what batting for correct Civil War look?
 

I have been working on a quilt made entirely of reproduction Civil War fabrics. I am starting to think ahead to the choice of batting. The quilt will be going on a four poster bed that pre-dates the Civil War. I want it to look as correct and authentic as I possibly can. I have spent quite a bit of time on Barbara Brackman's web site, looking for this info, but with no success.

I am assuming that the flatter (non-puffy) batting is the way to go, but what about the level of "crinkle"? Would a quilt made during the Civil War have very little crinkle? Or lots? Is there a modern day batting that someone can suggest that is generally considered more authentic looking for this purpose?

I was originally intending to go with Quilter's Dream Green, for its lack of crinkle (cuz I am not a fan of crinkle), but now it is occurring to me that the correctness of the end result might be wrong.

Any help would be much appreciated!

A LQS that specialized in Civil War Quilting always used Quilter's Dream "Request" Batting, which is their thinnest and did result in a crinkly quilt. But the choice is yours......

I don't know the answer to this, but if you think back to that time period, commercial batting as we know it was not available. Actual cotton from plantations was, so maybe quilters just used raw cotton as a batting. I would personally use something like warm & natural 100% cotton batting. It does crinkle though.

i am doing a repro too. using pic from one of my books on historical american quilts. the particular quilt i am copying is dated 1825-45. i too am researching using brachmans site in fabric prints plus other sites on web with focus on quilts from 1800's. no where do i read about the batt used. i do know that it was not uncommon in southern states to not use any batt at all because of summer heat. i also notice in the pics on line and in my books that crinkle isn't there. i don't know if it's because the quilts had never been washed or used, tho some are noted to appear in new condition w/o wear or fading. but i would assume that carded wool was the batt of preference when used. i am also copying the quilting motif used on original quilt and others up thru civil war. very simple, some w simple feathers, most tho seemed to use outline quilting with a pumkin seed style motif in setting blocks. i'm making my blocks 7" ..reduced from the size given for quilt i am making, which appear to be 12". it too was for a four poster bed. style unique to eastern quilts. they also usually only did knife edge finish, which makes me happy because i like it better than binding. i had also considered a wrap around binding using the backing which was a common way of finishing quilts in pennsylvania in 1800's. i like and have used that style of finish, and it rally looks nice. but, like you, i'm trying to stay true to the style of quilt i am copying ..so knife edge it will be :)

Oh wow...I had not even given a thought yet to finishing the edges! I will have to look up what a knife edge binding is!

Roguequilter...are you saying that you have pictures of quilts from that era that do NOT appear crinkly? I have read that they used whatever they had on hand for batting...old blankets, wool cardings, etc. That, plus however "shrinky" their fabric was, would affect the end "crinklyness". I am beginning to think there are too many variables here to be able to say what is "correctly authentic"...hmmmm.

wow!! thank you for posting this question! my next quilt project is for some "period" quilts. I want to try one or two early 1800's-ish. I am not trying to be perfectly time period, but just general.

I am going to have to check up on the knife edge binding.

as far as batting I was leaning towards Hobb's 80/20 because I have seen that cause some "crinkling" on quilts.

I read that the Hobbs 80/20 shrunk just a little and that batting shrinkage is what caused the "crinkle". But I would have to agree that back in the day the batting was whatever they had on hand or could easily get their hands on to use for the batting

I will be watching this post... hope to learn more before I start my projects in the next couple of weeks :)

It's possible that the quilts from that era weren't as crinkly because they were never washed. In that time period washing was done by hand, probably on a washboard. It would be really hard to wash a quilt that way. I've been told that they used to bring the sheet up over the blankets and pinned it so that it kept the blankets from getting dirty. The sheets were easier to wash.

I agree Jane, I used "Request " on my Dear Jane, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, and my Loyal Union Sampler quilts and they all hung really nicely - they are all large quilts and I was very pleased with the results.

If it were me, I'd use the Quilter's Dream Select cotton batting, which is a little thicker than the Request. When I used the Request it was so thin it tended to tear when I repositioned it in the sandwich while machine quilting.

When thinking about how quilts were made back then, they were pieced together with scraps and using new fabric for a quilt was blasphemy. There wasn't commercial batting as mentioned before, so they used whatever they could come up with: old blankets and quilts that were too full of holes to serve their purpose, left over flannel from baby diapers and probably worn wool coats that were pieced together. Not sure what information you will find here but this is the link for the International Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska. It might help you. http://www.quiltstudy.org/ here are some other interesting sites: http://worldquilts.quiltstudy.org/am...ement/sanitary http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/civilwar.htm http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/civil_war/

My first thought is cotton because that's what they used back then.

some quilts were made with new fabric.

Need to rethink my answer. I'm sure some were filled with all kinds of odd things. But I still think cotton would be a good look for it.

We used to buy and sell antique quilts and almost all of them had cotton batting. Once or twice there would be a wool blanket inside, but it made for a very stiff, heavy quilt. I would go with the thinnest cotton batting, I have no opinion on the crinkle factor.

Are you going to hand quilt it?

Interesting question and answers. I know nothing about period quilts, but could one layer of pre-washed flannel be used for batting??? I did try to google knife edge quilt finishes and nothing came up. :(

true. especially in the new england states. scrap quilts were made as people started moving west into the interior of the country. few drygoods stores & any income was needed to feed children & livestock ..not wasted on fabric. clothing fabric was recycled into more clothing or household needs such as blankets or scrap quilts. not to say that midwestern people never used newly pirchased fabric, just that there just weren't that many who could afford to do so.

Also, because most men had beards, a strip was sometimes basted on the top edge of the quilt to protect the fabrics.

i have found baby quilts at flea mkts that when peaking thru tears i found older baby quilts from late 1800's. i have a carriage quilt found at farm auction that had layers of old heavy cotton blankets for batt. heavy quilt made of mens wool suits. i found on my husbands family farm a pad on tractor seat. i saw a spot of read thru a torn seam. i grabbed it ..grinned at the hubs, said "this is mine! went up to house to open it up. beautiful quilt. his 90 yo grandfather recognized some of "mama's" dresses, the pinstripe from his fathers' bar tender shirts (think opening credits to "Cheers") ..he sai mama & the other women were "always sewing & making things. the batt in that quilt is cotton ..looks like carded cotton.

they weren't laundered the way we do now. when living in southeaster PA, Bucks county in late 80's it was common to be driving into town & see quilts hanging out of windows being "aired".

they used whatever was available yes, but in eastern regions quilting was more of a artistic endeavor, not the midwestern or appalation quilts born of necessity. cotton in south where it was grown, wool in northeast where more sheep. as stated in other comments here, crinkle depends on type of batting. i personally find the current fascination w the crinkle thing quite humorous. have never seen or read comments re: it until recent years. probably a thing dreamed up in magazine articles duscussing the "charm" of "colonial" quilts :)

there is a thread on here from few weeks ago that we discussed knife edge finishing. if i can find it i'll pm you the link. but one thing i have learned in my reading is that quilts were finished in ways unique to geographic region.

i.e. ..four poster beds were new england states primarily. haven't found discussion re: finishing, but in my books of quilt history in america, all the four poster quilts were knife edge finish & minimal quilting in the pieced quilts, more quilting covered surface of applique quilts.

in pennsylvania edges of quilts were made with wrap around finish. bring edge of quilt towards front of quilt.

i have done extensive reading re: quilting history in the last thirty years. always a history buff, when i learned to quilt, i found a whole new to me fabulous world textiles to research. i am not a quilt historian expert like cuesta benberry, barbara brachman etc ...but i do know a lot :) and still learning more. hang out at brachmans cw site ..there's a wealth of historical info there re: quilts of 1800's, lifestyles ..plus free patterns for her various series quilts. i love all of her websites.

Here's a link to an article and instructions for a knife edge binding on "The Spruce" website:

https://www.thespruce.com/sew-knife-...inding-2821319

Oooo...lots of good information popping up here!

ptquilts...nope, definitely not going to hand quilt! I have a stitch on my machine that, when correctly manipulated and used with invisible thread on top, is supposed to look like a hand-done quilt stitch...complete with "spaces" in between. Still need to experiment, but it is my current plan to use that. However, at the rate that I am working on this (very, very, slowly), I suspect that Sashiko machines will be available more in my price range, and may go with that instead!

roguequilter...thanks for the IM and the additional ideas on places to look!

I think I am going to compromise and find a happy medium just beyond my preference for non-crinkle...let's call it moderate crinkle! And definitely a knife edge...I like the look and have plenty of time to practice.

It is interesting that four posters are more of a north east thing. I did not know that. This bed was purchased used by my great great grandparents when they bought a house in Provincetown, Massachusetts. They bought several pieces of used furniture at this time, as they had been living with relatives for the first years of their marriage, and needed items for their house. I have the bill of sale to their house (which is now a bed and breakfast), and it is dated exactly one month before President Lincoln was assassinated. All of their 7 children were born in it, and several died in it as well. And in all the time between then and now it has never had a properly fitted quilt!

I cannot speak from actual knowledge -- just that I have a very old quilt from as much as 100+ years ago -- I really don't know how old it is. The batting in the quilt is cotton, but bears no resemblance to the battings of today. Also, the quilt is not densely quilted, and the batting is very thick. The shrinkage for the quilt batting must be a tremendous amount (back in those days) because it's easily 4-6" of quilt top and flannel-type backing extending beyond the batting. The batting is easily 2" thick (I cringe when I think about quilting something that thick). I haven't separated the top and backing to look at the batting to see what it is, except it is cotton. But, now this quilt came from my husband's family, who lived in Northwest Oklahoma -- and it really does get bitterly cold there. Below zero cold is common there in the winter. Another thing, this quilt is a small quilt -- would barely cover the top of a full size bed, but it weighs a ton! I do remember using those very rough, thin Army Blankets as batting for quilts when we were kids -- Today, I don't think I'd want to do that, if I had a choice!

my thought too.......things were not washed as frequently as they are today......think about all those gowns of silks, lace, trimmings....aired out and stored with little packets of dried lavender or the like...not to mention the wool men's suits were made of...no dry cleaners available then!

Request batting is recommended for hand quilting because of its thinness....

Also, some historical quilts are divided into three sections at the foot of the bed allowing for the two posts there...left side drop, bed width, right side drop.

regarding "crinkling"...... I think just another currently created term, brought on by the fact of "washing after completing", just as now using printed fabrics for backs, instead of muslin. For those history buffs....other than utility quilts, where anything available might have been used, what was the usual backing of a "good" quilt?

What is a knife edge binding?

Yes, indeed...when I set out to do this quilt I thought I was pretty smart coming up with a way to make a quilt lay flat around the posts at the foot of the bed. Basically a big square notch at each corner. I was pretty full of myself, until I saw an actual vintage quilt designed for a four poster...with big square notches at the bottom corners.

I have designed a slightly more ornate bottom flap (the part that drops towards the floor at the foot of the bed, between the two foot posts) that has an applique of a simplified version of the house, and the date the house was purchased embroidered in a vintage script. I think the bottom flap will see less wear and tear, so might be a better place for extra effort and delicate work.

I have a Barbara Brackman book about fabrics and quilts from 1770 to 1890, and checking the index I found only one small paragraph about batting. In this part of the book she was addressing what a current quilter could use for an authentic look, and she said, "For a reproduction look, choose a flatter batting with some cotton content."

Rose_P.......A HA! That is exactly what I needed! Well, sort of...not sure what "some cotton content" means...maybe an 80/20 blend, like Hobbs? That would be just about right in my mind...a bit of crinkle, but not too much. I think I will pick up some small packages of different types in a blend, and do some experimenting. At least I have something to start with now.

My thanks to everyone!

My mother still has her gifted wedding gift quilt her grandmother gave her in 1945. They used actual cotton that they grew on their land. Cotton fabrics was from many possibilities but all in all, it is somewhat crinkled. The pattern is the double wedding ring with many different prints.

But this is what gives it the "old" look, the crinkle in the fabrics, which would definitely pertain to Civil War Error.

From what I've been told and seen, quilts were rarely washed. Their primary purpose was warmth. They put them between the sheet and the counterpane, coverlet or bedspread, so they didn't get dirty, quickly.

My elderly friend told me her grandmother hated to wash quilts, as they weren't as pretty afterwards. Apparently, her grandmother was an excellent quilter. She said if someone came to visit and offered to help quilt, she would refuse the offer if she could. If they were insistent, she would remove that quilting after the person left.

bkay

I would use Warm and Natural cotton batting. It will give an authentic look.

Do you have a copy of Heirloom Machine Quilting by Harriet Hargrave? I took a class with her last month. She talked about how she uses invisible nylon thread on the top of the quilt (YLI .004) which provides the texture and doesn't leave a jarring line like a colored cotton thread would - it gives a sense of the hand quilting, though does not look like hand quilting.

She also talked a lot about batting choices in class - but I can't remember off hand which is her favorite batting for reproduction quilts. Personally, I would not use the Quilter's Dream Green - I have some and have played around with it, it will not hold shape and stretches very easily. It is nice and hot. On the other side, I wouldn't use Warm and Natural for this project either - it is great for craft items that you want to be fairly stiff - but does not have a nice drape. A cotton/wool blend might be nice.