British Quilt Study Group - Gallery

Welsh Flannel Quilt, 80" x 75"

(Private collection)

This is a lovely quilt made of Welsh Flannel - a deep red on one side and a pale gold on the other and as with most flannel quilts it is very heavy. The many different and interesting quilting patterns include leaves, hearts, spirals and fans which are all typically Welsh in design. There is a central 'coin' or 'wheel' of spirals set within double lines surrounding four leaves. The coin is set within an oblong with a fan in each corner. The next border has square diamonds with a square on each corner which is filled with a cross and echo quilting. A border of beech leaves follows this with a circle within a square on the corners. The outer border is quilted with squares on point each containing four spirals. Square diamonds and echo quilted hearts fill the triangles between the squares. The corners again have the four leaves as in the centre.

A dark cream/pale yellow thread has been used for the quilting and the considering the thickness of the quilt then the stitching is quite neat. Edges are turned in and handstitched as is usual in Welsh quilts. There is a seam down the centre of the quilt which unfortunately highlights the slightly different shades of red on the two pieces of flannel used making it appear to be creased.

There is some provenance to this quilt from Morriston near Swansea. It was given to a helpful neighbour in about 1960 by a grateful lady in her eighties who was known in the village as Mrs Davies "the Bakehouse". She was very sprightly for her age and was a small, petite and dainty lady with pretty, naturally curly white hair and always wore a brown beret set at a jaunty angle as she carried a full wicker bread basket on her shoulder delivering the bread door to door in the village. The quilt was made by Mrs Davies and her mother possibly around the early 1900's.

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