Imagine, it is the 1930s and you are a mother. Times are really hard, your family seem to be living on the chokos from the vine over the outdoor dunny and you don't have a lot of money. You have to mend and make do with everything you can. Old shirts, worn out sheets, skirts with holes in them, even the sacks you buy flour in can all be cut down and sewn into all sorts of things, a dolly for your daughters birthday, a new shirt for your son, a quilt for the bed. You have been working on putting little patches leftover from other projects together into squares. You think it will make a nice quilt, mainly in shades of blue.
When I took these hand sewn patches to show the children, they were quite intrigued by them. The children have been interested in sewing recently, and they always like to see examples of other peoples sewing. Seeing such an old example was really exciting for them. They were amazed by how fine the stitching on the patches was, and really taken with how carefully made each square is. The thing which amazed them most though was what the squares were made of - old shirts and dresses. They were surprised that people reused such things and amazed to see how thin and soft many of the patches were from repeated washing. They thought their Mum's would just throw something that worn away, and were really intrigued by the idea of reusing such clothing.
Quilting is an art which has a very long history. It can be traced right back to ancient Egypt and China, where three layers of material were sewn together. The middle layer, what we now call the 'batting' or 'wadding' provided added warmth, but of course unless the three layers were sewn carefully, it could move and become lumpy. Quilting, that is, sewing designs through the layers of the fabric was a solution to this, holding the middle layer securely in place. Throughout history they have played various different roles. During Medieval times quilting was used to make the fabric which went under suits of armour and during the 1700s quilted petticoats, , underskirts and waistcoats were quite fashionable. Quilting was an important aspect of many women's lives, and this is especially true during the 20th centurys 'Great Depression'. Sewing was a skill which was used and needed in these hard times, as it allowed women to remake clothes, sew necessary everyday items and make blankets to keep warm. Making quilts was particularly popular. If you look at women's magazines from the Depression era, you will actually find simple patterns for making quilts, as well as patterns for making clothing and ideas about how to 'mend and make do'. Quilts would be wadded with old jumpers and any other warm fabrics available. Even newspapers were sometimes used!
So, why was quilting so popular? Quilting allowed women to be creative, and also allowed them to make something useful for the home. The quilts were often intricate and beautiful, and they provided a splash of beauty and joy in an otherwise hard life. Making quilts provided a distraction from the hard times, as well as being inexpensive to make. Many of the quilts used scraps of material left over from other projects, or pieces of old clothing which was too worn to use anywhere else. They also didn't have to be made all at once. Many patterns involved making particular sized squares and then sewing them into a larger quilt. Each square could be made separately, and put aside until there was more fabric to use. Of course, the same skills could also be used for making other household items, like tablecloths, and even for making clothing! You can see some of the clothing written up in an earlier post by clicking here. Many quilts have now become family heirlooms.
