I've seen any number of quilts from the late 1800s that have been machine quilted, the sewing machine opened up a lot of ways to make better use of their time on utility quilts

I think a lot of it has to do with how much actual quilting goes into the quilt. The dense, free motion quilting that seems to be popular these days can make a quilt feel quite stiff instead of soft. I made a quilt for a kid's organization once & they requested very dense quilting because the quilts would be washed so much. After I finished quilting it I found it to be so very, very different from my usual quilts. It was almost like you couldn't even feel the fabric & all you felt was the quilting.

I feel that a real tight quilting design makes the quilts a little more stiff. My grandma always put old blankets in the middle for the batting and that may be a difference too. I agree with you the old vintage quilts that my grandma made was so soft and fun to wrap up in.

Quilts today are 'quilted to death'. To avoid this I choose a large over all pattern. If you long armer has a Statler Stitcher and is computerized, the motif you choose can be enlarged creating a softer drape to your quilt.

I "sew" agree with you. I do not like anything "over-quilted". Some quilts shown here are so heavily quilted that I cannot see the fabric in the quilt. I sometimes think that "if even you can do it, why? I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I love, love, love the few old family quilts I own. We don't really need, INMHOP, to quilt so heavily. We don't get things as dirty as perhaps folks did years ago, and our laundry facilities are so much better now, that we don't need to wash them to death. Further, I don't think we treat our quilts as roughly as they did years ago when we lacked such nice washing machines.

The fabric used has an awful lot to do with the softness of the final product. When I buy fabric, I always try to to buy a fabric with a very soft “hand” to it. It really makes a difference. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or least expensive. Just go into the store and FEEL everything. Let your fingers pick the softness of your fabric. If it feels good on your cheek, it will not be scratchy or feel tight when completed. Also I tend to large meander all over the quilt. Tight quilting tends to tighten up a quilt. When I hand quilt I do a large stitch and not too much. Really makes for soft, cuddly almost worn feeling quilts. Love them. Just the way I do it, take it with a grain of salt, just sayin. Sometimes I use used vintage sheets for the backing, as long as they are not stressed or thread bare. They are super soft. They hold up really well.

My quilt shop did that for my last quilt. I was very happy with what she did. My quilt is not going to be laundered that much, and I wanted a softer drape.

bkay

Most of the vintage quilts I have are very heavy. The cotton batting is the real stuff and it gets lumpy but so soft. Hand quilting had to be close to keep the batting from lumping together in one spot. Most vintage quilts were made a cheap as possible. These quilters wouldn't splurge on batting for bed quilts. In the south left over cotton from the gin was used. I know my grandmother got it from the local cotton gin. She had to bring her own tow sack. I don't remember much but she would spread it out on the quilt back in the big frame. Since it was flat when being quilted it stayed in place.

I do think quilts tend to be overquilted these days, a decorative rather than a practical task.

I found that once I switched from W&N to Quilters Dream, my quilts got a lot softer and have a lovely drape.