A Brief History of the American Quilt

The story of the American quilt is the story of America itself. Every success and failure, every epoch and era, everything we are and want to be shows up in our quilts. In this video, writer-editor Mary Fons takes you through a brief — but passionate — history of the American quilt.

[hairballyarn]

Anyone who says their were no quilts made in the 40s-60s never met my wonderful grandmother and her even more wonderful quilts.

[tinawelch]

Your personality and enthusiasm were AA balm to my heart. Being sequestered ...it was good to find a young woman who lives the love of our diversity, history, textiles, artistry, frugality of quilting .

[SaraCaseb]

I mean….WOW! Loved this!! I can feel her passion and love for quilts thru my screen—-I swear!!! And to be so young and have such impressive knowledge and how she continues to hone her passion and craft. I’m so elated that she is keeping the history, good and bad, if quilts going.…….she is a total badass, too!!!

[susanmerritt]

I love your videos and my quilt history was spot on with this video. I took my first quilt class in the late 70s, I was in my late 20s. Not only were there no quilt stores around, 100% cotton was hard to find in fabric stores, mostly kettle cloth... I remember my dad telling me that after the depression his family discarded their quilts and bought new blankets at JC Penney! And my quilting obsession started when I discovered rotary cutters at a quilt store in the early 80s. I was working on a scrap quilt while I watched this video in an effort to thin down my stash! Thank you❣️

[catstitchstudio]

Oh, man! This was a tour de force. Mary, you are one of a kind. Thank you for sharing your passion with us. Now I want to know more. Keep making these videos, please.

[laurac]

What an INTERESTING Thank you for all the work it had to of taken on your part

[jeanfletcher]

One very important invention in the mid 1800's that effected quilt making was the sewing machine. Applique quilts faded away some in comparison to the pieced quilts that could be made so much quicker with the machine. Other than than that, excellent talk!

[padmarubiales]

I love your quilt history episodes! This is quilt history at high speed!Please can you add to the comments the book about the 1930s Quilts and the world fair that you mentioned. I could not catch the authors names. Thank you! Please keep making these episodes!

[sarahkinsey]

I work at a fabric store and it kinda bugs me when people balk at the prices. I get it, but it's still made in India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc where those countries can get away with less strict labor laws. That's why so many Western products are made in China because the workers get paid less. On a better note, once when I was putting fabric away I overheard a mom tell her daughter not to step on the fabric that was trailing on the floor because (paraphrasing) "people work hard in bad conditions to make that for us to buy." A glimmer of hope for the future.

[QuiltZone]

Mary, so happy to see you again and I love this quilt history video! That very popular “minty green” color you mention in the 1930s Depression Era quilts was called Nile Green.
I have a Nile green (and white) wedding quilt from my mother-in-law’s 1933 wedding. It is a block pattern quilt called Wedding Ring - BUT not the curved wedding ring pattern that most people think of. This pieced pattern is also called the Crown of Thorns.
Ginny

[amc]

also before you could buy fabric you used clothes. it was common for women to have baskets of old clothes that were ready to be peiced together for quilts

[glendaschustermoum]

International quilt museum is fabulous. The building is a work of art in itself!

[tinadeatherage]

I love watching your lectures! I first saw you on Karen Browns interview and can't get enough of learning about quilts! Thank you for putting these lectures on YouTube!

[mollyporemski]

I loved this SO MUCH. A critical look at quilt history! Fantastic stuff!

[catrgrl]

In the 1500's people not only cut hand woven cloth, but also pieced it together. The body of a man was discovered in a bog who had died in the 1500's. Due to the nature of a peat bog the body and clothing where well preserved. He was wearing a hand woven cloak, that not only had been cut, but had been pieced together in a patchwork way to complete the garment and to not waste the valuable cloth. People would keep the areas of clothing receiving less wear, to repair clothing up to the time of Queen Victoria,

[l.m.o.]

Story. When I was a young Mom, I bought a cheater printed top and set it up on a traditional frame just so I could hand quilt. My little children played underneath it like a Fort. Love finds a way. 🇨🇦

[elizabethwickes]

Thank you so much for putting this together! These large scale overviews are so important for grounding our foundations as we learn more.

[katehenry]

LATEST SHIFT: quilt the schmotz out of the thing so it looks like a printed cardboard. The whole thing quilted by machine tight on super thin batt that there is no puff. There are huge machines in homes that make thread designs not related to the cloth pattern. Will these be called the "covid era" quilts? They are so different there will be no mistaking them from traditionals.

[msbmeever]

I absolutely loved this wonderful and very animated trip through the history of the American quilt and its development. THANK YOU. love history too and you made it so much fun!!!! My family has several generations of quilters and you helped me appreciate a whole new dimension of love and admiration for the quilts and their creators.

[joyfulandmerryquilting]

You are absolutely Thank you so much for sharing the history of something I love so very much!