quilt
They pop up at craft shows and making them saw a renaissance in appreciation. What are they? Covers ! Duvets are the pretty bed coverings we envy our gramps for.
At their most simple, they’re pieces of fabric stitched together into a complete, and stitched on to some type of backing material with cotton batting between. But duvets are as much art form as functional, and they have existed for centuries. They began in the lower classes, as thrifty peasant ladies used bits of leftover material or pieces of worn out shirts or dresses to make blankets for their families. Continuously , covers developed into gorgeous handcrafts, and since they’re so giant and labor-intensive, making them became a social occasion – the covering bee. Neighbours or family members would gather at every other’s houses, sit around a large wooden quilting frame, and assemble the duvet. In this fashion, they accomplished obligatory work and managed to socialise, too. Covers might be functional or solely ornamental.
Smaller covers are typically used as wall coverings, in the ornamental sense, while a larger duvet might be tidily folded over an antique duvet rack to give a country “Americana” look towards the room. Functional quilts are used in a similar way as bedspreads. They make the bed look neat, and also provide heat. They come in each size, from miniscule ones for an infant’s crib, all of the way to massive duvets that cover a California kingsized bed. Whether functional or ornamental, what makes covers renowned for their beauty is their patterns.
A few of these patterns pre-date the North American Revolutionary War. One well-liked pattern is the double marriage band, the familiar series of interlocking circles.
The log cabin pattern is a collection of blocks, with oblong strips of fabric stitched at right angles to one another to form squares. Small octagonal pieces stitched together in groups form the flower garden pattern, and a five-pointed, stylised leaf forms the maple leaf pattern. Diamond-shaped pieces stitched together can create the shooting star or lone star patterns. Some folks prefer the arts look of the “crazy quilt,” which is made from pieces of any scrap fabric stitched together in no definite pattern. One specialised kind of duvet appeared in the nineteenth century in America : the slave duvet. These duvets were functional as bed coverings, but also served another purpose : they gave directions that helped slaves escape north on the Underground Railroad. The duvets were stitched with assorted colours and symbols that represented the local roads, fields, plantations and streams. These quilts were on each plantation, hung on a clothesline or tree branch to give their messages. The alignment of the cover as it hung modified the messages. These covers also gave info regarding hiding places, food caches and safe homes to any who could read their language. They started appearing about 1835, when folks from the north came to the plantations and taught the slaves the simple way to make the covers.
The few slave quilts still in existence are in museums or are respected family heirlooms. Covering classes can be gotten in many community teaching schemes, and books abound on the topic, teaching quilters strategies, as well as new patterns. Whether functional or ornamental, covers are attractive works of art and windows into culture and history.
