From the earliest days of the American colonies, quilts were an important part of everyday life. They kept the family warm, sometimes covered the dinner table, and occasionally flew high as banners. Now those same functional and beautiful antique quilts are highly prized by modern collectors.
The Most Common Antique Quilts
Among the countless quilts tucked away in chests, antique stores, and museums, there are a few particular types that are most common. The "Appliqué" quilt, most popular between 1775 and 1885, consisted of pieces of fabric design that were quilted onto a large, solid color-block. The "Trapunto" quilt was a popular kind of appliqué quilt in which the designs were stuffed with cotton to create a raised look and feel.
"Album" quilts were made up of small sections, each section sewn by someone different, and then put together to form one large quilt. "Patchwork" quilts were made of a distinct pattern, whether a square, a rectangle, or some other configuration. Though patchwork quilts were most common from 1775 to 1875, they have been embraced by quilters of all time periods.
"Crazy" quilts, popular from 1870 to 1890 (and well into the 1930's and '40's, especially in rural areas of Appalachia and the South), were made with anything a quilter could find that looked appropriate in their work, including bits of worn family clothing. They seemed to have no rhyme or reason, other than in the mind of the person who created them. In part because of this, Crazy quilts are often believed to have been created more of necessity and household utility rather than a particular sense of design or pattern. Because of their personal nature, Crazy quilts often have great sentimental value.
From Household Chore to Works of Art
As the American cotton industry began to evolve in the early 1800s, so did the creation of quilts. Before the time of the sewing machine, quilts were stitched by hand. Quilts created from 1800 to 1825 often show impressive levels of craftsmanship, with tiny stitches that were meant to last through years of use. By 1850, practically every household in the United States had a quilter in their midst, and the needlework skill varied from the neat, distinct, and careful hand-stitching of experienced quilters to the uneven and less-attractive stitches of untutored amateurs.
In the years after the Civil War, the industrial revolution found a foothold, popularizing mechanized tools, and helping the sewing machine to become a household staple. Gradually, the fine stitching of quilts became a much rarer craft, in favor of pieces that could be created faster, with less attention to detail. Quilts wouldn't be considered functional pieces of art until the late 20th century, when quilting saw an intense revival that continues to this day.
Family and Community Heirlooms
Some of the world's most beautiful quilts never find their way to a museum wall or even to an appraiser. They reside on the beds of family members who can tell you which ancestor stitched them together, when they did it, and why. These are the family heirlooms, often quilts made for a specific person, possibly given as gifts, and then passed down through generations.
As keepers of history, quilts are a story-telling medium. They were often created to honor someone's place in a community, to celebrate a wedding or a new home, and to mark special days. Quilts were also used to make political or social statements. One of the best modern examples can be found in the AIDS Quilt, a project founded in 1987 that brings together the families of those who have passed away from the complications of AIDS.
What is Valuable...and How to Tell
When you are seeking the perfect antique quilt, knowledge of quilting techniques and materials is the key to getting the genuine article. Reproductions can sometimes be convincing enough to fool seasoned experts! To be certain you are getting a true antique quilt, keep the following points in mind.
What type of batting was used? The polyester batting familiar to modern quilters is a relatively new development; polyester wasn't popular until the 1960s. Antique quilts will usually contain wool or cotton, and they will sometimes have silk batting. Another common practice was to use old, ragged quilts as batting in new ones.
Consider the thread. Before thread was cheap and readily available, many women used the heavy cotton threads from feed sacks to sew their quilts together. On an appliqué quilt, is white thread used throughout? Matching threads in appliqué quilts is more of a modern standard.
Look carefully at the stitching. The stitches should be small, evenly spaced, and very regular throughout the quilt. Most true antique quilts were made to be beautiful as well as functional, and the tight stitching insured that the quilt would not fall apart after years of use.
Examine the condition of the cloth. The fabric of an old quilt will likely be very soft and possibly worn thin in places. Newer quilts might look pristine for decades, but true antique quilts were probably well-loved and used regularly.
Consider the size of the bed. Bed configurations have changed over the years. A quilt large enough for a modern king bed, for instance, was not the aim of a quilter in the early 1800s.
What dyes were used? Dyes in the early 19th century were made by boiling plants on the stove, usually in iron pots, in order to extract their color. Most of these colors were rather drab, and consisted of earthy colors, such as slate or light greens. Aniline dyes were popular around the time of the Civil War, and started out quite vivid, but faded over time.
So whether you collect antique quilts with an eye for design, an interest in the heritage they represent, or simply as a means of investment, it is very important to choose an antique dealer who has a good reputation. Serious antique dealers will go the extra mile to secure the provenance, or the known history of the quilt, so far as they can trace it. And a reputable dealer can be the difference between a wall full of treasures and a chest full of reproductions.