Wedding Quilts

Diana Woolf takes a fascinating look at the history of quilt making and the designs traditionally associated with weddings.

What could be more suitable for a Christmas wedding than a quilt decorated with heart-shaped wreaths of holly? These are the motifs that the creator of a charming piece in the American Museum in Britain has used to decorate her quilt, possibly made to celebrate her own Christmas wedding. The quilt is thoroughly seasonal and is made up of nine blocks – each worked with an appliqué pattern of holly wreaths with a pair of holly leaves in each corner. The leaves were all made out of green cotton, which has sadly now faded to a beige colour, and beside each one is a bright red berry. These jewel-like points of colour have all been individually stuffed so they sit above the white cotton background for extra visual impact. The brilliant red berries juxtaposed with green holly leaves must have made an eye-catching contrast when the quilt was first made. More festive colour was added by the maker along the border in the form of a red cotton swag pattern and a red cotton binding, which neatly frames the whole design. The piece has been quilted all over with flower patterns, a running feather vine border and, appropriately for a wedding quilt, hearts in each corner. All in all, it’s a lovely combination of seasonal detail and the heart-shaped designs traditionally associated with weddings.