Charm Quilts: the Queen of Scrap Quilts.

Charm quilt c1880, with similar fabrics placed next to each other.

Charm Quilts

Charm quilts are quilts that are made using a different fabric for each piece of the pattern. They contain hundreds of different fabrics, and some may contain up to 2000 different fabrics. They are a fabric catalog of the fabrics available at those specific times.

When I first began collecting quilts I had been quilting for many years. I loved making quilts and had an understanding and an appreciation of the art of quilt making. I had seen antique quilts in quilt literature and had read about them, and I was always drawn to the photographs of scrap quilts. I started collecting quilts by chance, when one day I was attending a flea market and noticed a scrap quilt, fell in love with it and took it home with me. That first quilt purchase led me into the fascinating study of antique quilts and fabrics
 
My main interests in antique quilts are the textiles that are used in them, and how these textiles and the quilts themselves reflect the lives of the women who made them. With interests like these, I think it naturally followed that the quilts in my collection would be primarily scrap quilts with a few exceptions. Some of my favorite types of quilts to seek out and bring home to study are Charm quilts. In my opinion Charm quilts represents the greatest of scrap quilts.

Hexagon Charm Quilt c1880. Small hexagons set in a mosaic or honeycomb design similar to to that of earlier mosaic quilts. Over 1500 different fabrics including a Centennial print.

What is a charm quilt?

There is scant documentation on the Charm quilt of the 19th Century. There are many things we don't know about them. The accepted description today of a Charm quilt, is that of a quilt made with no two patches cut from the same fabric. These quilts usually contain hundreds of different fabrics, and are the greatest find to a textile lover and collector like myself. Folklore about Charm quilts alludes to quilt makers asking or begging friends for scraps of fabric for their quilts, and this would account for the fact that charm quilts are sometimes called Beggars Quilts.

Charm quilt in a Tumbling block pattern. c1880.

Most charm quilts date from the 1870's and later. Surviving quilts suggest they were made for about 30 years until just after the turn of the century, when they seemed to drop in popularity. In the 1930's quilt makers again recognized the novelty of making Charm quilts, and they were again made during what is referred to as the 20th Century revival of quilt making. That said however, judging by the relatively small number of antique Charm quilts now in existence, it doesn't seem like they were popular quilts to make. The difficulty of gathering hundreds of different fabrics together probably accounts for the scant number of charm quilts we now find. These quilts were made for a short span of years in the overall history of quilting.

A large hexagon design with rings growing out of the center. c1890.

Charm quilts, no matter which era they were made in, have certain characteristics in common. They are usually one patch quilts, using one template in an overall pattern across the quilt top. Sometimes the fabrics are scattered across the quilt top, but at other times the fabrics are arranged in a pattern.

Although they are rare, there are two and three template charm quilts. These quilts are often not recognized as Charm quilts because many of these quilts have one consistent fabric that ties the other fabrics together to make up the design. For example, hexagon pieces may be separated by diamonds shapes across the top.

Two template charm quilt. The red squares connect the octagons made of hundreds of different fabrics. c1890.

Yellow diamonds connect hexagons in this two template charm quilt. c1900.

Charm quilts are usually made with similar types of dress weight cotton fabrics, of similar prints, often contemporary to each other and dating from the same era. The span of years is usually short, about 10 - 15  years, and these Charm quilts are virtual fabric collections of the fabrics available during that time period.

Occasionally charm quilts are found that contain fabric collections spanning a larger number of years. Perhaps an indication that the quilt maker came from a family of women with a history of sewing for the family, or possibly she came from a family of quilt makers. This would account for the fabrics in some charm quilts that span 40 - 50 years or more.

The fabrics used in charm quilts represent the fabrics available to that particular quilt maker. Most charm quilts do not have the same fabrics that are in other charm quilts of the same age, indicating that there were thousands of cotton fabrics available at the time.

Occasionally specific fabrics or prints are found in charm quilts of a certain era such as the Centennial prints made to celebrate our country's Centennial in 1876. There were several of these prints made and it's always exciting to find a Centennial print in a charm quilt or in fact any quilt of the period.

Centennial print with musical notes from the song "Hail Columbia". The word "Peace" is printed in each shield.

Detail of one of the Centennial prints in the Tumbler quilt. Printed motifs are flags and eagles with the years 1776 and 1876.

Why make a charm quilt?

There are many questions associated with charm quilts. Why did quilt makers make these quilts? Was it simply for the fun of using as many fabrics as they could in one quilt? How did the makers accumulate so many different fabrics? Did quilt makers trade fabrics as quilt makers often do today when they make a Charm quilt? I will make a few comments and observations, and attempt to shed some light on these and other questions relating to Charm quilts.

Why would someone choose to make a quilt with hundreds of different fabrics? Many quilt makers would be intrigued by the idea of making a quilt with hundreds of different fabrics. While a quilt maker today might have enough different fabrics in their fabric collection to make a Charm quilt without borrowing or swapping fabrics (I know I do), I think that quilt makers in the later part of the 19th Century would likely have had to trade fabrics to accumulate enough different fabrics to make a Charm quilt. While fabrics were becoming more affordable in the late 1800's, they were still an expense that most women would consider carefully.

Hundreds of different light and dark prints cut into triangles make up this large charm quilt c1890.

Close-up of the charm quilt at left, showing fabrics of the 1880-1890 period and many earlier fabrics.

There is reason to believe that this type of quilt is related to the 19th Century fad of collecting buttons and making Charm strings. These Button Charm strings were reportedly made by young women who made a game of accumulating great numbers of buttons that were often borrowed or begged from family or friends. These buttons, with no two alike, were then strung on a length of strong string. The belief was that after gathering a string of 999 buttons, the young lady would meet her true love who would provide the last button and the young lady was finally able to add that 1000th button after she married. These button strings are often found in old boxes of saved buttons, and are a great find for button collectors. While it is true that some Charm quilts contain 999 different fabrics, the majority of them do not. A quilt may have less than the 999 fabrics, and they often contain many more. The number of different patches in a charm quilt is understandably related the to size of the template or pattern being used and the overall size of the quilt.

Tied quilt, c1890. Rosettes of hundreds of different fabrics cover the top of this quilt.

Why do some Charm quilts contain duplicates?
While today's simple definition of a Charm quilt implies that there should be no duplicates of fabrics, many Charm quilts do have a fabric used more than once. Some quilt historians who have written about Charm quilts state that few charm quilts have no fabric duplicates, and I have found this to be the case, also.

Charm quilt of large hexagons made from fabrics dating to c1900.

This brings up an interesting question. Why would a woman make a quilt, using hundreds, (sometimes up to 1500 and more), different fabrics, and repeat one or two? One obvious reason could be that the quilt maker lost track of which fabrics she had already used and without realizing it, used a fabric for a second time. I know present day Charm quilt makers who have found duplicates in their own quilts after the quilt was completed.

Charm quilt in the Tumbler pattern, c1880. Two Centennial fabrics and many mid 1800's fabrics.

Pennsylvania Charm quilt, c1880. Unusual setting contains two Centennial fabrics.

Another possibility for duplicates is that the quilt maker included a fabric twice, deliberately, for the purpose of making a game of searching out the two identical fabrics. I have a Charm quilt, c1880, with a letter from a member of the quilt maker's family. The letter writer states that the quilt was much appreciated by the family and it was often taken out and shared. The family members always enjoyed looking at the fabrics in the quilt and searched for the duplicate fabrics. I believe this to be the main reason so many charm quilts are found with one fabric duplicated.

Detail of charm quilt that has over 1100 different fabrics. Fabrics include 2 Centennial prints. c1880

Detail of charm quilt that contains over 1300 different fabrics. c1900

There are other possible reasons for duplicates in charm quilts. For example, what was a quilt maker to do when she was given two identical fabrics by two different friends or family members? Would she pick one over the other, or include them both in her quilt? I can imagine some quilt makers would include them both to avoid choosing between friends.

A charm quilt with fabrics from the 1850's through the 1880's.

My own collection of Charm quilts includes quilts with no duplicates, as well as quilts with one duplicate and a few with more than one duplicate. Because my own interest in these quilts is the vast array of fabrics, it is always a thrill to find a new charm quilt. It can be lots of fun to take a quilt home and search for duplicates!

This Clamshell Charm Quilt has hundreds of different fabrics from the 1900, turn of the century period.

Patterns

Charm quilts are made using many pattern shapes. During the 19th Century the most popular patterns were the mosaic or hexagon; triangles including the equilateral, isosceles, and the half square triangle; and the tumbler shape. The hexagon shape is often the most imaginative. They are often arranged in rosettes, sometimes starting in the middle of the quilt and growing outward in ever increasing rings to cover the whole top, and as if the quilter tires of the single rosette pattern, secondary rosettes will often appear in the corners. Hexagons are also one of the few patterns that make up the two template charm quilts. The hexagons are joined together with squares or triangles over the quilt top.

Charm quilt from the 1930's era in a random hexagon style.

Spools or Double Ax patterned quilt top from the 1930's era.

Triangles can also be arranged in many interesting designs. Sometimes a simple light and dark arrangement of patches covers the quilt top, at other times the triangles are arranged in various patterns. One design is made of a series of rows growing out of the center of the quilt. Often the triangles march across the quilt from corner to corner, forming color bars across the quilt top.

During the 1930's additional one patch patterns such as the Double Ax pattern were used in Charm quilts and we also see Charm quilt variations such as in the ever popular, Sunbonnet Sue pattern, where Sue wears a different dress in every square. A rather unusual pattern is the Charm quilt made in the 1930's pattern Autumn Leaves, where vines ramble around the quilt and every leaf is a different fabric.

The Autumn Leaf quilt is a charm quilt with every leaf cut from a different fabric. c1930.

Center square of another Autumn Leaf Charm quilt from the 1930's.

Making new charm quilts

Charm quilts have enjoyed another burst of popularity, starting in the 1980's and 90's, probably due to the abundance of quality quilt fabrics available, a very good reason to make a charm quilt. Modern cutting methods take the work out of cutting hundreds of patches. Charm quilts of the late 20th Century are made of the same pattern shapes as their predecessors. However, they are often very innovative in their use and arrangement of fabrics and color. Made in vibrant colors and abstract designs they are often not recognized as charm quilts.

Several years ago when the year 2000 was approaching, quilters wanted to commemorate the new Millennium with a quilt. Many quilters decided that the best way to do that would be to make a quilt with 2000 different fabrics. Quilters started buying fabric and trading with friends. Other quilters who belonged to quilting oriented email lists started trading fabrics by mail through fabric swaps, with virtual friends across the country. The goal was to finish a quilt with 2000 different fabrics by the end of 1999.

What most of these quilters were doing was following a 130 year old quilt tradition of making Charm quilts. Even though they are now called Millennium quilts, future quilt historians will look back and see these quilts as Charm quilts made with 2000 different pieces of fabrics at the turn of the 20th to 21st Century. Hopefully there will be enough of them labeled as Millennium quilts to insure these quilts are called Millennium Charm Quilts. I'm not sure how many of those Millennium quilts were finished on time, but even those quilters who didn't get further than collecting the fabrics have a wonderful collection of fabrics to represent those available at the end of the 20th Century.

My own Charm Quilt from the year 2000 made from 2000 different fabrics. Fabrics were traded with friends so we could reach the required number of fabrics.

Next time you are looking at a scrap quilt made of a large variety of fabrics, whether it is a new quilt at a quilt show or a photo of a vintage quilt in a quilt book, look carefully to see if it is one of the wonderful quilts known as a Charm quilt.

Laurette Carroll
Quilt Maker, Quilt Collector and Quilt Historian
Quilts from the collection of Laurette Carroll
Article and photos Copyright Laurette Carroll, 2005, 2015.

For more information on Charm quilts see the following:
Pat L. Nickols, Uncoverings, Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, Volume 17.
Cuesta Benberry, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, Issues 120, 198, 199.