Lessons from an Old RED WORK Quilt || Vintage Embroidery

This vintage red work embroidery quilt is a great treasure! It is dated 1933! What a inspiring antique quilt.

[quiltingforthesoul]

Thank you for sharing. I just purchase a Redwork quilt it was started in 1845 and finished in 1936 with some paper work. I’m in love with it and want to make one so I’m doing research on the Redwork quilt but can’t fine any videos on it. I did see your video and one other video on YouTube. Thank again Merry Christmas God bless you and your family.

[pamfrank]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful one of a kind piece of art❤

[shirleythomas]

Love this quilt. Different things that are happening gives it character. I don't feel quilts need to be perfect.

[sewbeitquilts]

Red work quilts are so amazing! This one is incredibly impressive! Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful quilt!

[margm]

Hi Kris, always love red work. Yours really is a gem. Beautifully sewn. Thanks for sharing. 💖🇦🇺

[suekelly]

Since covid I have been watching Alex Anderson's Live tutorials. One of her viewers recommended Retro Clean for cleaning stained and yellowed fabrics back to life.

[kathleenstorer]

This quilt is so very precious! I'd love to know more, like where you got it, and also more about rework-i've heard of it but never really knew what it was all about. So very cool! Thanks Kris!

[hollywaddell]

A very eclectic assortment of motifs, indeed. Squirrels! Girls feeding chickens. Several flower species. Geese. Guys. Gals. And Some I couldn't figure out what? I don't think you have to worry about the thread bleeding anymore. I'll bet that quilt was washed many, many times. I agree with another commenter who mentioned Retro Clean. I have had very satisfactory results with doing the extended soak (maybe a couple of days even) and I also use the Retro Wash powder for the final wash. I got mine through Eleanor Burns' website. She probably mentioned it when talking about some of the antique quilts she has collected over the years. I would also be all about tracing some of those designs ... one of my first domestic lessons (after ironing hankies and pillowcases) was learning to embroider. My mom did beautiful small, even stitches.

[annettegraff]

I got a red work and blue work top at an estate sale in my neiborhoods. I went the last day and got apile of red work blocks. I soaked the squares overnite in plain water first to rehydrate the fabric. That had the benefit of getting rid of dust/ dirt out. Some were stained and I soaked them in Antique Fabric Wash. That helped a lot. However, the rust stains and old blood spots didn't come out. None of the blocks were squared either. They had been stored since making in a box in an attic .

[Embroiderist]

the patterns all look like they came from H.E. Verran Company's "Royal Society" hot iron embroidery books. H.E. Verran also had ties to an older embroidery company owned by Charles E. Bently of New York. the Printer for H.E. Verran was Joseph Walker who also had his own line of hot iron transfers. Joseph Walker had ties to Wm Briggs of manchester england who held the original patent for hot iron transfers. After H.E. Verrans death which was just before the stock market crash of 1929 Joseph Walker republished many older hot iron patterns under his own label. so the dog you like so much the design was available in the late 1880's but was still being printed by Joseph Walker Co. after 1930.

[abigaildolinger]

You might like to research “penny squares” as it may pertain to the motifs in this quilt. The maker was obviously quite skilled and made sure this quilt was extra nice with herringbone stitches, quilting beneath the embroidered lines, and a scalloped border. Interesting to me is the angle of the crosshatch design; 60/120 degree diamonds instead of 45/115.

[sandrinou]

Hi, do you use back stitch or stem stitch for Redwork ? I see both points are used. I don't know which is better.

[dianewold]

In a close-up of the stitching, it appears that the embroidery was done with a chain stitch, rather than an outline or stem stitch.

[suestutzle]

That was very interesting. A quilt from 1933, wow. I suppose the person who sewed it wasn't able to get the same dye lot because they were the depression years and everything was scarce. I am left handed too Chris and here in Australia, when I went to school in the 50s and 60s, the Education Department did their best to make left handers to hate hand sewing. I was punished when I couldn't sew the same way as right handers. As a result my hand sewing leaves much to be desired and I don't have beautiful even or even nice looking stitches because I never got to finish anything at school... I was too busy unpicking all my work because the teacher didn't like the slant, or whatever, of my work. Such as life.. I still enjoy sewing despite that because when I left school I forgot all their stupid rules and did my own thing. I guess in my own way, I had the last laugh!

[Michelle-omjd]

I wouldn't bother trying to clean that stain off that old quilt. With many antiques, cleaning can damage the value of the quilt, the patina is often something people look for in antiques.