Patchwork Quilts

Jean Winchester
Patchwork quilt in the Log Cabin pattern, made from cotton fabrics in prints and plains in bright colours. There are 185 squares, all sewn on to check gingham. No padding. Backing is of black cotton.
2718 x 2540mm
Annette Gero
Frame quilt or coverlet with centre frame surrounded by floral printed panels. The centre is cotton chintz block printed material in madder colours. It is hand quilted.
2700 x 2700mm
Narelle Grieve
English pieced hexagonal star quilt in silks, velvets and satins. Commercially made fringe in cotton maroon twill. Some motifs have herringbone stitching around them. There is no padding and the backing is polished cotton twill. 1840 x 1660 mm
Barbara McCabe
Patchwork quilt made from rectangles and squares of woollen fabrics from dress making projects. Colours are mainly grey, blue, brown, green, with some red and yellow. Fabrics are plain, cheks and stripes. No padding or quilting. Backing is made of white flannelette sheets. The quilt has been lengthened after it was completed, and the backing sheet has been added to at the same place.
2470 x 1320mm
Fleur Margaret Lehane
Unfinished cotton frame quilt. The centre square is 4 triangles and this is surrounded by a border of smaller triangles. Most of the other borders are of triangles in a wide variety of materials, printed and plain.
2286 x 1829mm
National Gallery of Australia
"The Rajah "quilt" is a patchwork and appliquéd bed cover or coverlet. It is in pieced medallion or framed style: a popular design style for quilts in the British Isles in the mid 1800's. There is a central field of white cotton decorated with appliquéd (in broderie perse) chintz birds and floral motifs. This central field is framed by 12 bands or strips of patchwork printed cotton. The quilt is finished at the outer edge by white cotton decorated with appliquéd daisies on three sides and inscription in cross stitch surrounded by floral chintz attached with broderie perse on the fourth side. All fabrics used in the Rajah quilt are cotton with the exception of small amounts of linen and silk threads. The quilt shows evidence of being produced by many hands." [NGA] The quilt is not padded or lined. 3372 x 3250mm
Helen Cornish
Patchwork quilt in the Log Cabin pattern, each square 14cm x 14cm, made of used cotton fabrics with a fine wool fabric as the centre square of each. Colours are mainly reds, blues, greens and maroon, and pastels, in prints and plains. Quilt has a wide border of dark blue cotton with mitred corners. The padding is black and white mattress ticking, and the backing is the same dark blue cotton as the border. Machine stitched.
1770 x 1170mm
Val Ireland
Utilitarian quilt. The top and backing are machine pieced scraps of curtain material and clothing pieces. The centre is an old blanket and possibly clothing pieces.
2033 x 1525mm
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
The body of this quilt is hexagons. This centre piece is surrounded by an applique border of birds and flowers and donkeys on see-saws. The flowers have been elaborately pieced from a great variety of materials. Some of the birds have pres studs for eyes.
Doncaster-Templestowe Historical Society
Quilt made of Suffolk Puffs or flattened circles, in different bright colours in cotton and silk. Large single bed size.
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Patchwork quilt made from silk and challis and velvet hexagons set to form diamond shapes. The centre shape has 8 hexagons surrounded by a row of 16 hexagons. The outer border of the quilt is 2 rows of 'Tumbling Blocks' set amongst a variety of black silk and satin patches. There is a wide fringe in red, green, blue and yellow. There is no padding and the backing is a recent addition in red cotton, synthetis mix.
1770 x 1740mm
Joanne Pedler
Crazy patchwork cot quilt made from a wide variety of materials, patterned and plain. Some seams are overstitched with feather stitch and herringbone. One of a pair. There is no padding. The backing is taffeta.
1500 x 2000mm
National Trust of Australia (TAS)
Crazy patchwork quilt of pieces of plain and patterned silks in bright and pastel colours, each patch edged and decorated with a variety of embroidery stitches, including star, spider, french knot and feather and herringbone variations. 2 patches of early aniline dyed blue silk. Motifs of tennis racquet, horse shoes, fan and some embroidered flowers. The patches are stitched to coarse linen. There is a wide border of red plush velvet turned to the underside. There is no padding. The backing is red polished cotton.
1550 x 1435mm
National Gallery of Australia
"This quilt follows the traditional hexagon patchwork pieced pattern, which are then joined and sometimes edged with a contrasting border. The edges of the quilt have been turned and then scalloped edges made of identical patches to the main body of the quilt have been attached to the edge. The quilt is fully lined, and the lining is visible front the front face through the gaps between the scalloped edge. The lining is attached to the patchwork with a row of stitches along the edges; there are no stitches in the centre field. The fabrics of the quilt are plain weave cotton in simple floral and geometric designs. Most of the fabrics are monochromatic. Several different colour ways of the same fabric are evident which could suggest some fabrics were from manufacturer samples. The lining is a William Morris print.
Each of the patchwork pieces (there are several thousand present) are sewn together with very fine overcasting stitches. The quilt is entirely hand sewn. There is some evidence that templates from the hexagon pieces possibly blotting paper, remain in situ���The quilt is not padded or quilted. The lining is fine twill weave cotton printed in pink and pale purple. The design follows William Morris's 'Strawberry Thief design'." [NGA] 2075 x 1911mm
Josephine Curtis
Taylor's sample quilt made from men's suit swatches, mainly greys and blues. Edging is 6cms wide, of blue flannelette. Padding is an old grey blanket, and the backing is of printed pattern corduroy. 1680 x 920 mm.
Art Gallery of South Australia
Rectangular patchwork crazy quilt pieced in squares (3 across by 4 down), in silks and wool, with red sashing between blocks and red border, quilted. Colours are dark, with red and light blue. Embroidery includes double feather, rope, herringbone, satin, cross, sword edge, buttonhole and coral stitches, and French knots. Embroidered flowers include lily of the valley, rose, daisy, and sunflower, also butterflies. Backing is pieced in the frame style, with a large centre red square, within 10 frames or borders. Embroidered "In Most Loving Memory of My Darling 1883", "V.H.B." Hand sewn.
1900 x 1500mm
Joyce Lannin
A hand sewn quilt of more than 6,536 hexagon pieces in cottons, silks and polyester mix. There is a centre circular pattern of hexagons within a larger hexagon and small hexagons form larger hexagons in a random pattern on the quilt top. There is no padding and the backing is a plain fawn sheet with a floral edging in hexagons. 2880 x 2550 mm.
Joyce Lannin
The centre of the quilt is a small blue 6 pointed star surrounded by a larger blue star. Blue stars also form a border to the quilt. The background material is a multicoloured small floral pattern on white cotton. The quilt is all hand worked over templates. The padding is cotton and the backing is polyester sheeting with a border of stars.
2650 x 2475 mm
Western Australian Quilters' Association
Quilt made from furnishing materials, mostly velour type or uncut moquette. The colours are dusty pinks and beige/camel/blue. It has been put together by making wide strips of various sized rectangles sewn together and any missing piece in a rectangle added by using another piece of material to complete the shape. There is no padding and the backing is winter cotton.
2000 x 1650mm
Kaniva District Historical Society
Crazy patchwork quilt, mostly velvet, with two rectangular frames or borders of green fabric. All patchwork pieces have embroidery over the seams, mostly herringbone. Quilt is edged with a cream cotton ruffle. Cotton backing.
1625 x 1625mm

Pages