Scraps from clothing and feed sacks were used for those old-timey utilitarian quilts. Later, in the polyester pant suit era, one of my sisters-in-law made a quilt out of those scraps. It was pure ugly and too heavy, but I bet it's still in existence somewhere. Totally indestructible!

My mother told me that they made utilitarian quilts when she was a girl. They were strictly to keep people warm. They were mostly log cabin because they were making them out of old clothes (primarily her brother's wool pants) and they could cut a lot of strips out of them. She never mentioned trying to make them pretty. She just said they did them all by hand with some of the girls cutting the strips and others sewing them together.

My father's mother on the other hand was more affluent. She could afford to buy fabric to make her quilts. They were definitely made with an eye to color and design.

My grandmother and aunt use to make quilts from ribbons from cemetery bouquets My uncle worked there and would bring them home. They were pretty..

Interesting topic Bear

This topic got me thinking, so what constitutes as a Utilitarian Quilt?

In my mind a utilitarian quilt is one with three main purpose of keep one warm. Whether scrappy or with purchased fabrics it was not made to be an heirloom to be fussed over to preserve it for generations to come.

My definition of a utility quilt - which may or may not be the "real" one -

One that will be given hard use, it may or may not be washed it frequently, made of leftovers or salvaged materials, sometimes given to the servants or slaves or to be taken to the beach or played on or under outside.

My Grandma made quilts for donation that she was told to "make ugly" so the recipients would not sell them.

The "waste not, want not" philosophy was certainly at work when I was growing up. I remember my mother cutting buttons off clothes that were worn out. They "saved" everything on the theory that they "might need it".

Although I don't personally remember her doing so, I know my grandmother made quilts both utilitarian -- to cover the beds of her eight children -- and as a creative outlet. As a child I slept under what I remember as a beautiful Sunbonnet Sue or little Dutch girl quilt that also had tulip blocks, made by my grandmother. I still remember the fabric and colors. It breaks my heart that my mother didn't preserve that quilt when it was "worn out"; how I'd love to see it again now that I am also a quiltmaker.

My grandmother used every bit of fabric she had. She even took my uncle's WWII navy uniform and made a suit out of it. When she died in early 1960, we found very many wire hoops full of buttons she cut off worn out clothes. She even made a quilt using curtains she found in a trash heap. She was a whiz at sewing.