We Designed It Quilting

We Designed It was specifically established for serious Quilters and occasional hobbyists alike. You’ll find it a delectable resource to help you obtain the exact items you need to complement or complete your quilts as well as associated resources. You’ll also find some amazing bargains if you keep an eye on the items listed in the pages of We Designed It. After all, that’s why you’re here – right?

Quilting has become an extremely popular occupation. Of course it can be quite a time consuming but is also very rewarding both in mental & emotional terms, perhaps even financially if objective is to sell your handcraft as opposed to building a personal or family collection. Keep your eyes open & you’ll find some really good buys here.

The word quilt is derived from the Latin culcita, meaning a padded and tied mattress. Quilting originated for its utility, as the technique produced a thicker padded fabric either for warmth or for protection. The first evidence of quilting is found in Asia sometime before the first century C.E. A quilted linen carpet dating from that time was found in a Siberian cave tomb. The central motifs (primarily animals, with abstract spirals on the borders) are worked in the backstitch, while the background is diamond quilted in a coarse running stitch.

Ancient Egyptian sculptures showing figures which appear to be wearing quilted clothing, possibly for warmth in the chilly desert evenings.[citation needed] Quilting has been part of the needlework tradition in Europe from about the 5th century C.E. Early objects contain Egyptian cotton, which may indicate that Egyptian and Mediterranean trade provided a conduit for the technique.

Quilted objects are relatively rare in Europe until approximately the 12th century, when quilted bedding and other items appeared after the return of the Crusaders from the Middle East. The medieval quilted gambeson, aketon and arming doublet[1] were garments worn under, or instead of, armor of maille or plate armor. These developed into the later quilted doublet worn as part of fashionable European male clothing from the fourteenth to seventeenth century. Quilting clothing began to be generally used in the 14th century, with quilted doublets and armor worn in France, Germany and England and quilted tunics in Italy.

In American Colonial times most women were busy spinning, weaving and making clothing. Meanwhile women of the wealthier classes prided themselves on their fine quilting of wholecloth quilts with fine needlework. Quilts made during the early 1800s were not constructed of pieced blocks but instead whole cloth quilts. Broderie perse quilts and medallion quilts were made. Some antique quilts made in North America have worn-out blankets or older quilts as the internal batting layer, quilted between new layers of fabric and thereby extending the usefulness of old material.

During American pioneer days “paper” quilting became popular. Paper was used as a pattern and each individual piece of cut fabric was basted around the paper pattern. Paper was a scarce commodity in the early American west and women would save letters from home, newspaper clippings, and catalogs to use as patterns. The paper not only served as a pattern but as an insulator. The paper found between the old quilts has become a primary source about pioneer life.

Quilts made without any insulation or batting were referred to as summer quilts. They were not made for warmth, only to keep the chill off on cooler summer evenings.

Harriet Powers, a slave-born African American woman, made two famous story quilts. She was just one of the many African American quilters who contributed to the evolution of quilting.

During the late 20th century, art quilts became popular for their aesthetic and artistic qualities rather than for functionality (they are displayed on a wall rather than spread on a bed).

Some Useful Definitions

* Piecing: Sewing small pieces of cloth into patterns, called blocks, that are then sewn together to make a finished quilt top. These blocks may be sewn together, edge to edge, or separated by strips of cloth called sashing. Note: Whole cloth quilts typically are not pieced, but are made using a single piece of cloth for the quilt top.

* Layering: Placing the quilt top right side up atop the batting and the backing, which is right-side out.

* Quilting: Sewing the three quilt layers together, using stitches in decorative patterns, called motifs, or in utilitarian patterns, such as straight lines, using bigger stitches.

* Borders: Typically strips of fabric of various widths added to the perimeter of the pieced blocks to complete the quilt top. Note: borders may also be made up of simple or patterned blocks that are stitched together into a row, before being added to the quilt top.

* Binding: Fabric strips cut on the bias or straight of the grain, sewn together, making a long strip that will fit the perimeter of the quilt, which is typically machine sewn to the front side of the edge of the quilt, folded over, and hand sewn to the back side of the quilt.

* Quilting: Stitching through all three layers of the quilt sandwich, typically by hand or machine in decorative patterns, which serves three purposes: 1) to secure all three layers to each other, and 2) to add to the beauty and design of the finished quilt, and 3) to trap air within the quilted sections, making the quilt as a whole much warmer than its parts; for example, a single layer or all three layers used separately. Quilting is usually completed by starting from the middle, and moving outward toward the edges of the quilt. Examples: simple or complex geometric grids, “motifs” traced from published quilting patterns or traced pictures, complex repeated designs called tessellations, or stitching within the seam line itself, i.e. stitching in the ditch.

(Source: Wikipedia)