Cutter Quilts Mean Different Things To Different Folks

Vintage quilts can become a hobby bordering on obsession. This is especially true once you start your own family. You'll want to start documenting all the history, the values and the warm-heartedness depicted within the walls of your home; there is no better way to do this than with the antique fabrics of a cutter quilt. Thinking of the entire process of finding representative pieces of someone's life and putting them all together in an aesthetic manner so that memories can be enjoyed for several generations makes for a completely satisfying experience for most people who are sensitive to such things. This isn't simply teardrops of sentimentality but a strong bond connecting the past with the present and the future using old textiles and pieces of quilting in new and inventive ways.

While standard quilting process and styles are easy and plentiful to discover, cutter quilts hold with them that air of mystery that is not objective by its very nature. To crafters, a cutter quilt can mean one thing, while to artists and quilt collectors they can mean something altogether different. 

To some people a real cutter is looked upon as a unique item filled with the vintage scraps of fabric of yesteryears. The best textiles are going to be old. Not just look old but actually be articles of clothing from years ago. Things like wedding dresses and suits, neckties and baptismal gowns, any cloth pieces that bring back memories of ancestors or family nostalgia. Another word for these cutter quilts are crazy quilts for their crazy, mixed-up piecing together of seemingly disconnected fabric pieces. Dealers who look at antique quilts for their memorable content rather than the condition of their fabric find value in the antiquity rather than at their preserved state. 

There are other collectors of antique quilts who view these pieces as something damaged needed to be revived by cutting them up and making something new out of something old. While this sounds like a terrible thing to do, it is better to preserve a piece that is damaged beyond repair and save it by cutting it into other shapes that can be quilted together again, minus the damaged parts. 

Cutter quilts are viewed by another group as an antique collectible that can be acquired for a great price, and once in their hands, they believe a little tender loving care will restore it to its original value. The reason for this is because certain dealers will view these flaws as price worthy - enough for collectors to see them as the best bargains around the industry.

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I didn't become Fairy overnight and I have all the Fairy powers to help you with your baby crib bedding and nursery decor. For handmade baby quilts, baby girl and baby boy bedding visit my baby bedding boutique TheQuiltFairy.com

The History of The Crazy Quilt

In 1876 the Exposition celebrating Philadelphia's centennial was a huge Victorian celebration. In the pavilion from Japan ceramics and asymmetrical art were fawned over by crowds. 

It was from these two Japanese favorites that the interest in crazy quilt was born, as women were excited to infuse the Japanese style into their quilting patterns. And it wasn't long before the women's magazines of the day fueled their fire. Soon abstract organization and asymmetrical fabric pieces were being seen everywhere. For the next 34 years, until 1910, crazy quilts were all the rage. 

In the beginning of the craze, the crazy quilts were being created more as show pieces rather than functional pieces and were designed to be displayed in the parlors of homes. They fit right in with the elaborate home interior decors at the time. Assembled into random shapes, the fabrics used were predominantly silk, brocade and velvet. This allowed women to demonstrate their skill at needle working too. 

Crazy quilts carried with them the stitching variations and embroidery that were part of careful planning. At times, painted pictures showed up on some of the pieces, as did flowers and animals in embroidered themes. A common belief back then was that by doing a spider in its web in embroidery would bestow good luck. And, of course, there were family events being recorded alongside favorite bible verses.

Crazy quilting began in the homes of the upper class. It turned into an activity for wealthy women with time on their hands and money in their bank accounts who could afford the fine silk threads often used in the quilts. It wasn't long, however, before women of other classes developed their own styles of crazies. This meant that fine fabrics passed from the wealthy to the less wealthy relatives found their way into quilts. At times also, silk scraps were sold cheaply via mail order catalogs direct from the textile mills so that more women had access to the fad. 

Fundraisers took advantage of the popularity of crazy quilts. Women from churches everywhere wrote to ask famous people for a section of clothing that they could fuse into their quilting. Thus an extra value was added to the quilt. Such a quilt, when sold, funded the work of early missionaries abroad, helped to erect a new meeting house, or any similar yet just as worthy cause. 

As the 20th century dawned women moved from fancy clothing and silks to denim, flannel and other cotton fabrics. Fancy stitching gave way to simplicity. This is the reason for the many varieties and styles of crazy quilts. 

Collectors are finding with sadness that the silk crazy quilts of the Victorian era are decaying quickly; this is due mainly to the metals woven into the silk fabrics to give them weight and a little rustle. Preservationists are doing what they can to save these priceless relics of our past. When this won't work any longer they will try something else to renovate these old quilts so that the original embroidered work will not be lost. Sadly, the day will come when most of these quilts from our historic past will only be viewed digitally.

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I didn't become Fairy overnight and I have all the Fairy powers to help you with your baby crib bedding and nursery decor. For handmade baby quilts, baby girl and baby boy bedding visit my baby bedding boutique TheQuiltFairy.com

Tips on Identifying the Most Valuable Vintage Quilts

There are many of the earth's greatest quilts that won't ever be seen on a museum wall or will never be appraised by a professional. Instead, they'll rest on family beds of those who can describe each and every stitch, and which ancestor held the needle. Along with this will come the time the quilt was made, and why the quilt was made. The family heirlooms made for individuals within the family -- usually one particular individual -- starting as a gift and then making their way through the succeeding generations. 

Quilts are the storytellers of the family, the purveyors of its history. They came into existence as a way to honor a family member, their standing in their town, a new homestead or wedding or to remember days that held special meaning. There are quilts that announce a social or political stance. A great contemporary example would be the AIDS Quilt, from 1987, which bonded survivors and families who have lost those members to AIDS.

In looking for the best antique quilt, knowing the materials and techniques of quilting are very important for identifying the real deal. Reproductions have been known to get by even the experts. So, to cut down on being taken to the cleaners when looking into obtaining an antique quilt, let’s look at some pointers that will help.

1. Batting. Batting made from polyester batting is a fairly new invention, as polyester didn't find a place with consumers until the '60s. So antique quilts will be from cotton or wool, and maybe a silk batting on rare occasions. You may also find pieces from older quilts as the batting for newer ones. 

2. Thread. Back in the olden days, heavy cotton thread taken from old feed sacks were used to stitch together quilt pieces before the common everyday thread came about that today is so readily available. For appliqués, check to see if white thread only had been used on the entire quilt. If so, it is more modern, as it is a recent addition to match threads in appliqué. 

3. Stitching. Small, spaced evenly and regularly throughout the quilt. This comes from the fact that antique quilts not only were made for their beauty, but to be practical, and the tight stitches meant years of use with no wear and tear. 

4. Condition. An authentic cloth from an antique quilt will be soft and even worn in parts. New quilt fabric will look like-new for many years, but older quilts will have been used often by family members who loved them. 

5. Bed Size. Beds are not the same these days as they were decades and centuries ago. Those making quilts in the beginning of the 19th century were not meant for the king size bed of today.

6. Dyes. Early 1800s dyes were created through boiling plants in iron pots on stovetops to bring out their colors. This resulted in boring, earthy colors such as pale green and slate gray. During the Civil War, aniline dyes were the rage, and had colors that came alive, but fell to a dull fade over the years. 

If you collect your antique quilts because of their design, or because of their history, or really just to invest in value, you will want to find an antique dealer who is honest. A good, honest antique dealer will do what is necessary to find out the history of the quilt you have in mind, going back as far as they are able to track it down. A good dealer will mean the difference between an authentic quilt hanging on your wall, and a cheap reproduction hidden embarrassingly in a box. 

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I didn't become Fairy overnight and I have all the Fairy powers to help you with your baby crib bedding and nursery decor. For handmade baby quilts, baby girl and baby boy bedding visit my baby bedding boutique TheQuiltFairy.com