My grandmother, born in late 1800's, Scotch-Irish from a valley in central Pennsylvania, used the word "hap" to refer to the heavy tied quilts used everyday, made up of squares or rectangles of wool. I found a reference to it in one quilt book, saying it was a local term, and that the word means to cover or wrap. I wonder if anyone else has had this word passed on in generations in their family?

I hadn't heard the term before, but there is at least one pattern out there for a hap quilt:

http://designandplanningconcepts.com...=quilts&pnum=2

Learned something new!:)

I' ve never heard that term, but I sure remember sleeping under heavy wool pastchwork quilts when I was little. My grandma and mom made them with wool on both sides and batting too. They sure kept you warm.

My family's from Western PA, and we had haps, which meant a heavy tied quilt to us, too. They usually had an older blanket as a batting; when it got too unsightly, Grandma would make a new cover and just layer it over the old one.

Although, we also referred to those heavy wool army blankets as haps, too. I'd completely forgotten the term until you brought it up :-)

Have not heard that term, but do know someone with the nickname "Hap"~

This must be a PA term, I remember them well. Yes, very heavy and just add a new layer when worn out.
Sure felt good in the cold winters. Thanks for the remembrance. Ruth

Hap
 

My grandmother, born in the early 1900s, also used the word "hap" for a specific crazy-quilt-style blanket that she had. I think it was made by either her mother or mother-in-law, who was very Irish. My grandmother was born and lived out all her life in Altoona, PA (central PA). The hap was probably made of pieces of wool, but all the pieces were dark and of different sizes and shapes. If my memory serves me correctly, the pieces were stitched together using a blanket-type of stitch. It was very heavy and very warm. I don't know what ever happened to it. I wish I had it, though, for posterity's sake! It's nice to know that someone else has heard of the term "hap", and that it has the same defining characteristics.<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>

I heard that word over on Ravelry referring to a shawl...I had never heard of it before...

My husband - of very definite scottish descent - uses the word 'hap' to refer to heavy waterproof covers such as a tarpaulin or rip-stop nylon. Kinda like what you'd put over a car overnight, or a car trailer to cover the contents in transit, or the groundsheet for a tent, etc.

cheers, K

My grandmother had to 'hap' quilts. They were made out of wool and flannel. The heat wasn't the best in her house and she had 'hap' quilts on every bed. As it turned out when she passed away every aunt and my uncle and mother got one. BTW she was from southern Indiana.

Interesting - this sounds exactly like the style of quilts my grandmother usually made (wool blocks, tied, very warm, very heavy), but as far as I know she never called them that. Just "quilts". She was born in Iowa and moved to CA in her late teens.

In the old south quilts were called quivers, a form of the word cover and quilt (?). I never heard of hap before. How fun to know this about quilts.

Never heard that word before, must be regional.(hap)......nor have I heard quivers---- maybe to keep you from quivering in the cold night air....

just wondering.......those haps - washing them must have been a chore....wet wool...........

very interesting read. never heard of them. Like geri B says, washing must have been a chore. can you imagine washing one of those in the dead of winter, (little kids getting sick on it). how heavy they must have been.

In the Disney Movie So Dear to My Heart, there are lots of quilts and they are called quivers. This movie is fantastic family film is you haven't seen it. Burl Ives stars and sings Lavender Blue.

I've heard "kivvers". Always thought it was another word for covers.

Just looked up "hap" in Oxford Engl. Dictionary--it's a northern (Gr. Brit) dialect word for a covering of any kind. One entry suggests it's a rough/heavy covering. A heavy quilt or a tarp both qualify. (It's an old word; latest entry was 1872.)

I think kivers and quivers are the same meaning just depends on what part of the country you are. LOL

I do a lot of reading & have come across the word quiver once or twice, but not hap. This is a fascinating discussion; I love to hear about words that are regional or derived from a foreign word. Thanks for the information!

I have read and used the word meaning to wrap. I am knitting a hap right now, it's to be given to a new mom to wrap her baby. The one Iam knitting is of Scottish design.

My grandmother worked on a quilt with the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW in the about 1858 -- some the ladies called it a hap. The top was a crazy quilt made from ties, the back was flannel and the middle was an old army blanket and it was tied with wool yarn. This was in Washington.

Several dictionary citations:
"happed, hap′ping
to cover, as with extra bedclothes

Read more at http://www.yourdictionary.com/hap#J8ryvOec8yJlpPjs.99

and:

I am from Western Pennsylvania. We always used the term "hap" to refer to very heavy blankets made from scraps of wool. All of the haps that I have seen look like crazy quilts made from wool. They were usually from dark fabrics and they weigh a ton.