Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-17
Old Patterns Used in Patchwork
BY BETSY CALLISTER.

w WHILE half the women know
n are under the spell Of the
NV new interest in modernistic
tendencies in furnishing and
designing, going about from
one exhibition to another and from one
shop to the next getting ideas and In
spiration for moderniStic dining rooms,
living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and
figuring out how they can afford to
have at least one room OF their house
done over In the new manner-the other
half are poking through secondhand
and ANTIQUE shops. rummaging among
the attics of their Oldest relatives, I'M
packing old trunks and touring through
backwoods sections OF the country-So
intent are they on adjoining their homes
with rugs, furniture. bric-a-brac, quilts,
samplers and prints that smack not OF
this century but Of the. days that nave
gone before.
Interestingly enough, at time when
interest has at last been aroused in this
country in the newer style of furnish
ing and decoration, there has come
tremendous wave of popular enthusiasm
for old-fashioned furnishings OF all
sorts. !.
Especially keen at the present time is
interest in old patch or piece work
quilts and with the increase OF appre-
citation of this old-time handicraft has
come a desire on the part OF many
women to revive the old art and make
patchwork which. though new in date
of achievement, follows old-time pat
terms both as to print OF cotton mate
rails chosen and as TO the actual de-
sign of the pieces"
While piecework and patchwork
are used for quilts and bed covers and
old-time quilts are being displayed
proudly on beds in many we'll furnished
rooms, new uses have been found for
this sort of hafldicraft Cushions large
and small are covered with patches and
duly quilted. One clever woman know
is making quaint pieced designs to use
on the Summer slip covers for her living
room furniture. There are on sale in
some Of the shops genuine old pieced or
| matched quilts that bring prices that
would have staggered the women who
made them years ago. Some OF these
were made by American women two or
three generations ago-and some OF the
quilts come from France, Belgium, Hol-
| land or England, but they show designs
that are thoroughly familiar to the
women conversant with the traditions
Of patchwork in this country.
A 75-year-old pieced quilt from Nor.
mandy that I saw the other day looked
as if it might have come from some
New England attic-only that the quilt.
| ing though very fine seemed to have
been done with rather heavier thread
the material used seemed bit heavier
There were the same small old-tim,
calico prints and the same designs
achieved in the piecing. l asked TIT
dealer for what purpose such quill
would be employed.
1T may be used for bedspread-
perhaps by some decorator who is fur
nishing a room in French provincial
| furniture, or it may be cut up to be
used for upholstery on chairs and day
beds-though that would be a pity
Sometimes such quilts are hung agains
a wall-possibly as the background fol
a quaint old bed
And what. one asks is the difference
between patchwork and piecework--
two terms used in connection with old.
time quilts.
Popularity speaking patchwork Is
used to apply to any sort of quilt cove
in which bits of cloth are used to worl
out a design. But strictly speaking
and as understood by experts-patch
work applies only to this sort of thint
when the pieces are appliqued. Man!
Of the most elaborate of the old quilt
we're done in this way. Piecework ap
plies to quilt covers in which the spe
cially shaped pieces are sewn togethe
in narrow seams to form the design.
Some Of the old quilts show comb
nations of these two methods. Will,
more elaborate and more graceful eff
fects may be obtained in the patch
| work--ir which metals and leaves ar,
sewn on in the form Of patches" tn
elaborate piecework quilt called To-
Imore exact cutting and sewing. 1t wa