Comforting Quilters

The Art of Quilt Making dates back centuries. I thought it would be fun to study the history of Georgia Quilt Making on the blog. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll try to post some information from the Georgia Encyclopedia for your enjoyment. You can navigate to this website by clicking the link below:


Let's start with the 18th Century....

Quilt making
Courtesy of Georgia Department of Economic Development
Busy Bee Quilting Club
is the process of sewing decorative bed covers from layers of fabric, either for personal use or for sale. Georgia quilts and their designs have changed over time, reflecting the influences of geography, historical events, technological innovations, economic circumstances, ethnic traditions, and personal aesthetics.

The Eighteenth Century

The earliest settlers in Georgia depended on transoceanic trade for their household goods. Bed covers were among the most common household textiles in the American colonies.

As quilts became popular in western Europe during the late eighteenth century, they also appeared in Georgia. Only wealthy families could afford the expensive fabrics used for quilts. Among the earliest styles were whole-cloth quilts, made from two large sheets of silk or cotton fabric with a layer of loose cotton between, typically sewn together with a decorative pattern of stitches.

Center Motif Design 18th Century

Early Georgia quilts were also made from printed cotton fabrics imported from India or Europe. Quilt makers cut out individual floral motifs from printed chintz fabrics and sewed them to a plain foundation in pleasing arrangements. Early chintz quilts in Georgia follow the European style, typically featuring a large central motif surrounded by multiple borders. Another European needlework technique that was popular in Savannah in the early nineteenth century was English-template piecing, or mosaic patchwork. In this technique, small geometric shapes—often hexagons—are cut from paper and covered with fabric; then the covered motifs are sewn together to form a design. Many fine early-nineteenth-century chintz and mosaic patchwork quilts survive from coastal Georgia.

English-Template Piecing

There are many places you can go to study and learn these techniques.  I recently completed a quilt top using the English-Template technique and was surprised at the ease in which the hexagons stitched together.

Enjoy your history lesson, and remember to Comfort someone with a quilt!