Twentieth Century Children's quilts, 1900 - 1980 pg 2
Sample book of the "Topmost" fabric line, dated 1939, showing the softer colors of the 1930's era.
A new look in fabrics
After WW1 the problems and restrictions placed on the dye manufacturers and the dyers of cloth during the war gradually diminished, and the manufacturers provided a wonderful pallet of colors made by the new synthetic dye formulas. While synthetic dyes were first developed in the third quarter of 19th Century (some later for dyeing cotton), for the next two decades new dyestuffs and recipes were continually being developed. The synthetic dyes were less expensive to process, and were a boon for fabric manufacturers as well as consumers, and of course many quilt makers.
1920's fabric samples from Sears, Roebuck and Co.
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1938 printed fabric samples, Quadriga Cloth by Ely & Walker
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Quilt makers who were partial to making pieced quilts made children’s patchwork quilts in the new gaily colored prints of the 1920’s and 30’s. The new softer pallet of colors in solids and gay prints were perfect for crib and doll quilts.
1930's era Yo Yo doll quilt measuring 26 by 32 inches.
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Patchwork crib quilt in the Periwinkle pattern, c1930. 42 by 52 inches.
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Double Wedding Ring quilts and Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilts made in pastel prints were extremely popular during the 1920’s and 30’s. This preference in patterns was carried over when making crib quilts as well, with small quilts made in these designs.
Patchwork small quilt in the Double Wedding Ring pattern, c1940. Measures 27 by 34.
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Patchwork crib quilt done in Fans, c1930. Measures 42 by 50 inches.
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New Trends in Crib quilt styles
While embroidered Redwork quilts were still being made, now new designs in embroidered quilts in full color were appearing.
Many crib quilts with the entire top embroidered were made, eliminating the piecing and applique altogether.
Whole cloth quilt patterns featuring floral designs or cute little lambs or kittens and other animals, were available for quilting.
Many of these quilts were made of satin fabrics giving the quilt the look of a fancy comforter.
For those who didn’t care to make their own, whole cloth baby quilts were handmade commercially by cottage industries.
Embroidered baby quilt, c1920, measures 27 by 30 inches.
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Peter Pan crib quilt done in cross stitch embroidery. Measures 35 by 58 inches.
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Crib quilt with young girl and boy similar to Sunbonnet Sue and friend. Inscription reads GG Drayton, 1916, with a copyright symbol. Measures 33" by 33".
Continuing the Sunbonnet Sue style quilts, Sue now had a new friend in Overall Bill or Sam, Fishing Freddy and similar boy characters. The pair appeared in numerous designs together. Sunbonnet Sue appeared in many variations from the young toddler aged Sue, to the older Colonial girls, and even all grown up as Ladies holding posy bouquets or umbrellas.
With all the new designs for children’s quilts, it’s no surprise that we find so many crib and youth sized quilts from the first half of the 20th Century.
Wynken Blynken and Nod kit quilt done in applique. Measures 40 by 55 inches.
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Close-up of Wynken Blynken and Nod.
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Quilt kits
Kit quilts became popular, offering the inexperienced quilt maker a ready to go package, eliminating the need to match fabrics and embroidery threads. The typical kit contained the quilt top, fabrics for the applique, the embroidery thread, and the pattern.
Kit quilts designed for children were numerous. Some were patchwork kit quilts, including at least one for making a doll quilt. Many were embroidered designs of blocks with a common theme. Others were applique designs with children’s themes like children playing together, or cute babies depicted in different situations like sleeping in a cradle, or even sleeping in trees or flowers (maybe associated with old lullabies.)
Others were a combination of the two, applique work with additional embroidery used for detail or embellishment.
Humpty Dumpty crib quilt, applique quilt, c1960. A Bucilla kit. measures, 48 by 62 inches.
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Merry-Go-Round crib quilt in applique, a Paragon kit quilt. Measures 36 by 55 inches.
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These kit quilts would remain popular for decades, and many were offered by large companies who advertised the kits in magazines and catalogs until the 1980’s and later. Others were designs from small cottage industries, with the kits being advertised through magazines and newspaper ads and packaged and sold from home.
Kit quilt designers of full sized quilts, also offered identical or very similar patterns and kits in crib, and youth sizes. So we sometimes see fashionable crib quilts similar to larger quilts with elaborate floral designs.
"Baby Tree" crib quilt, kit from Paragon. c1940, measures 35 by 52 inches.
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"Old Woman's Shoe" applique crib quilt, kit quilt, c1950. Measures 36 by 52 inches.
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Little 4 block doll quilt, measures 18 by 18 inches.
Doll Quilts
The existing doll quilts from this period are usually pieced quilts made with the popular light prints of the period. Most were made in the simplest patterns, one patch quilts, four and nine patches, though occasionally we see a more complex pattern.
Many String quilts and Crazy quilts in pastel prints were made. These types of quilts were easy to put together using small scraps of fabrics, and were a low cost gift for girls and their favorite dolls.
String pieced doll quilt, c1940. measures 13 by 16 inches.
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Crazy quilt, doll sized, c1920. Measures 16 by 21 inches.
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During the 1930's feedsack fabrics became a popular source of fabric for quilts. This "free" source of fabric was a boon to women who were making-do during the depression and war time years. Vast numbers of quilts were made using feedsacks including many doll quilts. Printed and solid colored feed sacks were used for a multitude of household and clothing articles at the time.
Many of the doll quilts from this era were pieced and quilted using a sewing machine. Perhaps the majority of these doll quilts were made quickly using the machine in some way, and others were even tied eliminating the quilting altogether. However as in the older 19th Century quilts, there are a few exceptional doll quilts made in complex pieced patterns or stylish appliqued designs.
Of course as is customary in the art of quilt making, many small quilts were used as tools for teaching hand sewing and hand quilting skills to young girls. It’s always fun to come across one of these less than precisely made quilts, though it’s merely speculation unless the quilt has its provenance.
Of course as is customary in the art of quilt making, many small quilts were used as tools for teaching hand sewing and hand quilting skills to young girls. It’s always fun to come across one of these less than precisely made quilts, though it’s merely speculation unless the quilt has its provenance.
Doll quilt, c1940.
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Hexagon doll quilt, c1930. Pieced by hand and machine quilted. Measures 16 by 25 inches.
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The Older Child’s Quilt
It’s often difficult to distinguish the adult patchwork quilt from the older child’s patchwork quilt. The size would be one clue of course, but we sometimes see smaller quilts described as cot quilts, trundle bed quilts, or even “hired man’s quilts”. No doubt many of them are as described, but it stands to reason that some of these smaller quilts were children’s quilts.
Applique quilts are easier to identify because they were often made in older children’s themes. We see cowboys and cowgirls, horses, sailing ships, and airplanes in many youth sized quilts.
Many of the quilt kits and patterns offered for children’s quilts were available in three sizes, a small baby quilt, a crib quilt and the larger youth size. This change in size was usually accomplished by an adjustment to the width of the borders, or sometimes adding a new design element to fill out the corners of the slightly larger quilt.
"The Old Woman's Shoe" applique quilt, a kit quilt by Progress. 1954, measures 50 by 72 inches.
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"May Time" a kit quilt by Progress, c1950. Measures 48 by 70 inches.
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Cathedral Windows doll quilt, c1960. Measures 17 by 17 inches.
Quilts post WW2
Some have said that after the war the popular fad for making quilts died out. Generally this may be true, especially during the 1960’s and 70’s, but as some of us know, quilt making can be an enjoyable lifelong hobby. Many women who learned to quilt during the 1920’s and 30’s continued to make quilts for their children and home, and it seems they were especially fond of making small quilts for babies. They made many small quilts similar to the quilts made in the 1930’s era, but they also seemed partial to crazy and string quilts made with the new cotton polyester blends and the double knit polyester fabrics.
Some have said that after the war the popular fad for making quilts died out. Generally this may be true, especially during the 1960’s and 70’s, but as some of us know, quilt making can be an enjoyable lifelong hobby. Many women who learned to quilt during the 1920’s and 30’s continued to make quilts for their children and home, and it seems they were especially fond of making small quilts for babies. They made many small quilts similar to the quilts made in the 1930’s era, but they also seemed partial to crazy and string quilts made with the new cotton polyester blends and the double knit polyester fabrics.
"Bambi in the Garden" crib quilt, a Paragon kit, c1980. measures 32" by 50"
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The Wizard of OZ embroidered crib kit quilt, c1970.
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Embroidery was popular, and we see a lot of small quilts done in embroidery, some done in all stem stitch designs, others in cross stitch, or a combination of the two. Many applique quilts were embellished with embroidery.
Crib quilts were made with cross stitched designs hand embroidered in numerous characters favored by children including Bambi, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney characters.
Some of the designs are seemingly originals. While others were done using kits, adding the cross stitch embroidery to white stamped tops. Other kits offered pre-quilted pieces and all the quilter needed to do was add the embroidery work using the supplied embroidery thread. These are usually easy to spot because the back of the quilt will show the embroidery work, unless the quilter has added another back to cover it up.
We now see these quilts from the 1950-1970’s emerging as they become “vintage” and the younger generation learns to appreciate them and acknowledge the time that was invested into making them. Eventually collectors will learn to appreciate the brightly colored fabrics and familiar subjects and they will come to take their rightful place as collectibles along with the older quilts of the 1800's and the earlier 1900’s period.
Crib quilt, cross stitched Disney characters, c1980. Measures 42 by 60 inches.
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Log Cabin doll quilt, c1970. measures 15 by 19 inches.
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For more on Children's quilts read my first article Children's quilts of the 19th Century. Thanks for visiting.
Laurette Carroll
Quilt maker and collector from California
Quilts from the collection of Laurette Carroll
All photos and articles on this site are copyright by Laurette Carroll 2016.
