Quilt Talk

Washing Quilts, Identification of Patterns and Designs in Old Quilts, and Point of Purchase Information

by Patricia Lynne Grace Cummings

1/18/2010

antique Log Cabin block

Antique Log Cabin quilt block with silks - definitely not a candidate for washing

Is the Quilt Really Old?

Fading from the use of modern detergents, particularly those with “whiteners” or bleaching agents can make a quilt look old when it is not. Agitation by the washer can pull and stretch the quilt and will tear out stitches and break down fabric in no time at all. The heat of a dryer can dry out cotton fibers, rendering them brittle and prone to further damage.

Wet-Washing

Even museum conservators avoid wet-washing quilts, even though they have better equipment to do so. Washing can make certain dyes run, and old cotton fabrics are very fragile and prone to tears when wet. Many old quilts have never been washed, and, ironically, that is why they are still around today. Of course, some of these were “best quilts” and not used at all or very little.

Airing Quilts: An Alternative

Airing the family’s quilts outside, to freshen them up, would be a common occurrence, in lieu of washing them. Of course, some fading could occur at those times, from ultra-violet rays, so it is best to lay a white sheet over the quilt being hung to air. Sheets afford some protection from "accidental" stains from birds flying over a clothesline.

Some Stitches Secure Quilt

If the quilt has been washed, and there is considerable damage, perhaps you are not looking at an antique, but just an abused quilt, more recently created. Bed quilts were/are a lot of work to make. Early on, many quilts were created for utilitarian purposes and often did not leave the beds for which they were intended.

If the quilt has a considerable number of hand-quilting stitches on its surface, you can be sure that besides serving as decoration, those stitches made the quilt more durable, and more easily able to withstand tossing and turning in the night.

quilt and Mrs. Bill Stagg

The 1930s was a boom time for quilting and quilters like Mrs. Bill Stagg were happy enough to have their photos taken to be recognized for their work. Library of Congress photo

Anonymous Quilters

In the 19th century and before, there was certainly more of a sense of anonymity among quiltmakers. After all, the ladies were making practical bed coverings, and except for a close circle of family, friends, and community, they did not seek the approval of the world for their quilts, as quilters do today. The bed quilts were intended to be pretty but not necessarily an object prized by the art world.

Like their quilts, many lives of women were undocumented. Needless to say, times have changed. For quilters today, “the world is their oyster,” and they parade the work of their hands to a much broader audience via the Internet, television, books, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, local exhibits and international quilt shows.

Distinctive Styles/ Art Quilts Hung Vertically

Quilts that gain the most recognition these days are those that are most appreciated when hung vertically. As quilts have made a transition from bed to wall, it is suddenly important to know the name of the quiltmaker. Indeed, just a glance at some of the art quilts today will reveal a certain style that indicates who originally designed a certain quilt. So saying, I think of people with distinctive styles and use of color such as Caryl Bryer Fallert, Yvonne Porcella, and Michael James, in particular.

Check the International Quilt Study Center site and the Alliance for the American Quilt website to see galleries of both antique and contemporary quilts.

Cotton Cloth

There was a time in the 1960s when 100% cotton cloth was hard to find. I remember this because I was looking for cotton to sew a dress for my hometown's Bicentennial celebration. To my dismay, all that was available was polyester, or poly/cotton blends.

Today, there are so many cotton reproduction printed fabrics, microscopic analysis to be certain that a fabric is cotton almost seems superfluous. Pillar prints have been reissued, from time to time, as well as "chintzes" and "toiles." In fact, we have both prints and solid fabrics from all of the "boom" times when quilting was “hot”: 1830s, 1850s, 1880s, and 1930s. The current "boom" time has lasted since the 1970s, or slightly before, until the present time. Quilting never entirely went away, but was "interrupted" at times.

Clues in Color and Design

The most obvious and observable clues are the fabric designs and colors. By studying enough old quilts, one can visually recognize the general time period of a quilt just by looking at the choices of fabric in it, and the patterns used. Exposure to many old quilts is the key to gaining the ability to easily and accurately date them on your own.

Indigo panel

Indigo fabric can be difficult to date as man has dyed with Indigo for centuries, in many parts of the world.

For example, Civil War fabrics seem to have a distinctive look to them, diverse and hard to verbally describe, but recognizable just the same. The cotton fabrics of the last quarter, 19th century, are more easily “read,” especially because of their colors: double pink, cadet blue, cheddar yellow, poison green, indigo, madder, and black and white. Those fabrics often sport many familiar designs such as the narrow stripes of shirting prints, polka dots both large and small, bold small scale geometrics, and home-y conversational prints, some of them quaint, some of them charming.

Surface Qualities of Fabric

In determining whether or not a quilt is antique, consider the sheen of the fabric. Does it look bright and new, as if it were never washed and the sizing is still present? Or are there brown age spots present, or even mildew?

Size of Seam Allowances

Beyond just looking at the fabrics, there are other clues that can help us to reach a conclusion as to the age of a quilt. Look at the stitching. If the quilt is still a top, you are lucky because you will be able to see the back. Many quilts from the 19th century have very scant seam allowances, sometimes as little as 1/8" or less.

Sizes of seams may vary considerably. This is seen in many old, unfinished quilt tops. Often, the quilter did not pay enough attention and when the top was finished, it was not suitable to be made into a finished quilt.

Clues in Thread Use

How are the stitches made? Are they visible? Are they crude and uneven, indicating a child’s first attempts? Are they made by machine, perhaps even executed in a chain stitch by a treadle machine? Is the thread used actually a thicker thread such as crochet cotton or even the re-used strings from feedsack bags? The latter could indicate a quilt from the period of the Great Depression.

Types of Batting

If there are any holes visible, is it polyester batting that is peeking through, or is it wool, cotton or some other filler? Do you see any evidence of layers of cheesecloth that could be holding short pieces of wool (pelage) in place?

Bindings

Consider the binding. Is it envelope style, which is mostly a late 20th century practice? Is it cut from the straight of the grain of fabric (19th century)? Or, is it a perfectly done homemade bias binding, mitered at the corners (20th century?

Clues in 20th Century Quilts

In the second decade of the 20th century, we start seeing light pastel colors of pink, mint green, light blue, and light orange. In the 1930s, those colors seem to dominate the marketplace. The scale of the pastel prints becomes larger in the 1940s, and in the 1950s the trend is toward larger, bolder prints. To familiarize yourself with many swatches of authentic fabric from these eras, see Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960 by Eileen Trestain, published by the American Quilter‘s Society, 1998 and the other books listed on the right sidebar, with convenient links to amazon.

Pattern Identification Books

Another major clue to understanding the provenance of old quilts is to know something about when the pattern design first originated, and this date is usually determined by when the design was first published. Barbara Brackman of Kansas has two excellent books which document when and where patterns appeared in print. The Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns and The Encyclopedia of Appliqué are both worth adding to your reference library.

Mislabeling by the Unknowing Dealer

Antique dealers who are generalists often mislabel quilts. After all, they are not experts and often don’t take time to look up information about quilt pattern names. If you are a dealer, please remember that it is important that you not mislabel a quilt just for the sake of giving it a name.

Does Every Quilt Have to Have a Name?

The simple answer is "No." Many a quilter never thought to name her quilt,* any quilter is free to call her quilt by any name she wishes. As a dealer, if you have any provenance information, please make sure that you share it at the point of sale. Usually, that is the last opportunity the new owner will have to receive any information about a purchased quilt.

Four Elements to Consider

We have looked at condition, workmanship, fabric styles, and pattern identification. These four elements together can give one a pretty fair idea as to whether or not, a quilt that is called an “antique" is the “real McCoy”.

Reproduction Quilts

Today, most American quilters who are making reproduction quilts are doing so to keep the tradition of quilting alive, to save old patterns, and to have something to pass down to future generations. For the sake of nostalgia, the quilt may look just like the one that great grandma made, but since reproduction fabrics are newly-made, the quilt will be entirely more usable.

Phoney "Antiques"

Making a quilt is a lot of work and cotton fabrics today have become expensive. Today, it is highly unlikely that a quilter would try to make a quilt look old with the sole intent of deceiving the public into believing it were an antique. We should worry more about unmarked imported quilts that are sometimes passed off to the unknowing as authentic American antiques.

Read, View, Study!

If you would like to buy an antique quilt and want to be sure of its authenticity, your own textile education is your best defense. Visit museums and pay attention to the colors and designs of cloth in quilts and in clothing, and the stated time periods in which they were created. Borrow or purchase state documentation books and study the close-ups of cloth shown there.

Attend quilt shows where antique quilts are on display. Read, read, read. There are price guides available, and some may even be gracing the shelves of your local library, if you are lucky. There are many study groups across the country and online lists where you may find some serious, like-minded individuals, if you are lucky. Whatever path you choose to learn about old quilts, keep it fun.

Happy hunting!

Our new e-book, Straight Talk About Quilt Care II: Display, Cleaning, and Storage of Quilts, Needlework and Textiles, is now available for purchase on our Products Available page.