Hawaiian Style Quilting Experience
by Patricia Cummings
Ever since I became aware of its existence, Hawaiian quilting has fascinated me. The intricate appliquéd motifs, featuring elements from nature, especially lacy leaves and floral designs look difficult to sew. When one has learned some very basic principles of appliqué, Hawaiian quilting is not as formidable as it first appears. For the most elaborate Hawaiian designs, one key to success is finding all of the time necessary to prepare the appliqué.
As a quick overview, each appliqué starts out by being designed on a piece of folded paper which is then marked and cut. A piece of fabric is folded in the same manner, into halves, quarters, eighths, and so on, and the paper design is overlaid on the fabric, marked and cut. Then, the appliqué is carefully folded out onto a background square and has to be basted to keep it in place until it can be appliquéd by needle turning. In Hawaii, people who are willing to baste have found self-employment for years and most have waiting lists that extend beyond their lifetime.
Hawaiian quilts traditionally employ only two colors in their
execution. The quilts always used solid colors, no prints. A Hawaiian
superstition states that to use more than two colors, a main color and a
background color, is to invite bad luck. This tidbit of information was
gleaned from a web site of a Hawaiian quilt company called Poakalani & Co.:
http://www.nvo.com/poakalani/faqaboutus1/.
Unfortunately, the Hawaiian Style Quilt that I am showing here features a multi-colored print. I read the site information on the day I finished that particular quilt. The fabric I had chosen to be the "main player" is an Alexander Henry Co. designer fabric with anthurium flowers and bright colors which had made me immediately think of Hawaii. Had I known about the bad luck theory, I would have seriously reconsidered my choice of fabrics.
The history of Hawaiian quilting is very rich. The tale begins when the royal wives were summoned to board the Thaddeus, a brig stationed offshore, in 1820. There, Hawaiians were first introduced to traditional patchwork quilting by missionary wives. The event came to be know as "the first quilting circle ever held in the Hawaiian Islands," according to Poakalani. Hawaiians quickly adapted needle skills to portray abstract depictions in cloth of the wonderful botanical examples around them, such as "Breadfruit" and other typically Hawaiian foliage. In the introduction to her book, Hawaiian Quilting, Elizabeth Root states that there is no definite date associated with the beginnings of the unique adaptation of the Hawaiian quilt art form that we know today.
Working with cotton cloth was an innovation to the native population, who previously used tapa, sometimes called kapa, for clothing and bed coverings. According to Sandra Munsey, noted Hawaiian quilt expert, teacher and lecturer, the paper mulberry tree was primarily used to produce "bark cloth." The bark was beaten until it was very thin, and was sometimes incised by anvils with a design, or given an "ïnked" design using natural dyes available. Banana and breadfruit plants also provided harvestable fibers for producing tapa.
Kapa has come to mean "quilt." Kapa, as bed coverings, had traditionally been composed of layers that were assembled on the sides by being sewn together. They could be taken apart for airing. Like a quilt, only the top layer of kapa was decorated, and the inked designs could range from 1/2" wide to between 12" and 24" wide.
It was no surprise that given their experience of working designs on a fiber medium, that Hawaiians quickly became fond of the idea of making quilts. Not only are their designs inspired by all of the beauty of the islands, but the way that their hand quilting is done, reflects a peacefulness, and the rhythm of natural water, sky and volcanic mountain images. The preferred way of quilting a Hawaiian quilt is by using echo quilting. By following any given shape, and quilting a "pinkie finger's" length away on each row, in rows usually about 1/2" apart, the shape repeats itself as it flows out, just like a ripple when a stone is thrown into the water.
The quilt that I am sharing with you now, I am calling a Hawaiian style quilt and not a true Hawaiian quilt because of the way that I have set it, and finished it with more traditional borders, rather than the elaborate and beautiful, lacy borders that are the norm, when there is a border at all. The central medallion, set on point, is the traditional Hawaiian Crown Point block from Elizabeth Root's book, Hawaiian Quilts, published by Dover Books.
The pineapples are my idealized version, worked from my creative imagination and not from a real model. They are really "folk art" pineapples. In retrospect, I wished that I had given them leaves at their bases. While my quilt may be graphically compelling, I believe that a true Hawaiian quilt can only be accomplished by natives of the islands because they are embodied with an awareness of the rich cultural quilting heritage that is a part of the legacy of Hawaiian quilts. However, Hawaiian designs are very inviting for those of us who are not Hawaiian because of the challenges involved with their layout and the fine appliqué skills needed to make them.
When I was working on this quilt, my brother Steve stated that it looked "other-worldly." That comment really stayed with me, in light of the Hawaiians' belief that the open spaces in an appliqué allow the spirit world to move freely across the surface, and allow the quiltmaker, if deceased, to be still present and to wander within the quilt designs. They feel that even unborn grandchildren (whose spirit is already in existence, according to belief), can visit and move within the quilt. My brother's reactionary statement took on new meaning for me after he had his sudden and unexpected death at the age of fifty.
Hawaiian quilts have always been made with much reverence for ancestors. The quilts are a labor of love due to the amount of work involved in making even a more simple one, which can take more than a year of working every day to complete. The quilts are also a by-product of intense national pride. Their own beloved Hawaiian flag, a symbol of national unity, was recreated in quilt form at the time when the islands were to be incorporated as part of the United States. Many quilters made reversible quilts at that time, with the flag quilt on one side. There are some beautiful examples of Hawaiian quilts in the book America's Glorious Quilts.
In the past, when a Hawaiian quiltmaker's died, her quilts were often destroyed by burning. During a quilter's lifetime, her own designs would have been fiercely guarded and not readily available to be shared. The burnings may be an extension of that protectiveness. There is a degree of spirituality involved in the making of Hawaiian quilts that could be part of the cultural initiative that contributed to the former standard policy of burnings. The state of Hawaii Documentation project has been instrumental in trying to reverse this trend. Considering the amount of work and love that goes into producing Hawaiian quilts, to think of any of them being destroyed seems like a major loss.
Recently, I took the time to complete this quilt, which I had started in 1994. In the meantime, I have grown as a quilter and learned a lot more about the process. If I were making this quilt today, I would make many different choices. For one thing, I would have chosen a batting that would not have bearded as much as the polyester one I used. A cotton batting would have been my first choice. I would have made the echo quilting in the center around the appliqué motif, more widely spaced. (My lines of quilting are 1/8" to 1/4" apart)Also, I would have purchased a pineapple and worked my design from that, or tried to find a good photo of one. Though, I would have changed these things and others, as they say, ""Hindsight is 20/20." The color choices in this quilt are what motivated me to finish it.
The point in wanting to share this quilt with you, is to reassure you that whatever creative attempt you make, your project will only reflect what you know at the time you make it. There is usually room for improvement in our skills and we can only learn by doing. Most likely, you as the quiltmaker will really be the only one who notices the inevitable small glitches in your work. Everyone else will be admiring your choice of colors, or appreciating the gift of your time, hard work, and artistry. The important thing is to be pleased with your final product and to realize how much you have learned in the process. Then it is time to dream, plan, and move ahead to the next quilt.
My finished quilt is now a permanent reminder of my dear brother. The material object draws him close once more. It is a lasting "other-worldly" connection to him and a memory of quality time shared with him when he popped into my studio to see "what was new." To look at the quilt reminds me of him, with his hearty laugh, his teasing remarks, and his sense of humor. To think of all that gives me a sense of inner peace. The bright colors in this quilt also serve as a subtle reminder that life is good! This quilt is priceless to me because of the emotional connection to someone I love. Who knows? Maybe Steve's spirit visits the quilt from time to time, and wanders in and out of all of its nooks and crannies.
Check my gallery of quilts to see an additional Hawaiian quilt.
Elizabeth Root has written several books. Click on Menehune to read my reviews.
©Copyright 2004. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, New Hampshire.
Comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com