Quilting Through History

Quilting is an ancient activity, present in many culturessample is dated 15th century and you can observe
and each of these cultures influencing its developmenthere the parent of the quilting stitch represented by the
and particularity through time. The quilts became thecoarse line and embroidery.
expression of their maker's feelings, the witness ofThe 17th century gives us the first bed covering the
historical events or happy moments in simple people'sLevens Hall, made from imported Indian chintzes. The
lives. From its beginning until the present days, quiltingdetails and the exquisite craft design indicate it as an
had its ups and downs. Today, the development of theexample of high quality quilting, not just an ordinary bed
textiles industry and those of the machines andcovering.
accessories used in making the quilts, the improvedWhen colonists brought the first patchwork-quilted
techniques of quilting have transformed this simpleproducts in America, they did not know how much this
activity into a true art.art would develop here. American women saw the
The oldest quilt was comes from ancient Egypt and itgreat advantages of quilting, the functionality and the
consists in a clothing item found on the statue of anartistic experience of quilts and decided to expand and
Egyptian pharaoh, who lived around the year 3400improve the scarce samples brought by the colonists.
before Jesus Christ. The technique used in quiltingTherefore, they started to create interesting
stitches was also found in decorative objects fromgeometrical designs that became very popular in the
Middle eve churches. It is considered that the Templar1880's fairs and competitions.
Knights themselves took over the idea of quiltedLong with the modern sawing techniques of the 20th
garments from the Muslim soldiers, who used it tocentury, the traditional craft of quilted bed coverings,
replace parts of their armour when the metal was nottable coverings or child comforts slightly decreased.
enough.Cheap and mass-produced garments and comforters
In America, the ones who have brought andreplaced the original quilted bed coverings.
developed quilting were the Dutch and the EnglishThe 1960's brought the remerge of the quilting activity
colonists, who made three laired clothes to protectin the southern areas of the United States and the
them from cold and, from the remains of the fabricstradition was once again brought back to life and
they made bed coverings. This happened in the earlypassed from one generation to another. It took almost
12th century and there are some written records20 years, until 1980, to make the art of quilting be
about the quilting craft and the designed used in thosere-appreciated and practiced all over the country by
times, but few samples were found because thepassions women, even became a flowering business.
fabrics were perishable. Though, a well-preserved