Wholecloth Quilts

Kereake Wray
Wholecloth Greek quilt. "The fabric is a beautiful silk satin with a formal pattern of soft yellows and pinks on a turquoise background. Surrounding this is a 40cm wide border also of silk satin (cerise coloured). The quilt is machine pieced but hand quilted. The method of quilting is very interesting. A thick cream twist has been used and at first glance it seems that the quilt is tied as there are long pairs of stitches with gaps of about 4cm between them. However, either a long needle was used to make a pair of stitches OR each side may have been quilted separately with the needle only going half way into the wadding which is about 2 cms thick." [Kereake Wray] The padding is kapok approx 2 cm thick and the backing is deep coral pink satin. 2200 x 1960 mm.
The Pioneer Women's Hut
The top is a wholecloth piece of twill type cotton and the backing is a wholecloth piece of finer patterned cotton. The padding is a layer of pieces of used clothing stitched together, including part jumpers, some darned. These are inside an old folded blanket.
1540 x 950mm
Flora Noyce
Hand worked wholecloth Chinese quilt. Background is cream with a central motif of a dragon embroidered in various shades of orange. The border has floral and leaf decoration at each corner joined by a stem interspersed with leaves, berries and butterflies. The border is dull gold satin finished cotton with a fine gold braid machined on. The backing is fine brown cotton.
1730 x 1700mm
Agapi Naoumidis
Wholecloth quilt made of deep cherry red satin with a cotton backing of a lighter red colour. The padding is wool. The quilting pattern comprises twelve squares, each approximately 350mm with a four leaf pattern in each. The border is straight and wavy parallel lines.
2000 x 1820mm
Della Savvas
Wholecloth quilt with one side of mauve coloured cotton sateen and the reverse side of cherry coloured cotton. The hand quilting pattern is a diamond shape in the centre of a large floral motif. Around the edge is a large curvilinear pattern. The padding is raw cotton.
2000 x 1810mm
Annette Gero,
Wholecloth quilt originally covered with cretonne and recovered with orange satin. Machine quilted. Padding of wool.
1270 x 1160mm
The Embroiderers' Guild of S.A.Inc Museum
Yellow and white cotton Durham quilt with centre panel of patchwork blocks in counterchange design called 'Plate'. There is a wide yellow border and square white corner blocks. It is padded and there is a yellow backing. It is quilted all over following the patchwork pattern in the centre panel. Feather pattern border.
2120 x 1720mm
Maria Alexakis
Wholecloth quilt. Quilting pattern is a large 'feathered thistle' with thick stem, as the main design feature. The border is a combination of straight and curved parallel lines. Burgundy sateen with damask weave. All quilting is handstitched. Padding is cotton wadding and backing is tomato red cotton. 2150 x 1820 mm.
Christina Kazaglis
Both sides of this wholecloth quilt are made from different floral cottons with a third pattern used to form borders. It is hand stitched and the quilting pattern is squares. The padding is raw cotton.
1740 x 1240mm
Irene Pascoe
Utilitarian cot quilt. The padding is layered reused woollen materials, parts of old blankets, part overcoats. These are stitched together with string and knitting wools The top and backing are printed cotton. There is a frill all around and buttons have been used to anchor the padding layers to the outside cover.
1169 x 915mm
Maria Politis
Wholecloth quilt made of deep cherry red satin with backing of sky blue satin. The padding is cotton wadding. It is hand quilted and the pattern is an all over one of four leafed clovers with a border of crescent shapes within straight parallel lines.
2000 x 1700mm
Despina Petridis
Wholecloth quilt made of deep pink satin with a cotton backing in a similar colour. The padding is cotton. It is hand quilted and the pattern is a central motif of a star inside a circle surrounded by parallel lines forming large cable or knot design. The border is of one zig zag and four parallel lines.
1970 x 1770mm
Denise Frahn
Wholecloth quilt, machine sewn, made from cotton chintz with a pale green background and a floral pattern of bunches of pink roses and blue flowers, reversible. The centre is stitched in a diamond pattern with two outside borders, then filled with feathers, using a broom handle to force the feathers through. Cover made from 36" fabric, the pattern matched exactly. Excellent condition. Feather filling was collected by the makers from backyard poultry, geese, ducks, fowls. Called an eiderdown.
1830 x 1480mm
National Gallery of Australia
" The quilt is a patchwork of red cotton fabric. Each piece is decorated with embroidery in thick white cotton thread and with cotton appliqué. The edge of the quilt is decorated with a red cotton unlined border strip decorated with cutwork daisies, producing a scalloped edge. The images and inscriptions carried on each of the pieces of various sizes are a time capsule to notions and everyday life at the turn of the century.
In the centre is Queen Victoria surrounded by a garland of floral emblem of the Empire. (This square is dated 1901) Other squares carry scenes of daily life, farm animals and mottoes. "When a woman throws herself at a man head she seldom hit the mark." There are several spelling errors within the inscriptions. The latest dated piece is 'Dec 1903'. The embroidery is quite crude and large, and shows the work of two hands." [NGA]
The quilt is not padded. It is lined with pink cotton flannelette. 2230 x 1910mm
Jenny Martin
Welsh flannel quilt in fine wool wholecloth. Red on one side and turquoise on the other. Hand quilted in a traditional Welsh pattern. The padding is carded wool and the backing is flannel. 1970 x 1910mm.
Narelle Grieve
Wholecloth silk Welsh quilt. "The overall design containing the border, the central motif and corner motifs within lines of quilting is also typically Welsh. The bent leaf and leaf motifs used as mirror image pairs between the tulips in the outer border and inner border help to distinguish this Welsh quilt from those made in other parts of Britain. The scroll patterns contained within the inner border also help to establish this as a Welsh quilt." [Extract from unidentified magazine article supplied by the quilt owner.] 2560 x 2240 mm
Dorothy Kinloch
Miniature eiderdown or quilt made for a doll's bed. Wholecloth in polished cotton medium pink floral with rose pink plain frill. Machine made. The front is a floral rectangle with mitred corners and a floral border finished with a plain frill. The back is all floral including the frill. The quilt is filled with feathers. It is quilted. 4350 x 6150mm
Joyce Lacey
Wholecloth utility quilt, the top made of good quality cotton printed with posies of pink, blue and green flowers and leaves, the backing of plain cream cretonne, with a flap of plain cretonne, coming over the top side. Padding is made from blanket and jumper pieces stitched to a blanket base. Cretonne has signs of wear, and the cream backing has some staining. Top and backing machine sewn.
1840 x 1220mm
Mavis Roberts
Wholecloth quilt, with applique patterns in printed coloured cottons, of a entral flower basket in an oval leaf border, appliqued leaf and flower branches, a twisted cable border, wider band of leaf and flower branches, and a final border of applique Greek key motif.The base material is linen or similar with all applique very finely hand sewn. As the quilt grew the background material has been extended with tiny hand stitches.
Annette Gero
Machine sewn wholecloth quilt with padding of several layers of part army blankets. The cover has been made from fabric widths of 700mm. Machine quilted.
2100 x 1800mm

Pages