1940s Duvet Cover and Fabrics
from the Lewis Collection
A photo essay by Patricia and James Cummings
March 9, 2008
The photos you are about to view all reside on the front or the back of a duvet cover found in the Lewis collection. This piece was most likely made by Eleanor Lewis of South Sutton, New Hampshire. See our large article about quilts and other items from a four-generation collection that is published in the (now available) May 2008 issue of The Quilter magazine. The item you see here has not been published anywhere else but our website. Our goal is to share the wealth of design prints the are located primarily on the front side, and pieced in strips. I think you will find this bedcover to be a most unusual undertaking.
A mostly-pastel duvet cover. All photos by James Cummings
Duvet cover, as it was hanging for photo. This has no batting, and the edges at the bottom are turned over twice and sewn down by machine, and LEFT OPEN to insert a blanket or whatever (?).
Circa 1940 Date
As a scrap bag project, we would be safer to call this a circa 1940 quilt. Some of the fabrics could fall within a range of ten years either side of the date. The only way to know for certain would be to have access to all the fabric manufacturers sample books of the time, and be able to match up exact fabrics with known print dates. That would be an exhausting study, even if it were possible. Suffice it to say that I've chosen 1940 as a "ballpark" estimate. When you see all the prints together, you may wonder how or why the person chose to use them altogether, yet in person, they "work."
This is the backing fabric, turned so that you can see it.
Floral fabric with larger scale prints than in the 1930s were popular in the 1940s.
This fabric was one of the few "solids" and looks kind of out of sync with the other prints on the front. The 1940s were a time to use what you had on hand, a time of economy.
This may appear to be a fabric other than cotton, but that is not the case.
There is something cheerful about this print, although yellow and orange together are not usually my favorite choice of color combinations. Notice how the turquoise color is there but recedes into the background.
This is an interesting print that reminds me of those "slices" of orange jellied candies, or even watermelon.
Notice that this is the same fabric as the red one above, only in a different colorway of complementary colors of yellow and violet.
This is a cheerful print, although a little odd because the daisies have blue centers.
As you can see, the quilter chose to put two daisy prints side by side. They are two different, yet similar prints, not variations of colorways.
The density of color, the small calico design, and the lack of any white in this print places it at an earlier date, I believe.
The pattern of this print almost looks like a candidate for kitchen towels. Interesting how wavy lines are used as a background to the leaves and blooms. The lines lend movement to the fabric, and even provide a simulated feeling of the petals "floating."
Again, larger scale flowers and the presence of the color white lead me to believe that this is a 1940s print. It could even be a bit later.
The tiny scale of this print makes it look like a 1930s fabric.
Here is another combination of yellow, orange, turquoise, and white, although these colors are more pastel than the previous print we looked at, with the same basic hues.
This, too, is a calico that may be of 1930s vintage. Notice how some of these fabrics often have "fill-ins" of dots in the background. It is as though the fabric designer wanted all the space to contain "information."
Turquoise seems to be a favorite background color!
Here again, we see, turquoise, orange, yellow, and white. I wonder if the same designer came up with these?
This fabric has an interesting look. The flowers appear to be appliquéd onto canvas or netting.
A larger scale "grid" forms the backdrop for these flowers in white, orange, and yellow. Do you notice certain trends in some of these fabrics?
Great Fun If You Love Fabrics
The fabrics shown on this page are not all the fabrics in this duvet cover, one of two duvet covers in the Lewis collection. The other one is comprised of pinwheel blocks and a floral back. I am sure the purpose of these fill-able blanket or quilt covers was utilitarian. For those of us who love fabrics, it is always fun to lots of different ones, used in the same piece. I hope you enjoyed seeing these swatches.
Copyright 2008. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved. Questions? Comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com