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Wholecloth Quilt
Wholecloth Quilt

Wholecloth Quilt

Quiltmaker (American, 1795 - 1859)
Quiltmaker (American, 1770 - 1837)
Dateembroidered 1775-1800, quilted 1800-1825
MediumHand-stitched embroidery; crewel wool and cotton thread on plain-woven linen
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 90 x 97 1/2in. (228.6 x 247.7cm)
ClassificationsTextiles
Credit LineMuseum purchase
DescriptionWholecloth quilt consisting of a plain-woven linen top, thick batting, and a plain-woven linen backing; these three layers are hand-stitched together with parallel quilting lines. The quilt top is made from bed hangings, a pair of bed curtains and three valances, that have been stitched together. The bed hangings are hand-stitched with crewel, or two-ply worsted wool, in many bright colors, including dark medium and light blue, dark medium and light pink, red, yellow, blue-green and cream.

The center of the quilt is decorated with two side-by-side crewel embroidered patterns, each with a single flower emerging from a blue basket in the center. These are surrounded by widely-spaced designs of single or multiple flowers emerging from a small basket or from a scrolled vine. Each of the four sides of the quilt has a border of scrolled vines intertwined with large flowers. The bottom left and right corners of the quilt are angled.

The quilt is constructed of panels of plain-woven linen that were hand-stitched together to form bed hangings, then decorated. The backing consists of plain-woven linen panels that are pieced together; at the bottom of the backing are strips of a compound-weave fabric. Each edge of the quilt has a plain-woven tape binding.

The principal stitch on the bedcovering is outline; it also includes satin, encroaching satin, herringbone, buttonhole, buttonhole, darning, flat and seed.

Condition: The crewel wool is intact, although the lighter colors have faded. The top, or ground, is worn and has holes along the top edge of the quilt. The quilt is yellowed with large and small brown stains scattered on the top and backing. Additional holes on the back are located at the site of some stains and in the compound-weave fabric at the bottom.
Object number1976.43.0
On View
Not on view
Museum purchase, 1982.58.0  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connecticut Historical So…
Unknown
1750-1825
Gift of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, 1964.35.0  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © …
Elizabeth Swan
1761-1778
Gift of Newton C. Brainard, 1962.28.2b  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connecticut H…
Prudence Geer
about 1770
1966.49.0 on a bed.
Lucy Arnold
1815
Gift of Newton C. Brainard, 1962.28.2d,e,g  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connectic…
Prudence Geer
about 1770
Gift of Newton C. Brainard, 1962.28.2c  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connecticut H…
Punderson family
1795-1815
Gift of the Lyman Allyn Museum, 1959.54.3  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.   © 2009 The Connectic…
Unknown
1750-1770
Gift of John T. Whitman, 1963.8.2  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connecticut Histor…
Esther Lyman
1730-1760
Gift of Mrs. J. Chandlee Ergood, 1980.9.1  Photograph by Gavin Ashworth.  © 2009 The Connecticu…
Sylvia Punderson
1800-1825
Wholecloth Quilt
Punderson family
1750-1775
Bedding Fragment
Punderson family
about 1770-1780