Alternative Facts: Scraps in Quilts (part 1)

c. 1800 - a close look reveals many of the patches were made of scraps

There is a difference between quilts made with scraps and scrap quilts, and the distinction is at the heart of what mystifies people most about America's earliest quilts. The romantic idea of quiltmaking in America is that it was born out of necessity, and that American patchwork evolved from "make-do" quilts, made to keep people warm at night. Talk about alternative facts!

pieced quilt, wools, unknown maker, c. 1800, Rhode Island

America's earliest patchwork quilts were decorative bedcoverings, elegant objects owned by affluent families living in well appointed homes. Quilts were included in the staging of homes. As furnishings, quilts and other types of bedcovers formally dressed the beds. For some readers, this general idea about early American quilts might ring a bell. If not, please read this blog.

detail: click to view enlarged version, and notice the seams in the patches

Geometric patchwork quilts, such as this T-shaped wool quilt from Rhode Island (pictured), started to appear around 1800. The quilts were elegant, but beyond that, they were modern. They were also made with scraps. A close look at the detail shots reveals seams in the patches, many of which were pieced together with multiple scraps of matching fabrics. When the makers did not have a piece big enough for a patch, they made patches from small bits of fabric.

detail: click to view enlarged version, and notice the seams in the patches

At the time, fabric was among the most valuable commodities in America. Mills were beginning to open, but the bulk of fabrics were imported, heavily taxed, and quite costly. The cost of fabric could explain the frugal use of it, although the quilts were designed to be anything but frugal looking. Even affluent families treated fabric as something precious. Their quilts may have been made with scraps, but they were not scrap quilts.

What is a scrap quilt? It may be a matter of style. Stay tuned for part 2...
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