aQuiltist

I recently purchased a Cathedral Window Quilt. It looks very old, but I have no idea of its age or history. Can anyone point me in the right direction where I may be able to date it? I've searched high and low for info on Cathedral Window but only seem to find instructions on how to make one.

alleyoop1

Sorry, I did a google search and didn't find anything. If your purchased quilt is old you might want to have your local quilt guild look at it or have it appraised. They probably can determine an approximate age by the fabrics used. I am a cathedral quilt lover and have made some small pieces of it. It's very relaxing to sit and hand stitch the blocks.

fabric lover

I would ask Barbara Brackman. She has a great blog and is very kind (I send her a picture once with a question).
http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/

chairjogger

Hand folder and hand stitched will be easy to determine. The fabrics will be the clue as to it's age. and.. it is as old as it's newest piece used.. fabric pieces were different in the 1970's.. not much cotton then.. look for trend fabrics, 1950's 1930's.. how frail is the quilt? serf the Internet for fabrics of specific eras. those that are replications.. Usually they are heavy quilts without batting. good luck !

jkaczor19

I have Lynne Edwards' book on cathedral window quilts. In the intro to the book she talks about the origins of this style of quilt. She says the first documented evidence of the cathedral window design used in a quilt is from the 1933 Chicago World Fair. She says that the design seems to go back several centuries in Korea and China (though not necessarily used for quilts). I agree that Barbara Brackman would be a good source of info.

NikkiLu

I have an unfinished one here that my grandmother started - she died in 1963.

charsuewilson

The date of the fabrics will date the quilt. You should be able to find a book in the library that will help you date the fabrics. Cathedral windows are still being done by hand, so a hand-finished quilt does not help date it.

DOTTYMO

Have you read " a patchwork of freedom" compilation of true stories about se cret quilt code and church . It is complied by Lori Wagner . I'm reading it in short sections at present and finding very interesting about the codes for the blocks but no cathedral window sorry.

aQuiltist

Thanks I'll definitely give a call.

aQuiltist

Sorry Ladies, I'm new to posting on this site and am having trouble responding to individual replies. I appreciate everyone's helpfulness and will let you know what I find out. And I'll also look into working my way around the Quilting Board