3/31/12

Scrappin' It Out ~ Quilting Fabrics of the 1940's

Collectin' The 1940's

I've been a 'Scrap Lover' for as long as I can remember.
  I learned to sew sitting beside my Mother, the 'Queen of Scraps'.
The 'Make Do and Mend' motto of the 1940's WWII era had a huge influence on the fabrics of the 1940's.

With the occupation of France, the fashion industry saw drastic changes, and the 'Limitation of Supplies Order' which meant that the amount of cloth used in an 'Item of Clothing' was regulated. The shortage of fabric during the war shaped the slim silhouette styles we now associate with the 40's.
For an insight into the 'Home Seamstresses' fashion check out Sew Craftful's post 'Everything Old is New Again:  Patriotic Zero-Waste Fabrics of the 1940's.
Over the years, I have collected Vintage Quilt Tops and practiced the 'Mend and Make Do' motto of the 1940's by mending and cutting the quilt tops into 12" squares, combining them with muslin, adding reproduction era appropriate fabric for borders and LongArm Machine quilting them.  The quilt shown here is a wonderful example of the fabrics of the 1940's.  For an informative overview of Vintage Fabrics starting with the 1920's through the 1970's...check out  Newtonia Battlefield Quilters post Vintage Fabric.

13 comments:

  1. Oh, what beautiful fabrics & quilts ... I see some of those gorgeous vintage feedsacks that we have in there. Wonderful work you are doing for preservation of such beauties.

    Have a beautiful weekend ~
    TTFN ~ Marydon

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  2. Hi Sue! I recognize some of the fabrics because I remember my great granny's scraps! VERY cool!

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  3. Hi Sue, Scraps can be a stunning quilt and it comes from waste not want not. I believe in it. Love the quilt.
    I also loved your photo booth post. Your photos are treasures. I remember going in a photo booth after I had my hair cut real short. When I saw the photos I cried. I saved and saved to go to an exclusive shop called J Baldi's in Miami. A guy cut my long hair and I looked awful. Definitely not a fond memory. HA!

    You have the most incredible photos of your very handsome and beautiful family. Lucky you.
    Happy weekend to you my friend.
    xo, Jeanne

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  4. I love the old fabrics of these quilts! I'm not a quilter,yet!LOL

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  5. Your quilt is beautiful. My sis and I went to a quilt show today. Their focus was quilts of the 30's. Had an entire room dedicated to feedsack quilts and things made from feedsacks.

    I love all things vintage (especially quilts).

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  6. Happy Pink Saturday, my sweet Sue.

    I love all the pretty patterns in this quilt. They bring back childhood memories.♥

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  7. Yeah - I can finally get on your blog!!! Love this post too - the quilt pieces are wonderful Sue!

    Wishing you a wonderful Easter!
    Leann

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  8. How pretty! The 1940's look is fabulous. I love old quilts. I have lots of scraps that have already been cut for quilts that were handed down to me from my mother's things, but I have no sewing skills whatsoever. Hopefully I'll learn.

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  9. What a great post! I have several Depression-era quilts from my great grandmother that I really cherish. They definitely used scraps (there are even some pieces of flour sack material in some of them) but they're still beautiful. I love the idea of "recycling" the damaged ones by cutting them up and combining them!

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  10. I really love what you did with this quilt to save it!! I love the patterns and the fabrics....makes me want to do the same!! Happy VTT!

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  11. I know nothing about making quilts, but certainly love and have several. You are one great lady that makes the best of everything.

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  12. These are just beautiful! I wish I had the talent to quilt. The fabric is so sweet and charming. I love the bright colors

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  13. Beautiful vintage fabrics. I have an old quilt that my mother gave me tucked away in the cedar chest because it's dirty and needs to be washed. It's also frayed in spots where the sun hit it when my mother left it on an unused bed for years. I really should work on it someday.

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