When we think of the Amish people, we often think of horse-drawn buggies and simple clothing, but the Amish are also known for making spectacular quilts.
Simply Quilts guest Roberta Horton joins host Alex Anderson to give tips on choosing colors and patterns when creating an Amish basket quilt.
Before You Start All Amish quilts are made with the fabric that Amish women use in their own clothing. Their fabrics are only solids, since patterns are considered too worldly. Also, colors are restricted to the community they live in. For example, an Amish woman in Indiana may be allowed to use gold in her quilt, but an Amish woman in Pennsylvania would not be allowed to use that color.
The Pennsylvania Amish typically use purples, blues, greens and pinks. They mainly stick to the cool side of the color wheel.
The Indiana Amish are not quite as restricted and can use those colors as well as browns, golds, yellows and greens.
The quilting patterns are also restricted to regions. Oftentimes the particular church districts will dictate what patterns the women are allowed to use. It is very important to know these things before starting an Amish quilt. You first need to decide what region you want to work in and then choose the appropriate colors. Also, do some research on the types of patterns used in the different Amish regions to complement your chosen colors.
Most all Amish quilts share one thing in common: using the fabric scraps on hand. If an Amish woman were making a red and green basket quilt as we are making, she would not use just one red and one green color. She would use what she had, which could result in several shades of red and green. That's what makes the Amish quilt so unique and special.
This nine patch quilt is of the Pennsylvania Amish. You can tell by the rich colors.
This brick quilt could be a representation of either Ohio or Indiana.
The colors reveal where this quilt comes from - Indiana.
Another interesting point about Amish quilts is the hand stitching, which often goes over into the border area of a quilt, something very uncommon for the non-Amish.
Amish Basket QuiltFabric:
Choose a standard green and red shade of fabric, then find a few different shades of green and red to throw into the mix. The green fabric is the background and the red is the basket.
Cutting and Assembling:
- large square in the middle 4-1/8" square from background and basket fabrics
- small triangles 2-1/8" square - three from background fabric and four from basket fabrics
- rectangles 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangles - two from background fabrics
Cut out pieces and assemble them. Remember to be subtle when placing a different color of red or green on the block. One or two color changes will make the quilt more mysterious than three or more color changes.
Resources An Amish Adventure: A Workbook for Color in Quilts
by Roberta Horton (ISBN: 1571200053)
Order this title.
C & T Publishing Inc.
Website:
www.ctpub.com
Guests Roberta Horton
Author, Quiltmaker, Instructor
C & T Publishing
E-mail:
RobertaHorton@yahoo.com
Website:
www.robertahorton.com Also in this Episode
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
