British Quilt Study Group - Gallery

65? x 45? (165cm x 114cm)

Private Collection

This is one of the many quilts received in Britain from the Canadian Red Cross during the second World War and which were distributed to those in need after losing all their possessions in bombing raids, to hospitals, to the armed forces and to land army girls.

The Red Cross, when possible, supplied commercial cotton wadding and winceyette fabric for the backings but the tops were made from the women?s own scrapbags and often included the good parts of unwearable clothing. The maker of this particular quilt has made good use of old clothes and pieces of furnishing fabrics as well as her scrapbag and has pieced them together in some sort of order to give a pleasing overall look. The quilts were always anonymous, the makers were not allowed to add their name to the quilt but instead a small ?Red Cross? label was attached to one corner. These often just said ?Gift of the Canadian Red Cross Society? with a red cross in the centre (see photo of the label on this quilt) but some added the name of the area as well.

These quilts were made very quickly with whatever the maker had to hand and there is a wide range of fabric used in this quilt ? satins, sateen, plain cottons, twills and linens as well as what appear to be pieces from striped pyjamas and possibly a seersucker skirt, most have been machine stitched together. The fabric which perhaps stands out the most is a heavyweight furnishing fabric depicting a hunting scene which is actually three pieces sewn together. The backing is a striped winceyette and the edges have been turned in and machine stitched (butted). There is a thin layer of cotton wadding and the quilting has been stitched in very large long, loose chains with a white thread.

Bought from a dealer in Oxfordshire who had purchased it from a house clearance sale, it had belonged to the person?s grandmother and it was assumed that she?d received it during the war, it had been on her bed for many years before going into the attic.

If you think that you may have a Canadian Red Cross Quilt then please see the piece about the ?Canadian Red Cross Society Research Group? https://www.quiltersguild.org.uk/special-interest/bqsg/groups to register your quilt.

For more information about Canadian Red Cross Quilts you may be interested in the book produced by the Reasearch Group to go with the ?Comfort from Kindness? exhibition and which appears to be still available https://www.weavingmusicalthreads.com/shop/56-comfort-from-kindness-wwii-canadian-red-cross-quilts

....and also this page which has many links https://sutureandselvedge.com/links-of-interest/

Liz Nally

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