Quilting History and its Many Benefits for Women

Patchwork quilting uses leftover patches and scraps of fabric, allowing little waste. This was a must in the time before industrial production of cloth and also during the depression or to cash poor families at any time. Often pioneers would create a quilt using worn blankets as the batting (filling layer) of the new one. While obviously important in producing a "waste not, want not" attitude, quilting creates even more benefits than those of reduce, recycle, and reuse.

Traditionally, a quilt is formed with three layers, and it is the series of small running stitches holding these layers together over the area of the quilt that produce the quilted effect. To do this amount of work as an individual can be daunting. The quilting bee was the perfect solution. By gathering many friends together, each working a section of the stitching, women were able to efficiently accomplish the tedious handwork. The feeling of community generated by quilting bees was priceless at a time when women, busy with house and farm work, could go weeks without seeing anyone but family. The collaborative work of producing a quilt draws on the talents and time of many women, giving them cause to join together and form friendships.

Quilting bees also brought generations together. Small girls would have the job of keeping the needles threaded and always ready, while slightly older girls would have the skills needed to piece blocks and sew seams. This close contact and cooperation between women and girls taught through instruction and example the ways of growing up. Quilting also united generations in more ways than those involved in quilting bees. Mothers, grandmothers, and aunts taught girls their first sewing stitches, at the same time teaching the meaning and duties inherent in being a woman of their particular time.

Not only were quilts produced by intergenerational collaboration, but also the quilt as an object provided unity within generations. Because a quilt was very often a gift for the occasion of a christening or a marriage, quilts became a tactile symbol of older, more experienced women providing guidance to a younger woman at a pivotal point in her womanhood. Patchwork quilts are by nature formed of many separate fabrics, and often those fabrics came from the clothing of previous generations. Those older relatives are easily brought to mind, and because it combines the different senses of sight, touch, and smell, a quilt can, at times, be even more effective than a photo album.

All these things contribute to make quilting a very useful medium for story telling. A quilt can tell the story of a family in its symbolism and the material from which it is made. Initials, special colors, certain motifs in patchwork or embroidery, not to mention scraps from certain dresses or other garments, can all represent individuals that the quilter knows and loves. A quilt can also tell a deliberate story, and many patchwork motifs were developed to do so. A picture quilt portrays a very specific setting meant to invoke a certain meaning in those who see it. Some picture quilts show well-known fairy tales or bible stories, while some are very individualized. In some cases the reasons a quilt was made and what its story is can be obvious: there may be an inscription, or the design could be a well known one, such as the wedding-ring, that was produced mainly for certain occasions.

Even when the circumstances or owners of a quilt are unknown, there is always a story being told in the very existence of every quilt, despite its color, design, or the motive behind its creation. Each quilt tells the story its maker chooses to tell through it, and by doing so, tells one part of that quilter's story. The materials a quilt is made from, whether they hold personal meaning or not, can often be used to identify the location where the quilt was produced. Many times, examining the stitches in a quilt can tell one the age, or at least the skill level of the craftsperson. The stitches can sometimes tell experts whether the quilt was made entirely by a single woman, or by many in the style of a quilting bee. It is possible that the age of the quilt could be determined by testing the materials used. The quality of the fabrics can tell us something of the person behind the quilt, as can the way they were produced. Are the fabrics homespun or mass-produced? All of these things reveal details of the quilter and her time. The quilt-object is, in its essence, a story being told.

Quilting also teaches the principles of design, color, and texture. These are important tools for expressing emotions in visual arts. There are many traditional quilting designs, each telling a story or evoking an emotion. A quilter is free to use and adapt these already established patterns, create new ones, or use what is known as a "crazy" quilt pattern. No matter the pattern of the blocks, personal choice is expressed in the selection of colors, fabrics, and stitches used. The quilt is quite plainly an ideal expression of individuality or a group's consensus.

The art of quilting offers a voice to that individual who may feel that expression has been denied elsewhere. Quilting was highly practiced during times when women did not work outside their homes, were not offered opportunities to become artists, were not published for literary efforts, and would not be allowed to speak or hold views in public. When a mother taught her daughter to quilt, she offered a means of expression that would always be available and valuable to women.