Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-08-07

s.nsouds: it is not stretched upon an
Onward, numbering frame, and
.:.ohed day after day by weary house.
..o. The quilt of the present day is
=, nroduct OF machinery. The books
~ lou4]t mandatory in Eastern Con-
.,t; ~ : show that between seven hun
ss1 thousand and eight hundred
h ,su of all grades of goods were
E:s,ributcd from its doors last year.
E,a,e is no European trade in this par
;o,,l,r line of manufacture, because
I,wn coverlets, or those with wool
En uhM are used exclusively on the Con-
tn"nt, But New England quilts are
Nd in great numbers in even the
earnest of the Southern States,
|%Srouehout the West, in Mexico, Can
L1o and the West Indies, as well as in
s;Narcnt cities of the South American
States.
About 1874 the business originated in
email wooden structure upon the site
4 the present extensive factory. Here
The ouilt materials vel stored, to be
E;strjbuted among the farmers wives
h tbc vicinity, who occupied their leis-
rp hours between twelve o'clock din
her and six o'clock tea, as well as the
hours of long winter evenings, in quilt
mo for the manufacturers. who repaid
fbeir labor by the munilicent sum Of
velve and one-half cents for each fin
,hed quilt. But ..the farms were
[tcrile, and profits close; so the thrifty
ouscwife was glad to supplement the
Ecantv evcnue from butter and eggs
and berries with the profit from her
needle. The wife of many a farmer
has opened her first bank account or
made the momcntous purchase OF her
first silk gown, while her rosy-cheeked
laughter has paid the first installment
mon Il long-covetcd piano or cabinet
brean, with the dearly earned wages of
Euilt-making. When a sufficient num-
Der of quilts were completed the man
u%facturer started upon the road with
bis stock, peddling his goods alike to
house aud storekeepers. AS his trade
increased, quarters were prepared for
workers within the storehouse, which
then really became a factory, where
eventually the quilts began to be run
" ordinary sewing machines. A year
pr two later the business increased to
Fuch proportions that large stone fac
F0ry was built, power machines super
eded the old-style ones, the little COM
fany of workers originally composed
of farmers wives and daughters was
increased by foreign operatives from
every nation, and three or four hum
dred boxes and bales of a dozen quilts
zach were shipped from the works
daily. In our of time a second fac
tory was built, and latel@on a branch
establishment was opened in Canada.
The calico which is worked up into
quilts vas originally purchased in the
ordinary way, but after a time the
manufacturers began buying up large
supplies Of uncolored cotton, originat-
inc their w designs for patterns and
having the calico printed especially for
their use. The bales of calico having
been opened at the quilt factory,
enough of the webs are sewed together
" ordinary sewing machines run by
steam to form a web as broad as the
quilt should be. Then these broad
webs are cut into squares, and these
squares are placed together in pairs,
and each pair is stitched around on
three sides SO that it forms a bag. The
BAGS are then taken to the story below
10 be filled. The manner of filing the
bags is novel. The filling is first spread
upon a rack of wooden Stats, where it
5 pressed down by a second rack. and
Pnen the bag is dexterously slipped
over the frame thus formed. The racks
are then removed, the filing beaten
smooth, and the whole rolled up ready
Lor stitching. Three boys manage the
Pack. and so rapid ere they that they
readily fill seven hundred quilts daily.
Alter filling the bag the fourth side
i sewed up and the quilt is fixed in q
frame. 1t is then stitched by a machine
winch mechanically follows an arm
running in a metallic guide to form
ehe desired pattern. The quilting ma.
enines are tended by girls, who arc
paid twVand-one-half cents for eacl
qa'lt, and forty quilts are considered
an average days work. Some Of tho
glrls make seven dollars a week. Tht
WORK requires very 1.-THE exercise O
.I.ier strength or attention. 1t is
stllle oily, but is above the average O
laceory occupations in health ane
IN 1884 a new machine for quilting
was invented, but there are only six o
,nem in use, The quilt is stretched il
wooden frame and stitched in tn
nost intricate designs by power, thu
metallic pattern in which the guido
WORKS being fixed underneath upon
EEooden platform. The designs ar
frequently interlaced, mingled ant
.mulllplied upon the same surface unit
~, result is ar arabesque of great reg
"arity and attractiveness.
lnere are three grades of quilt fill
AIS ans The cheapest quilt is given
allllg OF shoddy, which is prepared Il
cost OF ten cents a pound, while pur'
"o1l costs fifty. The better grades o
au,ts are filled with common cotton
,"i, those of the best grade are flle'
%iln carded cotton. These are lighter
t TIaher' and bringa high price. Shodd..
naea quilts ratail at about seventy-fiv
ce.lls each, those made with ordinar.
cou'on at from $3.50 to $500, Will
uS"ioea cotton quilts bring $2. so and up