AN OLD FASHION REVIVED

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 309, 21 March 1928, Page 4

AN OLD FASHION REVIVED

THE CHARM OF A PATCHWORK QUILT The vogue of the patchwork quilt ha's come round again, and the housewife who can unearth one from a forgotten corner of the family linen chest is indeed lucky. To study a genuine old quilt is quite an education in the progress of cotton manufacture, dyeing and printing. Simple Construction A typical example of this domestic needlecraft comes from the West of England. The design is made up of diamond-shaped pieces, radiating from a beautiful centre of chintz flowers. In the border there is a change of pattern to fan-shaped pieces, which seem to overlap, and so to droop more gracefully over the edge of the bed. The lining of green and white checked muslin is unpicked to show the construction of the quilt. The edges of each patch are tacked over stiff paper, then the pieces are seamed together with cotton that has mellowed with age and thimble pressure to an ivory tint. Many of the pieces of “scaffolding paper” are already

torn out, but among the few that are left are some pages cut from a copybook, stroked with the pothooks and hangers of a child! Blended Colours The patches are of gingham, cambric, chintz and dimity, with an abundance of lilac and blue pin-stripe prints: The traditional patterns reminiscent of “Lowestoft” china recur many times, and the little “snail trail” design of dark blue and green lies snugly beside moss rosebuds and oat-meal-coloured chintz. Occasionally plain colours of gingham are introduced; dark backgrounds are very sparingly used, and red is always accompanied by the old gold and green of a bandana handkerchief. A modern copy of this quilt is the work of a little country woman, who has learnt the craft at th e Women’s Institute. It is for a single bed, and the price is seven and a-half guineas. Many duplicates of it have been ordered, and it is to be hoped that the patience of the quiltmaker will not be exhausted nor will her stock of patches run out before the commissions are executed. M.M.P.