Quilting

History Of Quilting

Quilts have always captured our imagination because of their old-fashioned charm. This charm is by no means misleading. Quilting is an old craft form that has enjoyed a rich historical background. For understanding the modern day version of the quilt. A little trip down its colorful memory lane is all in good order.

A colourful past:

Though the exact origin of quilting is still uncertain, many reliable sources like archeology and ancient literature hazards a guess of quilting as far back as the 3400 BC. Back then; quilting was used primarily for clothing and furnishing purposes in many part of world like Egypt, china and India. It was believed that the quilting first took its tiny steps in the European way of life only in the 11th century. In the past, quilts were made only for functional purposes. The harsh cold and rainy climates facilitated the need of quilts, which were more commonly made form left over thick fabrics.

This necessity also earned quilting a traditional place of prime importance in many rituals and cultures throughout the world. Quilts were mainly given away as gifts to blushing brides, new mothers and important guests. Mostly, only women took to quilting and spent a lot of their spare time designing beautiful warm quilts for their families. These quilters also harbored pride in their designs even as they competed with each other to make the maximum number of quilts.

Quilting bees of the past, made many changes in the quilts, which also differed in designs and fabrics from one part of the world to another. The modern day quilt attempts to capture the spirit of the past by still retaining many of its original characteristics.

Antique quilts:

With immense luck and against repeated tests of time quilting patterns of the past are still available today in all their original grandeur. They are known as antique quilts and are sold or displayed in a number of antique shops and museums. In order to witness the charm of the history of quilting, a visit to such museums and art galleries is a must.

Quilting