Little Known Fact About the History of American Quilts

By 1971 Quilting As We Know It Almost Ended

Quilting was becoming a dying art form after the war. Everyone wanted something new, not homemade, no one cared about the history of American quilts. After WWI people liked the idea of everything new, new store bought items and turned their noses up at anything "handmade" especially items like quilting. The perception was that the "poor people" made their own clothes and quilts. Everyone was hip and new, new, new was the name of game.

By the 1960’s there were very little in the way of quilting fabric. You could find tie-dyed fabric, and paper dresses (I even had one) but idea of "handmade" anything especially a quilt was unthinkable. New man made fabrics were the rage, heck, I remember tossing out the all cotton shirts and buying the ones made of polyester so I didn't have to iron.

The new fabrics meant we could step away from the ironing board! Isn't it funny, quilting brings us right back to that darn ole ironing board? How would our blocks look without being pressed...not ironed, of course!

Everything was new then. New fibers (polyester, nylon and rayon) and women just didn’t quilt, until the “Back to the Earth” movement, which was part of the hippie commune thinking. But it still wasn’t completely embraced until 1971…

I know that most of us quilters can't even imagine a life without quilting, but that is almost what happened. The history of American quilting was dying. No quilting, no American patchwork and quilting, no paper piecing, no fabric, no rotary cutter, no quilting magazines, nothing, nada, kaput.

So what happened in 1971? Jonathan Holstein and Gail Van Der Hoff managed to convince the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art to hang their large collection of antique American quilts.

They met a lot of resistance and it took them quite awhile to convince the museum to hang a quilt exhibit, the Museum thought no one would be interested in the history of quilts. Were they wrong!

This exhibit, called "Abstract Design in American Quilts" caused a sensation, it was the most popular exhibit in the museum’s history. The excitement about the history of quilts was was nothing short of phenomenal.

The exhibit was recently hung at a museum in Kentucky and the catalog reprinted. I have found the catalog biography "Abstract Design in American Quilts" by Jonathan Holstein and have provided a link below for you for your convenience. I just felt this was just too important not to know about.

This exhibit traveled for four years all over the USA and Europe. Everywhere the exhibit was featured a huge interest in quilting began. People were clamoring for patterns featuring paper piecing, patchwork, quality fabric and thread and better batting choices.

Magazines started featuring quilts in their issues, new patterns started evolving. Many people had never seen beautiful art quilts, they saw and used only the utilitarian quilts. You wouldn’t be reading this if not for these quilts in the exhibit making such an impression on the American people.

The Bicentennial of the United States also contributed to the huge resurgence in quilt making in America and the American patchwork and quilting history was set. It wouldn't disappear.

I think you would agree that the history of American quilting is now permanent and won't go into the archives never to resurface again. We would fight against that happening.

All I can really say is thank goodness for 1971!