"Quilting" itself has been known since ancient times- padded jackets and vests were quilted, it afforded some protection against arrows, etc. Quilted clothing in the steppes of Russia, central China, etc. was a way to make warmer clothing. I know some types of bed quilts were made in northern Europe and the craft brought to the colonies. I'm sure there are histories of this. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 23, 2007, at 12:23 PM, Martha Katz-Hyman wrote: > Henry, > > Quilting as a sewing technique to stitch together layers of cloth and > padding did exist in the 18th century, and there are many surviving > bedcoverings that are constructed in this way, with very decorative > stitching. There are also surviving 18th century bedcoverings that > are > constructed from cloth with appliques applied to the top layer, and > which > are then sewn to a backing, with some kind of padding between the two > layers, with quilting stitches. In all probability, enslaved women > sewed > these kinds of bedcoverings in the 18th century. Patchwork quilting > begins > to be found towards the end of the 18th century, with its fullest > development in the 19th century, and "crazy quilts" appear towards > the end > of the 19th century. > > This is my general understanding of the history of this technique. > Since I > am not a textile historian, I would welcome corrections and > clarifications > from any textile historians on the list. > > Martha Katz-Hyman > > On 1/23/07, Henry Wiencek <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> While I agree with Nancy's comment that we have to be careful about >> dismissing things just because there's no documentation, the quilt >> story >> seems to have been invented recently, out of whole cloth, so to >> speak. Take >> a look at the H-SLAVERY discussions for more details on this. One >> historian >> remarked that slaves didn't make quilts in the eighteenth-century, a >> "blanket" assertion I'd like to check. >> >> Henry Wiencek >> Charlottesville >> >> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the >> instructions >> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html >> > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html