Historically accurate fabrics for quilting - reproductions of 18th-century quilts

Magazine Antiques, May, 1999 by Allison Eckardt Ledes

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum in Washington, D.C., has a marvelous collection of some three hundred quilts dating from the mid-eighteenth century to 1900. Most have been donated by members since the organization and museum were founded in 1890. Many quilts have come to the museum with detailed family histories, which have subsequently been verified through research by members of the curatorial staff. In addition, the museum has a well-documented collection of period dresses and dress fabrics.

The museum has recently formed an alliance with P and B Textiles of Burlingame, California, to manufacture reproductions of several textiles in its collection, some of them drawn from fragments used in quilts, others from dresses. Six patterns in a variety of colorways (bringing the total to twenty-eight) comprise the initial offering. All are reproduced to exact scale.

Indian Chintz reproduces a fragment of a painted and woodblock-printed cotton dress fragment (illustrated below). The original was owned by Sarah Heath (1763-1839), the wife of Samuel Heath (1756-1833), a farmer and teamster in Virginia who fought in the American Revolution. Imported Indian cotton chintzes and calicoes, many with floral designs, were popular in the Tidewater region of Virginia. The fragment is composed of two pieces sewn together that have been patched and darned, indicating that the fragment was probably recycled from yet another garment. In this chintz the outlines were block printed in red and black, and the flowers were painted or penciled in by hand. What are now blue and brown leaves on the document fabric were originally green, but since green could not be printed with a single block, yellow was applied over blue to produce that color. In India, green was made with mordants containing iron, rendering the final color fugitive and causing the cotton to deteriorate. The vibrant green of the original document has been restored in the reproduction.

The fabric called Floral Cluster, is drawn from an English wood-block-printed dress fragment of about 1810, originally part of a garment worn by Margaret Carpenter Fales (1781-1842) of Massachusetts (illustrated at right). The classical design reflects a change in taste from earlier Indian chintz to more open patterns produced by English textile manufacturers. A smaller pattern called Floral Vine, has been reproduced from a piece of cloth appliqued on a quilt in the DAR's collection. It has been reproduced because it coordinates well with the two larger floral prints.

Three cotton fabrics made about 1810, all of which appear on a Tidewater quilt of about 1830 (illustrated above), complete the initial offering in this new line of reproductions. They have been named Swirl, Floral Stripe, and Ombre Vine. These are roller-printed cottons printed in one color on a white or pale yellow background. The invention of roller printing in 1783 permitted the mass production of textiles, revolutionizing the industry. The reproductions are made by this method, which is still in use today.

P and B Textiles are available in craft stores internationally. While these DAR reproduction fabrics are lighter weight than upholstery fabrics, they can be used to make bed hangings. The mail-order firm of Vintage and Vogue carries the full DAR line and may be contacted by telephoning 978534- 6542. Information about the nearest retail store that carries P and B Textiles can be obtained by contacting the firms Web site (www.pbtex.com).