A Century of Quilting

A century of quilts — instructions for Dresden Plate, Skip-To-My-Lou and Lightning block quilts.

More from Simply Quilts
Filed under: Quilting, Crafts, How To

Instructions provided courtesy of guest Nancy Kirk.

1930s: Dresden Plate Quilt

Materials and Tools:
scraps of Depression-era fabric to create 24 "spokes"
background fabric – usually off-white in the 1930s

spoke template

Steps:

Block construction

Use template to cut 24 spokes.
Stitch spokes together in four groups of six.

To center the plate, gently fold the background fabric in quarters to find the center point then unfold and position flat on work surface. Place the spoke groups one at a time around the center point so all lower edges of the spokes are equal distance from the center point. Pin the spoke units together then stitch the last four seams to complete the plate.

Applique the perimeter of the plate to the background fabric.

Applique a circle of a solid fabric (in the 1930s, the color choice was often yellow) over the center. If you don't have drafting tools, a teacup or small saucer can be used as a template for the circle.

Assembly

Most Dresden Plate quilts are set with the blocks side by side or separated by solid colored sashing. Remember, the sashing color should highlight that color in the blocks. Bind with a matching solid color.
For a period look, use 100-percent cotton batting.

1950s: Skip-to-my-Lou Quilt Block

Materials and Tools:
three complementary fabrics – one solid and two prints — to duplicate 1950s era, use aqua, salmon, turquoise colors

Steps:
This Skip to My Lou block is a variation/combination on a simple 9-patch and a Pinwheel.

Make a 3-1/2-inch center square in a solid fabric and a north, south, east and west squares of the block from one of the prints.

Make four corner half-square triangle units using from 3-7/8-inch squares of a different print and the center fabric.

Join units together in row, then join rows into a block. When joined, these create a secondary pinwheel pattern.

Contemporary: Lightning Block

Materials and Tools:
1 fat quarter each of hand-dyed fabrics — blue, green and purple

Steps:

Create a variation of a log cabin block set in a "streak of lightning" setting. The concept for the quilt on this episode was a storm in the rain forest. Because nature is filled with unusual shapes and the greens/blues and purple hand-dyes have so much movement in the visual texture, combine string-pieced blocks with irregular pieces and hand-dyed fabrics together with the rigid setting of the log cabin and streak of lightning quilt patterns.

To make the blocks, use a very improvisational approach. Each block center is cut 1-1/2-inch square.

Randomly cut equal numbers of green/blues and purple hand-dyed strips, just taking a ruler and rotary cutter and whacking off strips no larger than 2-1/2 inches at one end and no smaller than one inch at the other end, with no two sides parallel.

Sew the strips cut in step 2 to the center block starting with a purple strip on the north, a purple strip on the east, a green strip on the south and a green strip on the west. It does not matter for the first two rows whether you start with the narrow end or the wide end of the strip.

Repeat for the second row.

Starting with the third row, place the strips starting either with the wide or narrow end to make the block as square as possible. Using the randomness of the width in the first two sets of legs creates surprising visual effects forcing the viewer to look around more because the resulting shapes and juxtaposition of fabrics are unexpected.

Finish with a fourth row.

Square the block, centering the yellow center in each block. The blocks in the quilt were 10-1/2 inches unfinished. In some case you will trim off a complete outer leg — don't worry. The green side or the purple side will still cover the same amount of square footage in each block.

Set the blocks in the "streak of lighting" setting — a zigzag pattern running from top to bottom.

_____________________________________

For more information on quilt history and fabrics, there are many good books available. Guest Nancy Kirk recommends Clues in the Calico by Barbara Brackman, Patchwork Souvenirs by Marykay Waldvogel and Textile Designs by Mellors and Efflers.

For more information on Nancy Kirk, the patterns discussed above and quilting classes check Kirk's website at www.kirkcollection.com.