Historic Treasure of the Week - May 19, 1991
By Jan Buffington
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - May 19, 1991
By Jan Buffington
Vigo County Historical Society
Quilts came out of the closet in late 1800s
Even though we call them crazy quilts, they rarely are quilted. A few don’t even have batting, but they all show a combination of color and skill which is appreciated by quilt lovers.
The entire collection of crazy quilts at the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley will be featured from June 8 to July 8. At least one crazy quilt will be displayed in every room in the museum.
Crazy quilts are believed to be the first type of pieced quilt. They were utilitarian pieces made from worn-out blankets and clothes, and scraps of material left over from sewing projects. They were used as warm bed covering, and on walls and windows to help keep out the cold. Quilted materials also were made into underclothing to protect the skin of warriors who wore armor.
In early colonial days, when blankets and quilts began to wear out, they were patched with pieces of worn woolen cloth or other scraps of fabric. The resulting blankets looked like crazy quilts, too.
Between 1880 and 1910, the crazy quilt came out of the closet and traveled into the parlor. The Victorians took the useful art of the crazy quilt and elevated it to a masterpiece showing off the makers’ skill with the needle.
Crazy quilts became known as parlor throws. They were usually smaller than blankets and were used to cover laps and legs when the room was cool.
Fine silks, satins, brocades, velvets and fancy embroidery stitches of silk from floss were the basic materials used in crazy quilts.
To record a family’s history, a quilter might use bits of mother’s wedding dress, father’s silk tie, sister’s hat ribbon, or brother’s military unit patch.
Other imaginative crazy quilters used embroideryl, appliqué, and hand painting to apply dates, names, pictures, symbols or other designs.
Most early crazy quilts were one large square worked to the size needed, but most Victorian crazy quilts were done in 10-inch to 20-inch squares which were joined together. When joining the squares, the needlecrafter used strips of plain colored material to set off each block or put them all together to form one large kaleidoscope of shapes, colors and materials.
Governor Evan Bayh has proclaimed 1991 as the "Year of the Quilt in Indiana" and June has been declared the "Month of the Quilt in Terre Haute" by Mayor P. Pete Chalos.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.