Crazy Quilt

Crazy quilts, born of necessity, were made of pieces of material, regardless of size or color. With the scarcity of material in the early days of our country, women cut from worn and discarded woolen clothing, any parts that were intact or considered useful. They were sewed together in crazy fashion, usually on an inner lining, as it helped to hold the pieces in place while they were being sewed. At first they were strictly for warmth, but there have always been creative ladies who found a way to place scraps in a way that was pretty to look at as well as useful. They exchanged pieces of material and used yarn in creative embroidery stitches over the seams.

In 1870, the lowly crazy pattern was elevated to the parlor by substituting scraps of silk and velvet for the warm woolen pieces. It was used as a throw for the couch, or as a slumber robe. Pieces were fastened together with fancy stitches and the center of the patches were decorated with appliqué, embroidery and hand painting.

Since this piece was a parlor decoration, not a warm quilt, the types of silk used, and the embroidered figures were Kate Greenway patterns on the market at about 1870 suggests this as the time it was created. This piece has handmade Bobbin Lace, red silk backing, and is made of twenty 14” blocks and a row of ½ blocks at the bottom. The fan design is very popular for crazy quilts.

Techniques: hand and machine pieced, embroidered, painted
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Credit Line: Gift of Vischer Root