Corduroy Quilts
I once received a request for a very warm quilt for the customer to use in a bedroom that wasnt well heated. He wanted it made of something more than cotton fabrics, yet washable.
So I went through my fabric stash and found a number of pieces of corduroy, both scraps and yardage, in various colors as well as prints. Since it also was important to keep cost down, I decided to make it of 7-inch squares. (Im not sure now why I began using 7-inch squares for many of my quilts when I operated a home business , but I found these quilts to be very popular.)
After cutting the squares of corduroy, I placed them on the living room carpet, trying to mix and match so they coordinated. Then I sewed strips and attached them together, with the squares meeting precisely at the corners.
I used a thin polyester batting and a flannel backing. By cutting the backing larger than the pieced top, I could fold it over and make a binding.
Apparently this was just what my customer wanted. I received a note telling me how warm the quilt was.
©2005
(If you have any questions or information to share, e-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com. Type “quilt blog” in the subject line.)
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POSTED IN: General Quilting/Patchwork
4 opinions for Corduroy Quilts
kim
Oct 29, 2007 at 6:51 pm
i have 2 corduroy quilts that i love and it seems like they are pretty hard to find unless you want to pay a fortune for them.
Mary Emma Allen
Oct 31, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I’d never heard of corduroy quilts until I was asked to make something very warm. But that seemed so practical. Thank you, Kim, for visiting Quilting and Patchwork and sharing your quilts.
Aileen
Nov 5, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Corduroy quilts bring to mind the Quilts of Gees Bend. Gees Bend is a small, impovished, isolated community in Alabama that had been part of a plantation. In 1972, a cooperative of women were commissioned to make pillow shams from bolts of corduroy provided by Sears (and Roebuck). They were allowed to keep any corduroy that was left. From these scraps, women made quilts. In 1998, an art collector saw these and other quilts made by Gees Bend quilters as a form of art with their own distinctive style. Some of their quilts made from work clothes and rags as well, date back to 1935 and have been exhibited in several museums throughout the U.S., including Houston, Atlanta, and N.Y. Some of the quilters traveled with their quilts. I had an opportunity to see them at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/ You can see them at this website, also on U.S. postage stamps, and many publications.
I hope you find this informative. Other quilts are at the following website.
http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/06/20050603_b_main.asp
Mary Emma Allen
Nov 5, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I found this information very interesting, Aileen. I’d heard of Gees Bend quilts and quilters, but didn’t realize they’d started with corduroy. I shall have to learn more and mention it in a blog post. Thank you.
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