1812 - 1814 "Pinwheel" Quilt

Description:

In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812. The donor’s great-grandfather was Jackson Adams, her great-great uncle, Joshua Adams, and her grandmother, Jane Adams.

This quilt is made up of 7-inch blocks pieced in the "Pinwheel" pattern, alternating with plain white blocks. Detailed stuffed quilting embellishes the white blocks and border. Ten different quilting patterns are used for the plain blocks, all but one repeated.

The 8-inch white border has a quilted-and-stuffed feathered vine with small quilted-and-stuffed floral motifs. White cotton fabric was used for the lining, cotton fiber for the filling and stuffing. The pieced blocks and border are quilted at 9 stitches per inch. The “Pinwheel” Quilt, with its contrast of elaborate stuffed quilting and simply pieced blocks, is a fine example of early 19th-century quilting making.

Date Made: 1812-1814

Maker: unknown

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Maryland

Subject: Quilting

Subject:

See more items in: Home and Community Life: Textiles, Family & Social Life, Domestic Furnishings, Quilts

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Cecil H. Naylor

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: TE.T12815Accession Number: 242609Catalog Number: T12815

Object Name: quilt

Physical Description: fabric, cotton (overall material)thread, cotton, linen (overall material)filling, cotton (overall material)Measurements: overall: 90 in x 82 in; 229 cm x 208 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-7c4c-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_556402

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