If you are like most people thinking of Amish people makes you think about plain clothes, horse-drawn buggies, farms, barn raisings, and quilts. However, you should know that Amish quilts making came is pretty new to the Amish culture.
Amish people make gradual changes also, but this happens many times decades later than the rest. The making of Amish quilts is a good example. Before 1870 there were very few quilts that were known to have been made from the Amish people. In about fifteen years from then it became quite common to have quilts made by the Amish, thus resulting in the term “amish quilts”. This is now not only common in the Amish community but it is also expected.
For what was considered to be popular at the time of their quilting, Amish had been behind in the evolution and their quilts were considered to be of more conservative styling. When the Amish first starting making quilts they were of a single solid color. This was likely blue, brown, rust, or even black. The fabric was many times plain. However the quilting that was used for holding together the layers of fabric was many times decorative and intricate a typical pattern in Amish quilts. Patterns for Amish quilts were curves, grids, and swirling feathers. They had adopted the process of quilting however it didn’t include the modern colors of swatches and patches.
Over time there was some additional colors added as well as piecing that was very basic. It was common to see for example a diamond in the middle that was large and made of a dark fabric and then have a border around it that was wide. Over time there were colors like olive green, pumpkin, and occasionally dark red added. These colors were still solid and deep.
Most of the population was evolving into Crazy quilts however the Amish were just starting to use block patterns that were more basic. The popular patterns were Around the World, Sunshine and Shadow, and Nine patch. There was still only solid colors being used but there were different solid colors. These Amish quilts were made of either cotton or wool. The silks that were popular were being considered worldly.
Many people think that the quilts made by the Amish were done by hand. However this is not the case. Many of the amish quilts were made using a sewing machine. However the quilting that was beautiful was always done with hand. This type of labor intensive work is what give amish quilts a very beautiful look.
Most of the piecing that was done was done at home. However when the top of the quilt was ready to be done it was an occasion often times for the women to gather at the quilting frame. The community sense that they had and the sense to comply with the standards of the community is what has such great influence on the quilting of the Amish.
The only time the changes in the quilting took place was with the approval of the community and this happened slowly. This created a nice amount of variety of quilting in the communities because each community has its own guidelines that they followed that were unwritten. In the more conservative communities white or pink might have been unacceptable however in some communities that were more liberal it was okay as the drab browns were thought to be dull. When a family moved to another community it was not uncommon for a quilt they had made to be sold or put way. During the early twentieth century new colors that were brighter were becoming available to Amish quilts. After World War II most of the nation was turning away from quilting because it was considered old fashion as well as a waste of time. However the Amish still continued the tradition of making Amish quilts.
