Creative Technical Studio | KATRINA SIMON

PDF: quilt history

History of Quilts

People:

people use to use padded fabrics for clothing, bedding, armor…
English and Dutch settlers brought quilting to North America
Used as hangings for doors and windows that were not sealed well enough to keep out cold
Early settlers in America reused resources- when blankets became worn, they were patched combined with other blankets or used as filler between other blankets
When fabrics were manufactured in america and were more affordable, this allowed women to be more artistic in quiliting because they didn’t need to make their own yarns and fabric
Earliest settlers had had no materials to spare so they the block style pieced quilt was a functional design for them
Custom- mothers make quilts for children to have when leave; heirloom quilts

General:

“quilt” comes from the Latin word “culcita” meaning a stuffed sack
- 2 meanings-

three layer stitched bedcovering
act of stitching through the three layers to hold them together

made up of a top, back, and filler
Quilt blocks- patterned square of fabric that is repeated or alternated with plain blocks to form overall design on the top of a quilt
History of America seen thru history of quilts

3 Different Types of Quilts:

the plain or whole cloth quilt = made of single pieces of material on the top and back, and the decoration is obtained by means of padded or corded quilting
applique quilts = top made of whole cloth with smaller pieces of fabric cut into shapes or forms that are applied or stitched down, “show” or “best” quilt

pieced or patchwork quilts =”utility” quilt
1. tufted quilt- tied through in enough places to keep filling in place, no stitching holding the layers together, it has 3 layers
2. “summer” quilt– no middle filling

Medallion quilt- brought to America from colonists, central motif surrounded by multiple borders- endless designs for quilters, who could use patchwork, applique, embroidery alone or all together

History by Date/Year:

1800s styles– whole cloth quilts, broderie perse, and medallion quilts
1800s– intro of sewing machine, quilting machine attachment didn’t become used, hand quilting remained popular
1825-1875- handwork =relaxation for pioneer women, fine handwork shows status/pride
after front conquered, living conditions improved- more time, more creative
quilting bee- women bring quilt tops that were already pieced and work together to quilt the top- chance to socialize
WW1– quiltmaking for fundraising and awareness
Great Depression– saving pieces of material, no money
WWII– raise money to support Red Cross- signature quilt became popular
- Signature quilt- businesses, stores, people would pay to have name embroidered on a quilt block, the blocks were sewn together and quilted and the finish quilt was raffled and proceeds go to Red Cross
1950s-1960s- less interest in quilting, viewed as dated, old fashion, and lean times
1970s-1980s- granddaughters of older women began to revive quiltmaking, back to the land movement denerated desire to learn hand skill
1976- bicentennial-quilts meant national pride and achievement and reminder of past
early 2000s- relaxation, artistic medium, now a renewed interest

Sources:

http://www.quilting-in-america.com/History-of-Quilts.html

http://www.emporia.edu/cgps/tales/quilte~1.html

PDF: history of hawaiian skirts

Historical Skirts of the Hawaiian People

The skirts of the Hawaiian people have a very interesting history. Because of the very warm climate in Hawaii, there was not a need for wearing a lot of clothing. To stay cool in the warmth, basic garments were worn.

Very early on, women wore rectangular shawls called kihei and skirts called pa’u. Men wore these skirts too or wore a loincloth called a malo. Both the kihei and pa’u were made of kapa, also called bark cloth, which is a fabric that was used by ancient Hawaiians before foreigners introduced them to cotton fabrics. Kapa is actually a paper but used as fabric. It is technically a paper because it is made from Hawaiian plants and trees like wauke, mamaki, oloa, and ‘akala. Wauke was the most common plant to be used in kapa creation. There were many different textures, weights and designs on kapas ,which were done by vegetable dyes and printing designs with bamboo stamps. The more decorated pa’us were, with intricate designs, stamps, dyes, and layers of kapa, showed the social status of the individual wearing it.

Also, early hula (known as hula kahiko) costumes were pa’us made out of the same material- kapas. Historically, men and women were topless usually and just wore a pa’u or loincloth. In the 1800’s, modern hula developed called hula ‘auana. International visitors, sugar plantation workers and missionaries, visited Hawaii and introduced stringed instruments and grass skirts. Hula ‘auana costumes have more of a Western influence and is what we think of now as Hawaiian clothing- fabric tops, grass skirts, and leis for the head and kupe’es (leis for ankles and wrists). Originally in hula kahiko, wrist and ankle decorations were made out of whale bone or dogs teeth. Grass skirts were made out of ti leaves and originally they were used in their natural color of brown or green but later began to dye colors and made out of many different materials like raffia and dried hala leaves. Men who dance the hula ‘auana changed from wearing the pa’u or malo to shorts and pants. When missionaries visited Hawaii, they were shocked by the nudeness. They showed Hawaiians fabric and influenced them to use fabric and to cover up more. Therefore, the pa’u started to be made out of fabric. One of the first photos of this is in 1885 where hula dancers are wearing a white blouse with fabric pa’u, and white stockings. Originally they were about nine yards of one single type of fabric wrapped around to cover legs. Now it is made using 4-12 yards of fabric and has an elastic waist band for comfortable dancing. There is a vast and interesting history about the Hawaiian skirts.