Broadly speaking, from these definitions, any article made up with an interlining may be called a quilt. However, usage has restricted the meaning of the word until now it is applied to a single form of bed covering. In the United States the distinction has been carried even farther and a quilt is understood to be a light weight, closely stitched bedcover. When made thicker, and consequently warmer, it is called a “comfort.”

The three necessary parts of a quilt are the top, the lining or back, and the interlining. The top, which is the important feature, unless the quilting is to be the only ornamentation, may be a single piece of plain cloth; or it may be pieced together from many small pieces different in size, colour, and shape, so as to form either simple or fanciful designs. The top may also be adorned with designs cut from fabrics of varying colours and applied to the foundation with fancy stitches, or it may be embroidered. The materials may be either cotton, linen, wool, or silk. The back is usually of plain material, which requires no description. The interlining, if the quilting is to be close and elaborate, must be thin. If warmth is desired a thicker interlining is used and the lines of quilting are spaced farther apart. The design of the top and the quilting lend themselves very readily to all manner of variations, and as a result there is an almost infinite variety of quilts.

For convenience in making, nearly every quilt is composed of a number of blocks of regular form and size which, when joined together, make the body of the quilt. Each of these blocks may have a design complete in itself, or may be only part of a large and complicated design covering the whole top of the quilt.

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HARRISON ROSE

This quilt is at least 75 years old. The rose is pieced of old rose and two shades of pink; the stem and leaves are appliqué