A few days ago I posted a picture of this antique quilt top. I took a look at it again today and took some pictures of the fabrics. They are so beautiful. I am not an expert but I think they are from about the 1880′s . The thing that is different about this one is that the maker pressed open the seams (see picture below). I rarely see that done in a quilt top. It is a big top (86″ x 97″) The border is a different pink than the fabric used in the main part of the top and I think may have been added later. There are a few different indigos used and a variety of browns (some look gray but they are brown), all the reds are the same.
click the pictures to enlarge.
-
- Antique Fabric 1
-
- Antique Fabric 2
-
- Antique Fabric 3
-
- Antique Fabric 4
-
- Antique Fabric 5
-
- Antique Fabric 6
-
- Antique Fabric 7
-
- Antique Fabric 8
-
- Antique Fabric 9
-
- Antique Fabric 10
-
- Antique Fabric 11
-
- Antique Fabric 12
-
- Antique Fabric 13
-
- Antique Fabric 14
-
- Antique Fabric 15
Happy quilting
Tim
Looks like you hit the jackpot again, Tim. These fabrics are gorgeous. You said you think they are from the 1880s… Do you have any clue as to when it may have been assembled? It looks like it was pieced by someone conscientious about their fabrics and workmanship, but, with my eyesight, I can’t tell if it is by hand or by machine (?).
I think the tops was made about the same time. It was machine stitched but machines were available at the time so that does not change my guess as to the date…1880′s…..but like I said I am not an expert and when I have it quilted I will have an AQS certified appraiser look at it and give me a professional opinion
A delightful Quilt. Is it orange or pink? Either way it is a very sweet quilt! Looking forward to your quilting decisions.
Thanks
its a pink (double pink/cinamon pink)…it is difficult to get true color in a picture (for me at least)
this will be esp. fun for you to quilt as you will get to spend much time enjoying your antique prints!
true!…you realy get to know the fabric well when you are quilting it
What a fabulous quilt — all that glorious pink!
Thanks Cathi
that quiltmaker knew what she was doing!
From the photos I think you are in the ballpark. Do you have a copy of Eileen Trestain’s Dating Fabrics 1800-1960??. I hope you do because they are going pretty high last time I checked but if you don’t, keep your eyes open for a copy. I’d estimate 1800-1910 time period based on what I can see. Mourning prints, indigo, the browns….double pink is not much help but lighter overall pinks were earlier. This appears orange on my screen so it’s hard to tell. Circa turn of the century is a safe guess….have not seen a top pressed open that I can recall from that time period.
Jean Carlton AQS certified appraiser
Hi Jean
Thanks !
I do have the book and I refer to it a lot….I know they look orange but the color is just like the top row 3rd picture on page 122…the browns look a lot like those on page 80 and what looks like mourning prints are more brown like those on page 79…(also like the fugative purples on page 57) not the black and white of mourning prints….thats the problem with computers and photos…so hard to get a true representation of color! the pressed open seams is an odd thing to me but it sure makes the top flat…anyway thanks for the AQS expert view!!