Antique Doll Quilts

It's not unusual to have a collection of antique quilts. ButSewing was (and probably still should be) believed to
doll quilts?inspire virtues deemed necessary for every child:
Yes, doll quilts. While charming in their own right, theyneatness, attentiveness, patience, perseverance, and
are difficult to find because during the period theyacceptance of routine and repetition.
were made, they were considered unimportant andGirls in upper class families also learned to do
insignificant.needlework, although they used finer materials and
Many were made from leftovers and got hard usemore intricate designs. It's not unusual to find crazy
from the little girls who owned them. Quilts made byquilts using velvets, wools and silks that were made by
young girls are likely to reflect their lack of refined skillschildren in upper class families.
in hand stitching.Unlike children today, children in the 1800s had little
Girls in the early nineteenth century were trained fromother than their imagination to play with. Only the upper
the time they were very young in what was thoughtclass could afford to purchase dolls imported from
to be their life's work. Since a young girl would likely beEurope, so children created dolls from sticks, hankies,
stitching all of the clothing, linens and bedding for hercorncobs, or whatever else they could find.
home, before sewing machines, hand sewing was anIt wasn't surprising that girls would want to create
important skill to learn.something just like they had for their dolls. Often, the
It seemed natural, then, that doll quilts would be thegirls would take pieces left from worn out quilts and
perfect practice piece. Not only were they small, but amake them into quilts for their dolls.
girl could start with something simple, like strips, andSometimes, they would replicate a bed size quilt using
then work up to making a nine patch, and even sewingsmaller pieces, to be sure to re-create the pattern of
curves.the bed size quilt top. Other times, they would use
Beyond that, if she chose, a young girl could piece apatches left over from bed size quilts to make their
more complex design, using triangles as well asdoll quilts, even though the quilt top design would be
squares in her doll quilt.lost.
Both girls and boys were taught to sew by theirMost of these quilts are pieced, not appliqué, and
mothers, often before they learned how to read. Asome have been made from children's handkerchiefs
very small child might begin sewing using an unknottedprinted with holiday or religious themes.
thread, and then gain even more practice by countingDue to labor saving devices, and smaller families,
threads on a scrap of fabric.twentieth century mothers had more time to include
It was not uncommon for girls to be expected tocreative components in their doll quilts - nursery
complete a nine-patch by the time she was nine yearsrhymes, animals, and even pastel colors.
old. Amazingly, some mid-nineteenth century diariesQuilts today are made in all different sizes, each for a
record quilt tops being finished by girls as young asdifferent purpose. Even though they are the size of a
five.king size bed quilt, some large quilts have never seen
One quilter, Edith Bell Sims, says she began a quilt atthe top of a bed.
age three, with her mother cutting the fabric, markedIt's not unusual for a small quilt to be made to be a wall
the sewing lines, and pinning the pieces together. Edithhanging, with no intention for it to be used as a doll quilt.
then stitched the patches - initially by hand and later onI wonder if maybe some of those tiny quilts from the
her new treadle sewing machine. Edith finished her quiltnineteenth century hung on a wall, and were never
top by the time she was six.placed on a doll bed.