Wholecloth quilts

In pure wholecloth quilts the complete design was stitched onto a single piece of fabric. There was no piecing or applique at all. Most fabrics used were cotton and all stitching was done by hand, either by an individual quilter or by a group working together on a community project. There was a variation of this type of quilt called a “strippy” because the quilt top was assembled from long strips of fabric then each strip was (usually) quilted separately.

Historically wholecloth and strippy quilts are mainly associated with the years between the 2 world wars and the former coal mining areas of South Wales and NE England, mostly County Durham. The women in these places added to their family incomes by making quilts in their homes when their daily chores were finished, often selling them locally or to buyers from other areas. The quilts made in these 2 main areas show distinct styles of quilting patterns and it is possible to use these patterns to decide whether an antique quilt is Welsh or North Country/Durham in origin.

My husband comes from a North Country family, sadly not quilters, so I chose to base my design on the style of patterns used in Durham quilts – flowers, curves, fans and feathers. I also included a strippy effect in the background quilting although the fabric is a wholecloth and not pieced. All fabrics are cotton; quilting threads are acrylic.

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