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