Patchwork Quilts

The Wilmington Wagga' 1934. Wool and cotton. Hand and machine pieced. Machine quilted. The wagga is made of parts of several worn coats, carefully pieced together so that the linings are visible in places. One coat sleeve has a fur fabric trim and worn areas are patched.
1600 x 1200mm
Child's coverlet, made from old blankets and clothing pieces with a curtain and blanket back.
1500 x 1100mm
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
Patchwork quilt with hexagonal panels of cotton printed with floral and geometric patterns in browns, creams, blues and pinks and with a chinoiserie border. The backing is cream calico.
2720 x 2660mm
Patchwork of damask squares with dark grey central square edged in black, covering felting fabric.
1420 x 1300mm
Helen Sparkman
Suffolk Puff quilt in a wide variety of cotton materials patterned and plain. There is no backing.
11900 x 1350mm
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
"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
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Unfinished patchwork quilt top of silks and velvets in 'Tumbling Block' arrangement of diamonds. There is no padding or backing. Template papers are still in place and have been cut from magazines and letters from Melbourne.
1420 x 1210mm
"All handsewn. Quilt in fragile condition. Hexagonal patches in blocks of 19 patches & joined together with diamond and triangle patches. All patches recycled cotton material. The centre patch is one material, the 6 patches around are another material and the surrounding 12 are white sheeting. The diamonds and triangles are pale blue. No padding. Cotton sheeting backing. Patches sewn onto a ? old cotton ? damask weave tablecloth or bedspread. This is woven in strips. The backing sewn on."
[K.D.H.S.1997] 2500 x 2450mm
Helen Sparkman
Patchwork quilt made from very large pieces of cotton material on one side, with a 100mm yellow border, and on the other side it is almost entirely blue flannelette.
1660 x 1400mm
Quilt in nine patch design. Thirty blocks, hand pieced in mixed cotton fabrics, solids, checks, flowers, stripes. Quilt is tied. Padding is Hobbs Heirloom (cotton 80%, polyester 20%); backing is cream muslin. 2100 x 1750 mm.
Quilt of cotton [pieces], machine and hand stitched, with black knitted [wool] insert.
1940 x 1000mm
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
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)
Verandah quilt. Floral and patterned cover encasing duck feathers. Silk organza conservation work reveals other materials.
1050 x 800mm
Embroiderers' Guild Victoria
Pieced construction of lozenge and diamond shapes in cotton and woollen materials, possibly from men's suiting or nightwear. Pale mauve cotton surrounds the patchwork. It is hand pieced and machined around the edge. The padding is cotton wadding and the backing is pink, white and blue striped cotton.
2080 x 1820mm
Patchwork quilt made from pieces of bright cotton fabric sewn on to an old folded blanket. Backing is a piece of cotton fabric. Machine sewn on a Wertheim hand sewing machine .
2100 x 1400mm
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

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