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.
Quilters of the Victorian age used leftover scraps of cloth from previous projects to piece together what was known as a crazy quilt. These quilts usually ended up as a show-piece to decorate their parlours.
American quilters on the other hand, of necessity, created quilts that were more utilitarian in design. They used what material that they had on hand, such as feed sacks, for their fabric blocks to save money. Their aim was to keep their families warm on cold nights and, at times, to make a living selling quilts to single men.
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.
Quilts were also used to express caring and friendship to close friends. The friendship quilt was one used for such a purpose. Contributions of blocks or pieces of fabric would be made by a group of quilters to make a quilt for someone special to them. Once there was enough material gathered then the group would come together in what was known as a quilting bee, or circle to finish the quilt.
A variation of the friendship quilt is what is known as a signature or autograph quilt. Signatures of friends, family, or from the community are collected on individual quilt pieces. The quilt is then sewn together by an individual quilter or a sewing group for the purpose of commemorating an important event in the recipient's life.
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.
The crazy quilt design is also used in the raising of funds for needy causes. Scraps of cloth from the clothing of famous people would be collected and sewn into a quilt. Once the quilt was finished it would be auctioned off for a needy cause.
Thus those that practiced the art of quilting have found many more uses for their skills than just providing warmth or weight to clothing. Fund raising and remembrance also are an important part of the quilting tradition.
Author Resource:-
Quilting is the process of stitching together two layers of fabric that is filled with a soft textile - usually cotton. In a sense, quilting is kind of like making a textile sandwich. You will need some quilting tools and depending on the complexity, maybe even a quilting template. For more free information, please visit our website now.
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