Renewed Interest in Quilts - 1934

The following article was written in March 1934 by the Home Demonstration Agents in Hackensack, New Jersey. It contains instructions on making a quilt in under 500 words, quite a challenge in composition.

Because of the renewed interest expressed by a large number of women in making patchwork quilts, we have been asked for information on the steps involved in making a quilt.  It is best for the first quilt to choose a simple pattern; by the way, we have in the office a copy of “One Hundred and One Patchwork Quilts”, as well as several quilt blocks made up.  These are available for reference to anyone interested.  The keynote of a successful patchwork quilt is accuracy in cutting the pattern and in construction.

 

 

A pattern made of pasteboard or metal will go a long way to insuring the accurate cutting of the pieces.  Draw around the pattern on your material accurately allowing ¼ inch for the seam as the pattern itself does not allow for seams.  Next, join your pieces according to the pattern making your block.  To make this block unit join the pieces with three running stitches and one back stitch.  It is possible to make a patchwork quilt by machine; however, as the attraction of this type of quilt is its old-fashioned aspect, it loses a great deal of its charm unless it is actually handmade.  Women who find hand sewing too tedious or do not have the time to construct a quilt by hand would do well to make a different type of quilt.

 

Sunbeam Block

 

A commercial filling of thin cotton may be bought quite inexpensively.  Unbleached muslin or any other cotton material may be used for backing.  To quilt it is necessary to follow a regular design.  Some commercial fillings include a design with their material.  Having decided on the design which you wish to follow, draw or stamp it on the right side of the quilt.

 

 

Little Beech Tree

 

Put up your frame and pin the backing of the quilt tightly on your frame placing the pins about 1 ½ inches apart.  Next, lie your cotton on top of the backing smoothly.  To result in its being flat, pin it here and there so that it will not slip.  Stretch your quilting piece on top, pinning it tightly. Quilts thru three thicknesses, the quilt itself, the cotton filling and the back piece following the quilting pattern with small running stitches. 

 

 

Double Nine Patch

 

As you progress with your quilt, roll it under.  When the quilt is finished, remove from frame and bind the edges.   A more attractive quilt results from binding the edges with a bias strip using either a color to match the predominating color in your quilt or a piece of the material which is used for the backing.

 

The Record    Hackensack, New Jersey    March 14, 1934

This Week's 1930s Block - Straight to Your Inbox

If you follow me on Facebook  you already know about the daily 1930s block.  Block #250 Little Boy's Britches was shared today - hurray! - and there are more to come.

 

Day 246 - Dresden Plate Quilt - This dainty block, the Dresden Plate, is pieced of twenty different prints and appliqued on a plain block fourteen inches square. A pillow top in this design may be made any size desired, or it may be used for chair pads. A silk design may be applied upon woolen blocks if one cares to use these fabrics. The many uses of this block is one of tests of the homemakers' ingenuity. In small motifs it may be the corner decoration of bedroom curtains or a single block may be the front of a child's scrapbook with the name in the center.

Kansas City Star, September 2, 1931.

 

Now it's time for something new! 

 

My new project is This Week's 1930s Block and it arrives as an email link to any email address.  There will be photos of the block with  background information.  Also included is a six-inch pattern of the block so you can recreate it is you like.  No cost and you can cancel when you like. The signup form is below:

Yes please! Add me to the list!

 

Don't delay - the first block Little Beech Tree is waiting for you!

Condition Not Important - Part 2

Last post I shared my latest addition to the quilt collection. I initially thought that the quilt maker had taken her patterns from Ruby McKim's 1931 book One Hundred and One Patchwork Patterns.

As I was searching in cyberspace for Ruby McKim quilts I found a few sampler quilts with Ruby McKim blocks.  Here is a lovely example from blogger Lynn at Quilts - Vintage and Antique.

 And another from Barbara Brackman Material Culture.

I always thought of these quilts as Ruby McKim samplers (with a small 's').  What I hadn't realised was they were actually Ruby McKim Samplers (with a capital 'S'). These quilts were a weekly pattern first published in the Denver Post beginning in September 1931.  All the twenty-five original patterns are thoughtfully archived on the Denver Post blog.

The original layout was blocks set on point with negative space to show off quilting. Not all of the Samplers were made this way - not everyone follows directions.

What I realised now was that I was the new owner of a Ruby McKim Sampler quilt. As we say in Australia .... I was gobsmacked * (which is good).

My quilt is twenty-four blocks instead of twenty-five; Grandmother Cross is missing.  My quilt's maker had no desire to show off her quilting skill (which is probably why it is tied). My poor worn-out orphan now has a lineage.

I promise that you will hear more about this quilt.

*gobsmacked ˈɡɒbsmakt  adjective British informal
adjective: gobsmacked; adjective: gob-smacked 
utterly astonished; astounded.