Quilt History Articles

• A brief essay on dating antique quilts by Kris Driessen
• “A Brief History of the ‘Feedsack'” by the late Jane Clark Stapel. The founder of the Feedsack Club provides some historical background on this American phenomenon. Feedsacks fed a nation and clothed it, too. Learn how feedbags went from practical necessity to beloved quilting fabric in American history.
• A Short Introduction to Quilting in Europe by Lady Sarah Davies. Quilting is older than you think. Discover how it traveled from ancient Asia through medieval Europe long before American patchwork came along.
• Arch Quilts: What they are and how to spot them
  Arch quilts were imported from China in the 1980s and 90s — and now show up mislabeled as antiques. Learn how to identify them.
• “The Civil War Quilt,”  Diane and Jim Lockwood embark on an adventure when they purchase an old Georgia quilt. A thrift shop crazy quilt made from Civil War uniforms leads one couple on a journey through history, battlefields, and a Georgia family’s secrets.
• Cleaning your Antique Quilt including a Stain Removal Guide. This guide walks you through safe, proven methods for cleaning antique quilts. Learn how to test for bleeding dyes, choose the right mild soap, handle stubborn stains with sodium perborate, and avoid common mistakes that can permanently damage fragile fabrics. These practical tips help you protect an original piece of American history.
• Conservation Resources Find suppliers for antique quilt conservation materials, archival storage, and a professional conservator referral service. Includes a link to the PDFPreserving Historic Quilts
• Copyright, Quilt History Research
• Dear Jane – the 225 patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle quilt.
• Double Purple, a fading beauty
• Dry Cleaning Historic Textiles by Colleen Callahan & Newbold Richardson, The Costume and Textile Specialists 
• Early Use of Natural Dyes in Textiles
• The Feedsack Story by Kris Driessen
• Flooded? Salvage Your Textiles after a flood by Lynn Lancaster Gorges, Historic Textiles Studio (PDF)
• Grandmothers Flower Garden Quilts. Learn the surprising history of the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt pattern, its many names, and how to spot the era your antique quilt was made.
• The History of the Cotton Gin and it’s Impact on Textiles
• International Sewing Machine Collector’s Society Vintage sewing machine info, articles, particulars of all types of old machines.
• Jane McCrae, Burgoyne Surrounded, and the Making of an American Myth
  How a true Revolutionary War tragedy became an enduring American myth.
• The Library of Congress. Enter “quilt” in the search engine and a great many images and articles will be returned, including WPA interviews with quilters during the Depression.
• Making a Silk Purse out of a Sow’s Ear – using those wonderful vintage blocks in a new quilt.  Kris Driessen
• Myths vs Facts by the late Judy Anne Brenneman
• Nine Years Old and 1233 Pieces: The Little Alabama Quilter Who Deserved a Worlds Fair
• Old and newer textiles defined in the Oxford English dictionary. Compiled by Patrick Leech
• Putting it in Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts Were quilts used as secret codes on the Underground Railroad? The history is more complicated than the popular story suggests.
• Quilt Care – Practical Tips for the Use and Enjoyment of Antique Quilts. Learn how to safely display, clean, store, and document antique quilts to preserve their beauty and history for years.
• The Quilt Index Images of over 100,000 quilts and counting
• Quiltersbee Comments on Quilt History Compiled and provided by Christina A. Aubin
• A Red and White Quilt Show
• Repair, Restore, Conserve – What to do with damaged antique quilts
• The Smithsonian Quilt Controversy
  In 1992, Smithsonian-licensed quilt reproductions made in China sparked a nationwide protest. Learn what happened and why it still matters to quilters today.
• Sewing Machine History – a brief overview for National Sewing Machine Day.
• Stain Removal Guide for Quilts and other Textiles
• State Documentation Books
• Stitched in Silk and Secrets: The Victorian Crazy Quilt
  Victorian crazy quilts were silk, velvet, and embroidery showpieces that revealed a woman’s wealth, skill, and creative voice.
• The T Block and Temperance Quilts: Separating Fact from Folklore
• The Craze for Crazy Quilts by Cindy Brick
• The Influence of Textiles on the lives of 19th century women
  Discover how the daily lives of 19th century American women shaped the textiles and quilts they made. From the heavy, restrictive clothing women wore at the start of the century to the explosion of decorative needlework that followed the invention of the sewing machine, this article traces the connections between women’s work, women’s rights, and the fabrics they created. Learn how economic hardship, the Civil War, and changing social expectations influenced quilt styles, color choices, and construction methods. Part of an ongoing series on the history of American quilting.
• The Sewing Machine and Quilters in the 19th Century by Kimberly Wulfert, PhD
• Top Ten Titles for Antique Quilt Study – A 2001 compilation of the favorite books from noted quilt historians
• Top Ten Titles for Antique Quilt Study – The Sequel includes many digital resources
• Turkey Red: The Brilliant Dye that Traveled the World
• Types of Quilt Appraisals.  Includes a list of appraisers. 
• Underground Railroad Myths Debunked
• Victorian Mourning Customs: What to Wear, How Long to Wear It, and Why It Mattered

Archives

• Indispensable Indigo-The Deepest of Blue
• The Quilt Projects: 15 Years Later by Shelly Zegart
• Quilting and Patchwork in the British Isles
• Quilts, Counterpanes & Throws, a Selection from the National Collection.  Smithsonian Institution,  National Museum of American History.
• Marie Webster
• Southern Quilting — One hundred fifty years of a shared tradition. This historical study of quilting in the south was put on the web by Jamie Leigh, an undergraduate in the American Studies Program at the University of Virginia. 
• Sweet Clara’s Freedom Hidden In Plain View; A Quilted Maze of Skepticism and Controversy
• http://www.womenfolk.com/historyofquilts/ and Patches From the Past  Explore the history of quilts and the women who created them through links to pictures and brief articles. Very good for beginning quilt history enthusiasts, as well as classroom study. Enjoyable for everyone. Written by Anne Johnson
• Northern Comfort: New England’s Early Quilts An online exhibit of Old Sturbridge Village’s quilt collection with informative text about the start of textile history in America and early quilts.