Crazy-quilt Activity - Special Exhibitions

Activities &
Projects
The Urge to
Embellish
Illinois State Museum
Crazy Quilt Activity
Activit y
Crazy Quilts
History of Crazy Quilting
Crazy quilting may be a name that
Americans used to describe the style of
the first Japanese quilted clothing they
saw. In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial
Celebration featured exhibits of Japanese
decorative arts.
Japanese kirihame, a type of pieced silk
used in Samurai clothing from the
sixteenth century, was probably shown at
this exhibit. Americans may have seen
some of these Japanese pieced costumes
and adapted the technique to quilts that
came to be known as Crazy Quilts.
After the first trade treaty between Japan
and the United States was signed in 1853,
Japanese silk was cheaper to import to the
United States. Quilters could afford to
buy it for their quilts and for clothing that
Special points of
interest:
• Crazy Quilts
• Elements of Crazy
Quilting
• The Mitchell Quilt
• Paper Quilt Block
• Sewing Techniques
• Learning Standards
might be
recycled later
into quilts.
Victorian
Crazy Quilts
Victorian Crazy
Quilts were
made of
combinations of
silks, velvets,
Crazy quilted work was used to drape
drapery and
sofas and pianos, as well as the bed.
upholstery
fabrics, men's
ties, and other bits and pieces. Embroidered and
painted motifs like flowers and birds often
embellished the quilt pieces.
Elements of Crazy Quilting — Fabrics
The basic element of
crazy quilting is the
placement of oddsized and -shaped
pieces of cloth onto
a base fabric (and
optional batting).
Velvets, silks,
brocades, and other
fancy fabrics were
Victorian Era fabric
favorites.
This type of quilt is
perfect if you have
small scraps of fabric
from clothes or other
projects such as
curtains or upholstery.
It is definitely a mixand-match of many
colors and textures.
Of course you can
always buy
coordinated fabric
pieces to use, but the
most creative fun
comes of finding
scraps that harmonize
when put together!
The Urge to Embellish
Page 2
Elements of Crazy Quilting—Embroidery
Embroidery Embellishment
After placing your fabric scraps onto
the base fabric, there are different
ways of sewing them down. The usual
method is to hand sew one side of the
new scrap, face down, to the previous
scrap, flip it right-side up, and press
into place. When your scraps are set
in place, you can embroider the edges
of each scrap with fancy stitches.
Notice the edges of the pieces on the left.
They have been sewn with hand embroidery
in silk thread. Flower motifs have also been
embroidered on some pieces. The more the
merrier!
Other Types of Quilt Embellishment
Image is a detail from a quilt in the ISM
Collection.
Embellishing with Ribbons,
Buttons, and Beads
birds, or as rows of dots
along the edge of a piece.
Ribbons
Crazy-quilters added more
embellishment to many of
their quilt projects. This
included fancy ribbons sewn
down along the edges of the
crazy patches.
Beads
Large and small beads are
used to embellish some crazy
quilts.
Ribbon flowers, made by
folding and crimping ribbon
into petals and tacking the
petals together to form a
flower, were another favorite.
There is a dark red one in the
lower right-hand corner of the
image above.
Buttons
Fancy buttons embellished
some crazy quilts. They may
appear as the center of
flowers, as eyes of insects or
Seed beads in a row can
draw a line on the fabric. Or
they can be sprinkled into
the center of a flower or like
stars on the background.
The detail image of the
exhibit quilt (right) shows
brown seed beads as fill in
the letters, and as an outline
of the black hat. The beads
add sparkle and visual as
well as tactile texture. Seed
pearls lighten the feel of th
background of this heavy
quilt.
The Urge to Embellish
Page 3
The Mitchell Crazy Quilt
Leonard F. Mitchell (1857–1912)
1893 World's Columbian Exposition Crazy Quilt, c. 1893
multi-color silk, velvet, satin, brocade, seed pearls, cotton and metallic thread, metallic lace
Gift of Peggy L. Guarch and Lynn Guarch-Pardo
multi-color silk, velvet, satin and brocade with extensive embroidery; images of Columbus and Fair officials;
US & Spanish symbols; embellished with stars, flowers, leaves, and spiders using seed pearls, cotton and
metallic thread and metallic lace
Perhaps no other object in the Illinois State Museum collections better exemplifies the true spirit of
embellishment than the spectacular quilt attributed to Leonard F. Mitchell, a copper miner by trade. Its
composition—comprised of irregular patches of multi-color silk, velvet, satin and brocade, lavished with
extensive embroidery—is characteristic of the ubiquitous “crazy quilts” or “crazy patchwork” so popular in
the late Victorian era.
The Urge to Embellish
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The Mitchell Crazy Quilt
It’s In the Details
Mitchell’s quilt, however, surpasses a
typical crazy quilt in its technical
execution and extensive use of
materials. More importantly, it
commemorates a specific event: the
1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in
Chicago.
Christopher Columbus’ face is made of close hand embroidery
that follows the face contours. The various shades of tan gives
The central image of Columbus is
masterfully embroidered with a solid
plane of densely packed, multi-colored
stitches. Embroidered vignettes (left to
right, bottom center) depict Bertha
Honoré (Mrs. Potter) Palmer and
President Grover Cleveland, officials
associated with the Fair; George
Washington as father of the country;
and the Duke of Veragua and Princess
Eulalia, honored guests from Spain.
Unlike these more colorful portraits,
that of Carter Henry Harrison (image to
the left), Mayor of Chicago, is limited to
a black outline stitch on a white
background. Harrison was
assassinated during the final weeks of
the Exposition, and his image is
ironically placed next to an
embroidered horse shoe bearing the
words, “Good Luck.” The names and
images of the top three winning horses
from the 1893 American Derby also
receive a place of honor within the
composition
The top right corner of the quilt shows the fringe edging, the
outer boarder of scalloped embroidery, and the portrait of Mayor
Harrison.
The use of metallic thread for the
embroidered stars, eagle, crown and
fringe found throughout the quilt add
sparkle which, when added to the
cacophony of patterns, textures and
colors found elsewhere, captures the
excitement surely experienced by
visitors to the actual Fair. There is,
however, no evidence that this quilt
was exhibited at the Fair.
The Urge to Embellish
Page 5
Try Making a Paper Crazy Quilt Block
Crazy Quilts became popular about 130 years ago. People would save scraps of precious
fabrics—silks and velvets, especially—and then make quilts with them. The quilts that were made
didn’t have a repeating pattern. The shapes and colors of the scraps were all different, so people
called them Crazy Quilts.
Follow the instruction here to make a block, then group your friends and family members blocks
together to form your own Crazy Quilt!
The Urge to Embellish
Try Making a Paper Quilt, continued
Instructions:
1. Color a scrap in the block with a light-colored crayon or pencil.
2. Color a second scrap adjacent to the first with another color.
3. “Sew” them together using a dark crayon/pencil with a fancy
stitching line such as one of those to the right.
4. Continue steps 2 and 3 until all the scraps in the bock are colored
and ‘sewn’ to one another.
4. Many crazy quilts included the names of the people who made them
embroidered (sewn) into the scraps in plain or fancy letters. Pretend
you are embroidering your name using a dark color crayon/marker.
5. Often the crazy-quilter embroidered thread pictures of flowers,
birds, etc. On one of your scraps, use a crayon/marker to draw a
favorite animal.
6. To complete your block or
quilt of multiple blocks, choose
a color for the outside border
(about 1/2 inch all around the
block. Cut the block out along
the outer edge of the border.
7. Combine multiple blocks to
make a quilt! Rotate the blocks
to create different effects. Tape
them together from the back at
the edges.
Teachers: Add your quilt block
to the bottom row of the class
quilt. Include the names of your
school, the year, the grade level,
and your name. Take a digital
photo of the finished quilt, post
it online, and email us the URL.
We’d love to see it!
(email: [email protected].
Page 6
The Urge to Embellish
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Sewing Techniques for Crazy Quilts
Running Stitches to sew seam by hand.
Flip and iron when sewn.
Green patch flipped; yellow patch sewn; the edge is folded to
cover the raw seam when flipped.
Use embroidery thread (3 ply) to create
fancy edge stitching on the seams.
Try sewing patches by hand and by machine. If
you have an embroidery machine available, use
it, but an electric sewing machine with a few
fancy stitches is adequate. Try making a little
table mat to begin with.
See the Websites on the next page for tips on
crazy-quilting and embroidery.
You could make a crazy-quilt block for a panel
in a garment, such as on the front of a sweatshirt, cuffs on a jacket, or a jacket yoke.
Here machine-embroidery is used on the seams and to make
the vine. A daisy is hand-embroidered. Leaf beads are
attached by hand. Red seed beads are sewn by hand to
create texture and highlights. You can apply embroidered
patches, buttons, sequins, or other embellishments.
Illinois State Museum
502 S. Spring
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: 217-785-0035
url: http://www.museum.state.il.us/embellish
Email: [email protected]
The Urge to Embellish
Learning Standards for Teachers
National Arts Standards: Grades 9-12
Content Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Achievement Standard:
•
Students differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of
characteristics and purposes of works of art
•
Students describe the function and explore the meaning of specific art objects within varied
cultures, times, and places
•
Students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics,
and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis and using such conclusions to inform
their own art making
Illinois Standards: Visual Arts:
State Goal 25: Know the language of the arts.
Late Elementary: 25.A.2d. Identify and describe the elements of 2- and 3-dimensional space, figure ground, value and
form; the principles of rhythm, size, proportion and composition; and the expressive qualities of symbol and story. (ID
and describe how crazy quilting uses overlapping and adjacent shapes to form patterns; how the stitching
provides rhythm, line, and harmony).
State Goal 26: A.. Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the arts.
Middle School: 26.A.3e. Describe how the choices of tools/technologies and processes are used to create specific
effects in the arts. Apply skills and knowledge necessary to create and perform in one or more of the arts. (Describe
the main effects of crazy quilt design formed by the tools land materials of the art. Use
stitching skill to embroider and embellish)
State Goal 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. B. Understand how the
arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.
Late Elementary: 27.B.2. Identify and describe how the arts communicate the similarities and differences
among various people, places and times. (Victorians liked very intricate designs; they saw Japanese
embroider patchwork of silk and copied it, adapted it to American tastes.)
Crazy Quilts and Embroidery Stitches on the Web:
http://www.needlework-tips-and-techniques.com/crazy-quilt-embroidery.html
Website shows historical and modern techniques.
Needlework Tips & Techniques
http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/news/articles/1-4-11/Crazy%20Quilts/ Very good article by Merikay
Waltvogel on the crazy quilt.
http://www.kinderart.com/sculpture/crazyquilts.shtml KinderArt Website’s activity for young children much
like this paper quilt, using fancy papers.
http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/pdfs/ks_crazy.pdf Another Crazy Quilt Activity, from the Illinois State
Museum’s quilting Website.