Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

  An incredible exhibition at the Bowers Museum featured 40 of China’s “Queen of Couture” Guo Pei’s garments. Although clothing and costumes are closely related to the skills of quilting, these garments seemed even more related through the ancient techniques. Clothing that was quilted, embroidered, and blinged out filled the exhibition. Guo Pei was responsible for bringing some of the older techniques back to life in China. She went house to house looking at curtains in the window to see if a sewing skill was demonstrated. From those selected artisans, she trained new artisans who took the old techniques into new horizons. Many of the garments show a nod to Chinese culture and couture history, while acknowledging the modern woman. She seems to be a designer aware of the duality of the cultures as she finds...

A couple of times after I’ve given the Early American Military Textiles presentation, I’ve had someone mention to me another potential textile to include. I’m always happy to add to the research and log of textiles. After the blog series, I was contacted by Ragi Marino to see if I was aware of a “soldier’s blanket” at the Texas Civil War Museum.   Ragi re-created the textile as an AQSG Study Quilt. This interesting quilt is another reminder of why quilts made of military textiles are not always recognized as such. Uniforms weren’t standardized, with soldiers wearing what they had. In the War of 1812, well past American infancy, soldiers were still wearing military garb from other countries with updated buttons and insignias.  In the case of this “blanket” the fabrics were from a later version...

This year the Triplett Sisters made the momentous decision to carry Dutch Heritage reproduction fabrics in our shop. There are extra challenges and expenses when carrying imported fabrics. However, Kay and I have always loved these fabrics from “first sight.” We appreciate the quality, the brilliant color, and the design which is true to 17th and 18th century fabrics in both scale and pattern. I have designed more quilts with these Dutch fabrics than I will ever be able to assemble. (Note: I will continue to try making all of them!) The Dutch have a long history of textile manufacture starting with wool and linen, with major textile production taking place in Leiden, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Delft, and Haarlem. In fact, the textile industry was so vibrant that linen merchants from other areas of Europe sent their...

We are pleased to announce the first in our Jewelry of the Month series: Golden Amour. This jewelry project uses paper piecing which in England and America is sometimes called English Paper Piecing. It really should be known as Italian paper piecing, since this oldest known example of this technique is an Italian pillow known as the Impruneta Cushion which dates from the 15th century. If you’d like to join us on the Jewelry of the Month journey and make your own version of this necklace, bracelet, or earrings, then check out our YouTube video to see instructions. Or we have detailed instructions and kits available in our Etsy shop at this link. I’ve love to see the pieces of jewelry that you make, so please post photos in the comments on our Facebook and YouTube...

What do you do with a treasured petticoat, cloak, or dress? Make a quilt, of course! Frequently we think of clothing being cutup into small pieces to re-use the fabric in pieced patterns to create a quilt, such as the center of this mathematical star made of dress taffeta. This method creates art from what fabric you have available or to preserve the legacy of a lost loved one through their clothing. Sometimes coats or other pieces are used to create stuffed animals to pass onto children in the family. However, there are other reasons and ways to use clothing in a quilt. In the case of the Revolutionary War Cloak, the cloak had a long time meaning to the family. Family lore stated that the ancestor had killed a British soldier and claimed the cloak...