Patchwork Quilts

Hand and machine pieced top and back using irregular pieces of men's hand and machine knitted jumpers and navy serge. The backing is mainly serge, part of an uncle's bus conductor's uniform. The pockets from the uniform have been left as is. There is no padding.
1850 x 970mm
Mirgation Museum
Unfinished patchwork of hexagon patches in cotton, linen and other fabrics. Hexagons have 3cm sides. Fabrics are a mixture of prints and plains, in bright shades and pastels, with reds, greens, blues and pinks predominating. Paper templates are still in place in sections.
980 x 950mm
Patchwork quilt of diamond shapes in cotton fabrics. Patterns include florals, spots and stripes, and colours are navy, red, pink and grey. No padding. Backing is of strips of cotton in pinks and fawns sewn together.
2236 x 1931mm
Norma Gilchrist
Quilt entirely made of hexagons joined to make 'flowers', 6 hexagons form the petals and one in the centre. The quilt is all cotton in a wide variety of colours in plains, checks and florals. The hexagons are all hand stitched using stranded cotton. There is a plain blue border of headcloth machined around the edge to the backing material. It is not quilted The materials were almost all from the scrap bag. Brown paper templates were used. This arrangement of hexagons is one variation of a pattern commonly called 'Grandmother's Flower Garden'.
2040 x 1720mm
Utility quilt, machine pieced from mainly squares of dress materials in many different patterns. The backing is a wholecloth paisley print. The padding is pieced used clothing and materials including chenille and plush.
1950 x 1270mm
Double sided quilt, machine pieced from large rectangles of used clothing in various materials including wools and suitings. The sides are turned in and machined to make a firm edge. It is machine quilted. The padding is 3 old sheets and a blanket.
1370 x 1040mm
Utilitarian quilt made from roughly square patches of tailors' samples and men's suitings. The backing is calico and a border has been formed by turning the top under. The padding is ticking and pieced reused clothing.
2000 x 1400mm
The top of this quilt is made from men's suiting samples and the backing is cream cotton. It is machine stitched. There is no padding and no quilting.
2160 x 1550mm
Norma Gilchrist
Cotton quilt with overall pattern of hexagons joined to make 'flowers'. Brown paper templates were used. All hexagons are hand stitched including on to the blue border which was then machined on to the same blue headcloth backing. The materials used were mainly scraps, including some from an aunt of the present owner, and are in a wide variety of patterns and colours. There is no quilting.
2110 x 1700mm
Crazy quilt with one large panel. Materials include wools, velvets, silks and crepes. Each piece embroidered in herrigbone stitch to the adjoining piece. 25mm blue border chain stitched on, then 75mm border of black wool crepe with a crocheted edge. The padding is an old blanket and the backing is red/brown printed cotton.
1730 x 1040mm
Patchwork quilt (one of a pair) made from hexagons in cottons, rayon, and taffeta, to fit a single bed. The quilt has a pleated ruffle or flounce of pale green fabric. Patchwork machine sewn onto backing, flounce sewn by machine.
Patchwork quilt made of gathered circles stitched into a square shape. Made of scraps of fabrics from the depression period. The maker called the shapes 'squirkles'. No padding. Quilt is lined.
2100 x 1400mm
Jenny Loder and Rosemary Hart
Log cabin quilt with logs made from silks (including moire), velvets, brocades and tartan ribbons. Each square is separately backed. There is no padding.
2020 x 1460mm
Helen Sparkman
Suffolk Puff quilt in a wide variety of cotton materials patterned and plain. There is no backing.
11900 x 1350mm
"The quilt is made entirely from over 7300 hexagons cut from scrap materials, and is hand stitched throughout using the 'English' method of quilting. Scraps of plain unbleached calico were used for the background with the pattern pieces cut from plain and floral fabrics in shades of blue. The design is medallion style, with a large central diamond surrounded by two concentric diamond borders beyond which are scattered different sized hexagonal rosettes, all made from hexagon patches in the same size. The pattern patches were cut from the offcuts of dresses and dressing gowns made at a friend's factory and from another friend's dress material scraps." [PHM] There is no padding. The backing is 'Actil' unbleached sheeting dyed pale blue and attached with a blind stitch to the quilt top. A central rosette set within a large diamond of hexagons decorates the back and is stitched through to hold the 2 layers together.
2720 x 1880mm
Large cot size or single bed quilt with the top of different size and shaped pieces arranged in a random fashion. The padding is old blankets stitched together and the backing is floral cotton.
2100 x 1400mm (approx)
National Trust of Australia (SA)
Patchwork quilt of hexagons in silks and velvet, the velvet in plain colours, the silk in plains, stripes, checks and brocades. Centre is made from red brocade hexagons with black silk patches embroided with a variety of flowers and leaves. Stitched to a red velvet border, then top and bottom have Australian motif of crossed wattle branches embroidered in bobble stitch, and on the sides embroidered red flowers. The rest of the quilt is made of hexagons, the edge stitched to a brown silk border, then a border of triangles and a striped edging. Surface embroidery. Crepe backing. Some newspaper templates remain.
2260 x 1720mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
This quilt has white cotton bands of hand quilting in between strips of squares in printed cotton, placed on the diagonal. The padding is cotton and there is a cotton backing.
2440 x 1940mm
Quilt, machine construction using rectangles of mainly woollen materials with some corduroy and mohair. Initially 14 rows and then 2 rows added for extra warmth. 25mm bias cut yellow poplin binding. The padding is an old army blanket and the backing is printed cotton.
1500 x 1093mm
Machine sewn quilt made from 125mm squares of scraps left over from dressmaking joined in strips and then the strips joined. There is a border of fawn cotton and the backing is the same material. The padding is an old blanket and the border is padded with sheep's wool.
1400 x 925mm

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