Crazy Quilts

Yes, there is a whole category of quilts with the somewhat unusual name "crazy quilts." If you've ever seen a quilt that looks like a scramble of mismatched fabrics cut into odd shapes and sewn together with embroidery stitching, you may have been looking at a "crazy quilt."

Crazy quilts most likely originated in the early days of the American Frontier, then spread quickly across the Atlantic to England. They were in their heyday during the Victorian era in the late 1800's. Victorian women loved the newly available, mass-produced fabrics such as silk, taffeta, and velvet, which were being used for their elaborate clothing.

When the clothes became worn, they sewed the saved pieces of fabric into table coverings and bedding. This gave them a rich, vibrant look, unlike quilts made with simple cotton or wool. Because of the elegant nature of crazy quilts, they were most often used for display or as bed toppings not to be slept on.

Even though these unique quilts seem more contemporary at first sight, the truth is crazy quilts probably predate the geometric block patterns we associate today with quilting. At its most basic, a crazy quilt is made of irregular pieces of fabric sewn together by overlapping or by fitting pieces side-by-side, usually onto a muslin backing. The oddly-shaped and sized pieces of fabric are usually joined together with prominent and elaborate styles of stitching, which, in the Victorian era, gave the seamstress a chance to show off her talents with embroidery.

The spontaneous nature of a crazy quilt is probably its most endearing quality; that, and the unexpected use of more expensive, untraditional fabrics. Even though variations abound on this exciting quilt technique, the element of surprise is by no means lost to us in the 21st century. Crazy quilts have stood the test of time, and still delight us with their "crazy" patchwork style.

Crazy quilts for sale

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Crazy quilts