Quilter and quilting in the Bazaar of Nishapur 11

Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

or specialised

longarm quilting Longarm quilting is the process by which a longarm sewing machine is used to sew together a quilt top, quilt batting and quilt backing into a finished quilt. The longarm sewing machine frame typically ranges from 10 feet (about 3 metres) to 14 feet ...

system. An array of stitches is passed through all layers of the fabric to create a three dimensional padded surface. The three layers are typically referred to as the top fabric or

quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...

top,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

or insulating material and the backing. Quilting varies from a purely functional fabric joinery technique to highly elaborate, decorative three dimensional surface treatments. A wide variety of textile products are traditionally associated with quilting that includes bed coverings, soft home furnishings, garments and costumes, wall hangings, artistic objects and cultural artefacts. A wide range of effects can be employed by the quilter that contribute to the final surface quality and utility of the quilted material. The quilter controls these effects through the manipulation of elements such as material type and thickness, stitch length and style, pattern design, piecing and cutting. Two dimensional effects such as

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

s can be achieved through aesthetic choices regarding colour, texture and print. Three dimensional and sculptural components of quilted material can be manipulated and enhanced with further

embellishment In sewing and crafts, an embellishment is anything that adds design interest to the piece. Examples in sewing and craft * appliqué can be made by sewing machine of decorative techniques and or * embroidery, done either by machine or by hand * ...

which may include

appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

techniques such as shisha mirror work, and the inclusion of other objects or elements such as

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...

button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, ...

sequin A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

s. Some quilters dye or create their own fabrics. In contemporary artistic quilting, new and experimental materials such as plastics, paper, naturally occurring fibres and plants amongst a diverse array of other materials have been used. Quilting can be considered one of the first examples of

upcycling Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value ...

, as it has historically made extensive use of remnants and offcuts for the creation of new products.

History

Early quilting

The origin of the term 'quilt' is linked to the Latin word ''culcita'', meaning a bolster or cushion. Usage of the term seems to have first been used in England in the 13th

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

. However the sewing techniques of piecing,

, and quilting have been used for clothing and furnishings in diverse parts of the world for several millennia and a wide range of quilting styles and techniques have uniquely evolved around the globe. The earliest known quilted garment is depicted on the carved ivory figure of a

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...

dating from the ancient Egyptian First Dynasty (). In 1924 archaeologists discovered a quilted floor covering in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, estimated to date between 100 BC and 200 AD. In Europe, quilting has been part of the needlework tradition from about the fifth century, with early objects containing Egyptian cotton, which may indicate that Egyptian and Mediterranean trade provided a conduit for the technique. However, quilted objects were relatively rare in Europe until approximately the twelfth century, when quilted bedding and other items appeared after the return of the Crusaders from the Middle East. The medieval quilted gambeson,

aketon A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usual ...

and

arming doublet A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usual ...

were garments worn under or instead of armor of maille or

plate armor Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, ...

. These developed into the later quilted

doublet Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much", It is also taught at senior centers around the U.S., but quilters of all ages attend classes. These forms of workshops or classes are also available in other countries in guilds and community colleges.

Quilting tools

Contemporary quilters use a wide range of quilting designs and styles, from ancient and ethnic to post-modern futuristic patterns. There is no one single school or style that dominates the quilt-making world.

Sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

s can be used in the process of piecing together a quilt top. Some quilters also use a home sewing machine for quilting together the layers of the quilt, as well as binding the final product. While most home sewing machines can be used to quilt layers together, having a wide throat (the space to the right of the needle mechanism) is useful to manipulate a bulky quilt through the machine when the throat is both high and long. Fabric markers can be used to mark where cuts should be made in the fabric. Marks from specialist fabric marker wash out of fabrics. Quilting Studio 005

Quilting rulers are usually square or rectangular measuring instruments with length measurement and degree angle markings along multiple edges. Longarm quilting machines can be used to make larger quilts. Larger machines can be leveraged so that the quilter does not have to hold the fabric. Some specialist quilt shops offer longarm services. Machine quilting needles are very sharp in order to readily pierce layers of quilt and properly sew together the quilt top, batting and backing. Hand quilting needles are traditionally called ''betweens'' and are generally smaller and stronger than normal sewing needles. They have a very small eye which prevents any extra bump at the head of the needles when you are pulling through the thread. Pins can be used in many different combinations to achieve similar results. Thimbles provide protection to fingertips. Specialist quilting threads come in many types, including different weights of thread and different materials. Cotton, polyester, and nylon threads are used in different forms of quilting. Rotary cutters revolutionized quilt-making when they appeared in the late 1970s. Rotary cutters simplify the process of cutting even slices of fabric. Basting spray is a temporary aerosol glue that can be used to spray the layers of a quilt together, so it stays in place whilst being sewn. It is a specially formulated glue that will not clog a sewing machine, and is a much quicker basting method than hand basting. Quilting templates/patterns come in many varieties and are generally considered the basis of the structure of the quilt, like a blueprint for a house. Bias binding or

bias tape left, An example of double-fold bias tape Bias tape or bias binding is a narrow strip of fabric, typically plain weave, cut on the bias. As the weave of fabric is at a 45 degree angle, the resulting fabric strip is stretchier than a strip cu ...

can be made from strips of quilt fabric or purchased as quilt binding. It is used in the last stage of making a quilt, and is a method of covering the edges of the quilt.

Specialty styles

* Foundation piecing – also known as paper-piecing – sewing pieces of fabric onto a temporary or permanent foundation *

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

or echo quilting – Hawaiian quilting, where quilting is done around an appliquéd piece on the quilt top, then the quilting is echoed again and again around the previous quilting line. * Ralli quilting – Pakistani and Indian quilting, often associated with the Sindh (Pakistan) and Gujarat (India) regions. *

Sashiko stitching is a type of traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching used for the decorative and/or functional reinforcement of cloth and clothing. Owing to the relatively cheap nature of white cotton thread and the abundant nature of cheap, indigo-dyed ...

– Basic running stitch worked in heavy, white cotton thread usually on dark indigo colored fabric. It was originally used by the working classes to stitch layers together for warmth.Sharon Pederson,(2005). Sensational Sashiko, Japanese Applique and Quilting by Machine. p.5, Martingale & Co., Woodinville, WA *

Trapunto quilting ''Trapunto,'' from the Italian for ''"to quilt,"'' is a method of quilting that is also called "stuffed technique." A puffy, decorative feature, trapunto utilizes at least two layers, the underside of which is slit and padded, producing a raised ...

– stuffed quilting, often associated with Italy. * Machine trapunto quilting – a process of using water-soluble thread and an extra layer of batting to achieve trapunto design and then sandwiching the quilt and re-sewing the design with regular cotton thread. * Shadow trapunto – This involves quilting a design in fine

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...

and filling some of the spaces in the pattern with small lengths of colored

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

. *

Tivaevae Tivaevae or tivaivai ( rar, tīvaevae) in the Cook Islands, tifaifai in French Polynesia, is a form of artistic quilting traditionally done by Polynesian women. The word literally means "patches", in reference to the pieces of material sewn toget ...

or tifaifai – A distinct art from the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. * Watercolor quilting – A sophisticated form of scrap quilting whereby uniform sizes of various prints are arranged and sewn to create a picture or design. See also Colorwash. * Thread art – A custom style of sewing where thread is layered to create the picture on the quilt. * Traditional embroidery techniques can also be used to create block designs or embellish pieced or appliqued blocks.

References

External links

National Gallery of Australia - Rajah Quilt 1841Australian War Memorial - Changi Quilts WW2Directory of quilts in Australian Museums and GalleriesThe American Museum in Britain - American Decorative and Folk Art Collection
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