Look What I Found: Antique Handmade Quilt

I like going to second-hand stores, thrift stores, and antique shops whenever possible.

This is my latest find, a beautiful old patchwork quilt!

I know very little about old quilts or dating them, I just like them and collect them if the price is right.  

This is one of my best finds yet at $8.99.

I found this quilt especially interesting because of the quilt pattern and the stitched names.

A patchwork quilt is a quilt in which the top layer consists of pieces of fabric sewn together to form a design. Originally, this was to make full use of left-over scraps of fabric.

If you are reading this post and can shed more light on this quilt I would really appreciate it! 

The quilt I found measures approximately 80 inches long and 68 inches wide.  
Each square is approximately 12 and 1/2 by 13 inches, give or take a quarter to half-inch on some squares. The border material is approximately 1 and 1/2 inches wide.  
The back material is two pieces running longways.  The quilt has numerous different stitches which are all amazing.  The front is held to the back by "tacking" or yarn.

     
“Quilting was a very popular early American pastime, particularly in the Midwest, where quilting circles were a common social pastime for women. Quilting bees were when many women gathered around a quilting frame and quilted. Annual town fairs generally included a quilting prize to award excellence in quilting. 

Handmade quilts were a very common wedding gift for young couples and were often mentioned specifically in wills due to their sentimental significance. It was not uncommon, in early American culture, for quilts to reflect a mosaic of a woman's life, often including swatches of material from memorable events such as pieces of a wedding gown or a child's baptismal garment. 

The Amish people are famous for their geometric patchwork designs with independent patterns and quilting; typical motifs include floral designs and heart shapes. The Amish and Mennonite women of the Pennsylvania Dutch country have been creating exquisite quilted masterpieces since the mid-19th century.”

Fan Pattern

Fan Pattern

According to some Quilt websites, Vintage quilts were made from the 1930s to 1965, while quilts deemed Antique date back to 100 years ago or more. 
(A quilt made in the 1920s or earlier is considered antique).

Here are a few tips to date a quilt:

• Most antique and vintage quilts were made by hand with no help from a sewing machine.  If the stitching throughout the whole quilt appear a bit unevenly spaced or different in size, the quilt was likely handmade.

• If the stitches are precisely uniform in size and spacing, the quilt was probably machine-stitched.

• Many antique quilts were made in odd sizes that don't fit modern beds.

• Handmade quilts, particularly those from the 20th century, sometimes bear an identification tag on the bottom corner. The cloth tag tells the name and location of the quilter, as well as the date of completion. Quilts made prior to the 20th century might not have a tag.

Stitching

Stitching

Stitching

Another website said the quilt's pattern may date the quilt.

Quilts of the 17th century were often made by poor Colonists who couldn't afford to make detailed patchwork designs. Instead, they made quilts out of one or two sheets of the same fabric. 
Patchwork-style quilts first became common in the 18th century and after the American Revolutionary War.

Date

Date and names

Patterns

The Double Wedding Ring pattern depicts two interlocking rings and is thought to have German origins. The pattern was first published in 1928 in "Capper's Weekly" magazine.

Another pattern to look for is the Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern, also called Honeycomb or Hexagon. This pattern can be traced back to the 18th century.

Quilts with either of these patterns may be considered antique.

Name and Heart

School House

Colors:

Even a quilt's colors can help identify its age.

• Lancaster Blue consists of a light-blue print over a dark-blue background. This color was popular on antique quilts from 1860 to 1880.

• Double Pink is a similar hue; it depicts a dark-pink shade over a light-pink background. Double pink was commonly seen in quilts from the 1860s to the 1880s as well as the 1920s.

• Cheddar Orange, also called Antimony, was used in applique in Pennsylvania from 1860 to 1880.

• Nile Green, a type of pale green was common on vintage quilts in the 1930s through 1940s. The color was often paired with cream, white or dark green.

Star pattern and Names

Three interlocking rings in Red White and Blue

My First Name!!  

Isn't this a beautiful quilt? I would love to find out who it belonged to, who made it, and why anyone would give it away or donate it to a second-hand store.  So much work went into it!

Hope your day was full of found treasures too,

Elizabeth

Many different squares to make one large finished quilt. 

From this view, you can see the bottom right-hand square,
which appears to be made of a man's suit material and wedding dress material.