This seminal year is the perfect time to review the rich heritage of American quilting. I hope you enjoy this overview and start your own tour of American quilts using the topics shared below. Americans have definitely made quilting into the art form that it is today.

1890-1925: Fabric of the Machine Age

Think dark colors, blues, blacks, mourning prints, reds, pinks, checks, and plaids. Quilters had access to a large variety of fabrics. But synthetic dyes were often unstable and not colorfast, which led to disaster: tan appliques instead of red or green. This likely led to the decrease in applique quilts. My favorite fabric trend of this period is the wonderful, preprinted patchwork, aka “cheater cloth” that was made by the mile. These were often found as a whole cloth quilts or as the back of simple pieced blocks. Another is the delightful conversation or novelty prints featuring little cats or dogs, anchors, and other sailing motifs, and equestrian or horse themes.

A strong trend was the “Colonial Revival,” creating interest in antique quilts, although the quilts tended to be from the 1850s, not the 1700s. The Ladies Art Co. began publishing a catalog with hundreds of different patterns with a name or title for each. LAC was the early source for commercial patterns and pattern name. This period was the beginning of quilt pattern designers. One of the first was Marie Webster, who authored the groundbreaking book “Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them” in 1915. She shared many antique quilts as well as her own creations. With widely available patterns, fabrics, and motorized sewing machines, quilting was quite popular.

Redwork embroidery quilts were made early on in this period, and many were made as fundraisers for churches and charities like the American Red Cross.

1925 -1950: Fabric of Modernism

An era with lots of white/light backgrounds and in the 1930s a light minty, pale green, often referred to as “that green” or “Nile Green.” Quilters could easily find a variety of commercial patterns in magazines and newspapers with the rise of quilting columnists and celebrity designers, like Ruby McKim, and Anne Orr. A pivotal event was the 1933 Century of Progress Quilt Contest sponsored by Sears, which drew more than 24,000 entries. While the contest promised prizes for innovative and progressive designs, the judges chose tradition designs as award winners. Many amazing modern designs were submitted, and those creations were probably the seeds that later flowered into the Art Quilt Movement.