What era are these quilt fabrics from?

[JenniferO]

I have guessed these small prints are from men's shirts, women's blouses, perhaps even handkerchiefs. The fabrics are all cotton, meticulously hand sewn together. Top has been washed, and fabrics are slightly fragile. I feel like they may be from the 1920's, but perhaps even older? Please share your thoughts...

 

[wyogems]

just a guess 60s?

 

[Linn]

I think it's '30's - '40's - possibly '50's. Is it a bed coverlet? Dimensions?

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

I think you have a range of dates here. They all look pretty much like printed cottons, and most of them, like the brown/blue/white leaf pattern, the purple/lavender/white and mulberry/pink(?)calicoes, ginghams, the blue striped pieces with brown circles all look mid- to late Victorian. I don't think any look much later than 1910. I'm dredging up long-unused information, so please take with a dash of salt.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Marzilli. Most look mid to late Victorian. I love the little purple spermacetti or algae print, which was very popular in Victorian times and you can also find it in fabrics pre Victorian. Hard to say when all of these were sewn into a quilt, but early 20th century seems about the latest.

So you know in what region it was made?

 

[JenniferO]

just a guess 60s?

I think you have a range of dates here. They all look pretty much like printed cottons, and most of them, like the brown/blue/white leaf pattern, the purple/lavender/white and mulberry/pink(?)calicoes, ginghams, the blue striped pieces with brown circles all look mid- to late Victorian. I don't think any look much later than 1910. I'm dredging up long-unused information, so please take with a dash of salt.

After looking at some reproduction fabric sites, I have to say, I think you are in the right era, even though it sort of surprised me. I purchased this quilt top at an auction...just because I liked it. The size is: 85" X 58"

 

[JenniferO]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Marzilli. Most look mid to late Victorian. I love the little purple spermacetti or algae print, which was very popular in Victorian times and you can also find it in fabrics pre Victorian. Hard to say when all of these were sewn into a quilt, but early 20th century seems about the latest.

So you know in what region it was made?

I don't know what region except...American. The fabrics are printed cotton. Again, the piecing is really well executed. I know dating the fabric is one thing, knowing when it was actually pieced may be another. I appreciate the discussion!

 

[JenniferO]

I think it's '30's - '40's - possibly '50's. Is it a bed coverlet? Dimensions?

The size is: 85" X 58". --- Some of the fabrics have disintegrated. Most are in great shape.

 

[JenniferO]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Marzilli. Most look mid to late Victorian. I love the little purple spermacetti or algae print, which was very popular in Victorian times and you can also find it in fabrics pre Victorian. Hard to say when all of these were sewn into a quilt, but early 20th century seems about the latest.

So you know in what region it was made?

Also, what is considered Victorian dates...

 

[JenniferO]

just a guess 60s?

I think you have a range of dates here. They all look pretty much like printed cottons, and most of them, like the brown/blue/white leaf pattern, the purple/lavender/white and mulberry/pink(?)calicoes, ginghams, the blue striped pieces with brown circles all look mid- to late Victorian. I don't think any look much later than 1910. I'm dredging up long-unused information, so please take with a dash of salt.

After looking at some reproduction fabric sites, I have to say, I think you are in the right era, even though it sort of surprised me. I purchased this quilt top at an auction...just because I liked it. The size is: 85" X 58"

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

The Victorian Era was from 1837 to 1901.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

I was seeing more 20 to 40s feed sack fabrics.

 

[JenniferO]

The Victorian Era was from 1837 to 1901.

Thank you!

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

I was seeing more 20 to 40s feed sack fabrics.

I can see why you’d say that; they make me think of those prints and colors too.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

Especially the yellow "comma" print and red "star " print

 

[Linn]

I thought the dimensions might help with the dating. It's long - but relatively narrow. If it had been finished (backed, filled and quilted) it would be somewhat smaller - but I don't know how much smaller. It is not wide enough to fit anything but a single bed- with much drop. In the US, a single bed is 39" x 75; a 3/4 bed is 48" x 75" and a full size bed is 54" x 75". A queen is 60'"x 80" and a regular king is 75"x 80", but there were no king or queen beds before the 1950s. They were introduced in the 1950s but really didn't catch on until the '60's. It might have been meant as a cover or throw for a chaise.

It's really charming and I can see why you bought it. I see the feed sack look that Suzanne sees, but I also see small Deco inspired prints - and some very traditional small "country" patterns that were available for a large part of the 20th C. and may still be available now. (I'm a retired interior designer and still have samples of mini prints.) It may be earlier, I don't know much about Victorian patterns. I associate some of these prints with the '30s and still think it's '30's-'40's.

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

The first six photos are 19th Century printed cottons, the last four depression era printed cotton feed/sugar/flour/grain sacks. At the bottom is a link to a site with faithfully reproduced Victorian Era fabrics. The basis for the patterns (whimsical, geometric, novelty, floral etc.) and liveliness of the color palettes are similar, but the hues and saturation of color and the actual rendering of graphics are different in form and character to my eye. Victorian prints can look very modern, particularly out of context. In the third photo there are two prints that are reminiscent of Poiret roses and some reminiscent of the Art Deco "bubble" motifs, for example, but to me the other prints in that photo seem classically Victorian and the colors not quite right for depression era textiles.

Link: Grandma's Attic ​

 

[JenniferO]

The first six photos are 19th Century printed cottons, the last four depression era printed cotton feed/sugar/flour/grain sacks. At the bottom is a link to a site with faithfully reproduced Victorian Era fabrics. The basis for the patterns (whimsical, geometric, novelty, floral etc.) and liveliness of the color palettes are similar, but the hues and saturation of color and the actual rendering of graphics are different in form and character to my eye. Victorian prints can look very modern, particularly out of context. In the third photo there are two prints that are reminiscent of Poiret roses!


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Link: Grandma's Attic ​

Could the style of the quilting pattern also give us a hint? The two upper quilt examples you share are interesting. Again, the fabrics in my quilt seem to have been protected from sunlight. The colors are very clean...but not modern vibrant bright like the examples shown at the lower end of your message. There are more browns in the quilt top I have - could that be another hint? I will look at the Grandma's Attic link as well.

 

[Marzilli_Vintage]

At least some of your browns were probably brighter colors that oxidized over the years; I forget which colors did-so. If what you have is a quilt top, it was probably finished and put away in storage but never incorporated into a quilt. The pattern is very basic and no real help with dating, and if it is 19th Century, its rural/country character would make the size also of little help in dating. Due to the "make-do" nature of rural life at the time, it's even possible the bed may even have been made to fit the quilt and not the other way around! Making a rope-bed from scratch and materials at-hand would take much less time and be less costly than buying the fabrics and making the quilt.

 

[JenniferO]

Could the style of the quilting pattern also give us a hint? The two upper quilt examples you share are interesting. Again, the fabrics in my quilt seem to have been protected from sunlight. The colors are very clean...but not modern vibrant bright like the examples shown at the lower end of your message. There are more browns in the quilt top I have - could that be another hint? I will look at the Grandma's Attic link as well.

After looking at the Grandma's Attic pages, I have to say, my quilt feels more like her examples. As mentioned above, perhaps there is a range of fabrics in the quilt, but some must be of the Victorian era - especially the shirting pieces that I see. I think Linn's idea of questioning the size of the quilt is also a good idea. For what purpose was she quilting, and what scrap bag was she drawing from, and when did she decide to piece the quilt? Again we might only know the approximate date of the fabrics...when they all came together is another question. To be conservative, could we say fabrics from the turn of the 20th century?