selm

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

glassbird

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!

Jeanette Frantz

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!

Geri B

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....

Geri B

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?

tildiemae

What is a knife edge binding?

glassbird

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.

Rose_P

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."

glassbird

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!

vschieve

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.