What hand quilting patterns were sewn on American quilts made in the 19th and 20th centuries? Here are nine common patterns seen by this quilt historian.
1. Clamshell is one of the first patterns. They were sewn across the entire top of all fabric and patchwork quilts or as a background among other quilting patterns.
2. Feathers were most common in pre-Civil War fancy and elaborate quilts used for special occasions or given as gifts. The feather was not shaped like the long, pointed feathers of a bird; they were short like a flower petal and rounded at the end. The feathered designs were sewn into a variety of motifs, such as a garland, a crown, a pineapple, and a heart. Feather designs were commonly used in red and green appliqué quilts made in the mid-1800s and Colonial Revival style appliqué quilts made in the twentieth century before WWII.
3. Dangling diamonds were pointed squares, often used in conjunction with feather patterns. They can be large or small in size. They were sewn around applied pieces to hold the batting in place and fill in the bottom areas of the quilt. After the Civil War, the size of the diamond by hand increased and it became the only quilt pattern in some patchwork quilts. The largest diamonds are found in antique quilts.
4. Another common choice for a utility quilt and pattern tile is
a square grid. Like the integral pattern, the squares were larger to larger. As a background pattern, they were smaller depending on the applied tile or pattern. Here again, a special quilt received smaller grids, which filled in the empty areas to hold the batting and layers well together.
5 and 6. Cords and chevrons were sewn on edges and sash strips. The cables were connected in curved “S” shapes that ran vertically down an edge or sheet. Chevrons were straight lines that formed “V” that filled the width of the border in a zigzag pattern. One, two, and three lines of decreasing size formed the cables and chevrons. Quilt makers of both centuries used these two patterns.
7. Single and double parallel lines were generally quilted diagonally across the entire quilt or just at the edges. Pre-Civil War quilts could have three parallel lines, stitched together in the bottom areas around the appliqués and at the edges. In the late 19th century, women also quilted lines on applied pieces. Single and double lines, more widely spaced than previous quilts, were sewn onto vintage period quilts.
8. Fan padding is also called elbow padding because the quilter used the reach from the elbow to the fingers to make the bow or fan shape. Methodist Fan and Baptist Fan have also been popular names for fans, because it was a quick and easy pattern for a group of church women to sew around a large quilting frame. In England, the fan is called waves. The pattern was later common in the last quarter of the 19th century quilts and the first half of the 20th century, and especially popular in southern states and the southern Midwest. The fan was mainly used in everyday quilts.
9. The quarter inch inside the seam of the seam is sometimes called “quilt per piece” or “in the piece”, which reflects exactly how it looked. This pattern was used occasionally from the mid-19th century onwards, and it was never a common pattern until the late 20th century.
