Typically Australian Quilts

Brisbane Valley Historical Society
Quilt is made from layers of complete clothing covered with calico and stitched through all layers by machine. Clothing used includes a full skirt, a shirt, and a nightgown. All fabrics are cream. Cover has been replaced by others as the calico wore. White ants have eaten part of the quilt, exposing some of the clothing used as padding.
1880 x 1067mm
Griffith Pioneer Park Museum
Quilt, machine sewn, has one side made from blue and red check [cotton], the reverse side made from a pinky mauve fabric. The padding is thought to be old blankets and possibly some old woollen clothing.
650 x 400mm
Rosemary Blake
The inner part of the quilt is made from potato bags stitched together. These have been covered with a ticking type fabric held to the bags with large stitches using a string type thread. This whole inner layer is covered with muslin, dyed orange. The dye is thought to have been a Dolly dye. The quilt is very heavy. There are small hand stitches in each corner through all layers.
1770 x 1520 mm
The Pioneer Women's Hut
A buggy rug of machine pieced patchwork of men's suiting samples. There is a large diamond of patches in the centre, bordered by rectangles. There is no padding. The backing is wholecloth tartan wool.
1910 x 1580mm
Fred Keen
Patchwork quilt with front and back made from different sized patches of used woollen clothes, stitched in a random manner. Fabrics include men's trousers, and tweeds, checks and plains, in navy, grey, browns and fawn, and some red and white check. Backing is from larger pieces, including large patches of a dark pink, some green and some navy rectangles. Filling of wheat bags and part of a travelling rug was removed because it was too heavy.
1600 x 1000mm
Wanda McPherson
Patchwork Victorian style crazy quilt with 100s of irregular shaped pieces of velvet, silk, cotton sateen, brocade, ribbons and beading. Many pieces have been embroidered with decorative motifs or names. The centre olive green velvet piece is embroidered 'DC 1898', another 'Mother', two names are just readable - 'Louise' and 'Constance A Kenworth'. Several sprigs of raised wattle and leaves are also embroidered on black velvet. Patchwork has a 13cm wide border of olive green velvet with a twisted cord of 3 greens stitched to the edge. Padding is of white cotton flannelette, backing of mid brown cotton sateen.
1580mm x 1400mm
Mal Crawford
The top is an old army blanket, the backing is jute bags and the padding is old woollen material and parts of the maker's mother's fake leopard skin coat. It is hand sewn using a darning needle and fishing line.
1880 x 1132mm
Beverley Beck
Patchwork quilt, the top made from large squares and rectangles of woollen material pieced in a random manner. Colours are bright pink and green, with brown, blue and grey check pieces. Padding is flannelette and an old singlet. Backing is made of scraps of woollen material.
1350 x 1000mm
Alys Mercer
This Adelaide Chronicle quilt or bedcover is single thickness white linen with a double thickness wide green border hemstitched in place. The cover is divided into blocks and in each alternate block an Australian bird has been worked in fancywork using stranded cottons.
2019 x 1144mm
Annette Packett
Fur rug, mainly rabbit skins. The animal origin of the centre strip of tan fur is unknown. Restoration work was done on the rug 30 years ago and a new green felt backing replaced the old green one. 1000 x 750mm
Kristine Gray
Machined pieced quilt in random shapes of squares and rectangles. Made in one piece and then doubled over. Materials are mainly corduroys and wools with a large square of boucle. There is no quilting and no padding as the quilt is heavy and warm without it.
1680 x 1020
The Pioneer Women's Hut
Wholecloth quilt of rose patterned and coloured cretonne on one side and a backing piece of pale green cretonne with a floral pattern. The padding is a worn grey blanket.
1440 x 1080mm
Joyce Lacey
Wholecloth utility quilt covered with good quality cotton printed with posies of pink, blue and green flowers and leaves, the top side has darker colours than the reverse. Filling is made from old blanket pieces, cardigans and pullovers stitched to an old blanket. Top and back machine stitched together.
1601 x 991mm
Jean Gilbert
Patchwork quilt made from cotton, wool and synthetic upholstery fabrics cut in rectangles, stitched in strips then sewn in rows. Down each side is a wide border of beige wool. Colours are soft mainly pinks, blues and light browns, in florals and self patterns. No padding. Backing is blue cotton. Fabrics may have been used for bedspreads as well as for upholstery.
1956 x 1194mm
Lynnette Brown
Quilt made of two overlapping woollen, children's garments, heavily embroidered with wool (herringbone stitch), backed with checked flannelette, edged with woollen crochet. Woollen crochet edging has 5 rows of treble crochet, with one row of double crochet on edge. No apparent padding.
1020 x 730mm
Bud and Patricia Ford
A striped bush blanket with patches of used clothing. Originally covered with cretonne.
1829 x 1525mm
Muriel Mackenzie
Wholecloth utilitarian quilt with velour type material top and cottage weave curtain material on the back. The padding is a 'bush blanket'. There is a binding of turquoise woollen crochet encased in black cotton satin fabric Machine sewn and quilted.
1829 x 1042mm
Kristine Gray
The quilt top is large patches of random machine pieced reused clothing. The material for the red check binding was purchased at Green and Petrich, Haberdashery, Queen street, St. Mary's. The backing is an old sheet and the padding is an old woollen cream blanket.
1400 x 1100mm
Kristine Gray
Double sided quilt of random shapes of used clothing including flannel, flannelette, cottons and wools. The padding is flannelette.
The Townsville Museum
One side of this quilt is made from pieces of men's knitted jumpers and cardigans hand sewn to a calico base using big stitches and cream and grey thread. The other side is mainly one cardigan with the sleeves removed. There is no additional padding.
1321 x 1245mm

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