National Quilt Collection
"Quilt": A cover or garment made by putting wool, cotton or other substance between two cloths and sewing them together. An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, LL.D., New York 1828.
The National Quilt Collection incorporates quilts from various ethnic groups and social classes, for quilts are not the domain of a specific race or class, but can be a part of anyone’s heritage and treasured as such. Whether of rich or humble fabrics, large in size or small, expertly crafted or not, well-worn or pristine, quilts in the National Quilt Collection provide a textile narrative that contributes to America’s complex and diverse history. The variety and scope of the collection provides a rich resource for researchers, artists, quilt-makers and others.
Part of the Division of Home and Community Life textiles collection, the National Quilt Collection had its beginnings in the 1890s. Three quilts were included in a larger collection of 18th- and 19th-century household and costume items donated by John Brenton Copp of Stonington, Connecticut. From this early beginning, the collection has grown to more than 500 quilts and quilt-related items, mainly of American origin, with examples from many states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Most of the contributions have come to the Museum as gifts, and many of those are from the quilt-makers’ families. The collection illustrates needlework techniques, materials, fabric designs and processes, styles and patterns used for quilt-making in the past 250 years. The collection also documents the work of specific quilt-makers and commemorates events in American history.
Learn more about the quilt collection and step behind the scenes with a video tour.
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1905 Hulda and Ellen Larson's Pan-American Exposition Quilt
- date made
- 1905
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1905 Bonnie Blevins's Crazy-patch Parlor Throw
- date made
- 1905
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1905 - 1910 Presbyterian Ladies Society Patriotic Banner
- date made
- 1905-1910
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1906 Sarah Butler's "Log Cabin" Pieced Quilt
- date made
- 1906
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1922 Clarkesville Reformed Church Embroidered Counterpane
- date made
- 1922
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1926 James Cunningham's Appliqued Bedcover
- Date made
- 1926
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1926 James Cunningham's Appliqued Pillowcases
- Date made
- 1926
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1934 Ada Chitwood Jones's "Sock Top" Quilt
- date made
- 1934
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1935 - 1945 Olive Bender's "Water Lily " Quilt
- date made
- 1935-1945
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1950 - 1969 Dorothy Overall's Flour-Sack Bassinet Quilt
- date made
- 1950-1969