Antique Child's Hand Pieced Red 16 Square Pattern Summer Quilt

Vintage Collectibles : Textiles : Quilt

 

This wonderful old quilt in a twin size or child size has fabrics that date from the 1890s to the early 1900s.

The pattern is a 16 square with the strips in between the squares using a red crescent moon and stars on a red stripped back ground. The squares are made of of mostly red prints alternating to form the checkerboard pattern. The squares are 2 inches square so each pattern square is 8 inches square.

Red florals and prints are used in making the squares. One of the predominate prints is a white fabric with a red print of a horseshoe and whip.

There is no quilting and there is no batting. Which is why it called a summer quilt.

The backing is a floral pattern of blues and yellows and greens and is a later fabric than the top. It likely dates from the 1930s. I don't know if this was a replacement back or if the top was just made a long time before the backing was added or if they were made at the same time just using old prints?

The quilt top is hand pieced. The binding and backing are machine stitched.

There are some odd pattern pieces that have been added to some of the squares where it looks like the maker just ran out of the matching fabric.

There is also a strip in one of the corners that was added in red fabric because it appears the quilt was not square when it was finished and the added strip makes up for the missing length. Can you imagine the dismay of the maker when she finished cutting, piecing and hand stitching the top, only to lay it out and find that it is out of kilter?

There is a mend of the red horsewhip fabric in one of the big squares that was done by hand and appears to have been done long, long ago. There is a small tear on the back side of the quilt in the red binding. There are two small grease stains on the quilt and two other dark stains that are also small.

The quilt measures 44 inches by 67 inches.

This is not a perfect quilt. This is quilt that is made with extremely unusual fabrics and one that was most likely for a child's bed which is also rare to find in a piece this old.

This true antique of a quilt has a wonderful red color, wonderful fabrics, and so much history. If the quilt could only talk!

It would look beautiful on display and would be a treasure in your collection.

Item ID: RL-8971