Quilt Block History

Triangle Combination

Quilt blocks come in many varied designs, but sometimes identifying them can prove difficult as a single block may go by several different names.

One of the delights of patchwork and quilting is the wonderful array of block possibilities.

Tracing the individual history of any one block can be a problem, if not impossible. Shared across numerous countries and cultures, one block may have many names for instance, the Stairway to Heaven block has also been known as Sunshine and Shadow, Grandma’s Dream and Postage Stamp. Equally, one name may be shared by many blocks, in fact Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns lists over a dozen Rising Sun block designs, a flurry of Snowballs, Baskets galore, multitudes of Stars and plenty more.

Many blocks are cut and pieced in the same manner, however the selection and placement of fabrics see them with various names, which explains the confusion identifying many popular blocks. The arrangement of the fabrics, the number of different fabrics used, and the way they are cut and pieced can all change what the block is called. The examples in diagram 1 are of a simple block described in Barbara Brackman’s book.

The colonial revival in the United States in the early 20th century fuelled interest in quiltmaking and led to the publication of quilt designs. In the 1920s, Carrie Hall returned to the quilting she had learned as a child half a century before, setting herself the challenge of making a block in every design she had collected. She didn’t succeed, but her astonishing legacy of 884 blocks is now in a Kansas museum.

Her inspiration could have come not only from quilts she may have seen, but also from the quilt blocks published in magazines and newspapers across America in her lifetime, including such papers as the Kansas City Star. Block patterns were cheerfully renamed to appeal to readers – an elegant title such as Lady of the Lake was more likely to be published than a less-appealing name like Pigpen.

Independent designers were also making their mark – there was Ruby Short McKim for instance with her innovative pieced blocks inspired by the Art Deco movement. Some of these influences filtered through to Australia, where English-style patchwork had been far more influential, particularly paper-pieced hexagons and in Victorian times, crazy patchwork.