British Quilt Study Group - Gallery

94? X 93?

(Private collection)

There is not much history to this really lovely patchwork quilt except that it came from either Manchester or Skipton from the relations of the owner who lived in a Country House in the North of England. Unfortunately, it has in the past been badly stored and has brown stains along the fold lines on the reverse.

The quilt has been quite densely quilted with good designs and stitching and although the patterns have a Welsh feel with borders and spirals, at the time the quilt was made there weren't the differences in quilting patterns that were seen at a later date so it is quite possible that it was made in the North of England. Amongst the quilted patterns are lovely floral sprays and stylized fans/shells and although the quilt is virtually square there is an addition at one end of a 3? wide border of repeated four-lobed flowers. The wadding is sheeps wool (as can be seen in one of the photos) and this gives a good loft to the quilting.

It has a vast variety of fabrics and prints and has been dated to 1830's to 1840's. The fabrics used include a shaded Prussian Blue, chrome yellow, manganese and a Turkey Red discharge in the centre blocks - it has a few areas of fabric deterioration which would benefit from being netted. The patches have all been oversewn together with very tiny stitches and full use has been made of scraps of fabric as some patches have been pieced together, again with very neat oversewing. The butt edges have been neatly handstitched and each corner has been oversewn, presumably for extra strength.

Any more information about the fabrics would be appreciated ? please contact [email protected]

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