VARIEGATED HEXAGON, SILK

Colours: cherry, light blue, pink, black, and a yellow centre

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ROMAN STRIPE, SILK

A knowledge of the simplest form of sewing is all that is necessary to piece quilts. The running stitch used for narrow seams is the first stitch a beginner learns. There are other stitches needed to make a patchwork quilt, which frequently develops into quite an elaborate bit of needlework. The applied designs should always be neatly hemmed to the foundation; some, however, are embroidered and the edges of the designs finished with a buttonhole stitch, and other fancy stitches may be introduced.

In quilt making, as in every other branch of needlework, much experience is required to do good work. It takes much time and practice to acquire accuracy in cutting and arranging all the different pieces. A discriminating eye for harmonizing colours is also a great advantage. But above all requirements the quilt maker must be an expert needleworker, capable of making the multitude of tiny stitches with neatness and precision if she would produce the perfect quilt.

Appreciation of nature is an attribute of many quilt makers, as shown by their efforts to copy various forms of leaf and flower. There are many conventionalized floral patterns on appliqué quilts that give evidence of much ability and originality in their construction. For the pioneer woman there was no convenient school of design, and when she tired of the oft-repeated quilt patterns of her neighbourhood she turned to her garden for suggestions. The striking silhouettes of familiar blossoms seen on many quilts are the direct result of her nature study.