They were fitting showpieces for the lavish interior decoration of the day.
These quilts were usually made using velvet, silk and brocade fabric, cut and pieced in random shapes.
What a perfect way for women to show off their needlework skills!
Using silk thread, women placed lovely decorative stitches on each seam.
Intriguing names like feather, herringbone, fly and chain describe just a few of the intricate stitches.
The imagination and skill of the seamstress was the only limit.
Creativity was wide open with women sewing asymmetrical pieces of fabric together in abstract arrangements.
This enthusiasm for this quilting fad continued until about 1910.
This is a great project for when it is unbelievably hot outside.
It doesnt matter what sort of fabric you use in these blocks.
If youre just starting out, Id stick to cotton, as it is the easiest to deal with.
Get a good variety of fabric, so you have lots of diversity in your square.
These look great with some embroidered designs on them, if you have a fancy machine that embroiders.
