preservation of Textiles.Batsford. 1985.ISBN 0 7134 4411 8
Cumbrian quilts can be seen at Tullie House Museum, Carlisle. Groups can visit by appointment. Contact Melanie Gardner, Keeper of Fine and Decorative Arts. Tel@ 01228 534781
The fabric archive at Carlisle, which also incorporates most of the Bannister Hall archive, is at Stead McAlpin (now part of the John Lewis Partnership. Groups can visit by appointment. Contact the Archivist, Dennis Irwin. Tel: 01228 525224
Conservation materials are available from: Restoration Products www.conservationconsortium.com.uk

© Celia Eddy