The book opens with a brief history of Welsh quilting, followed by a gallery of inspirational heritage quilts chosen from both public [museum] and private collections, dating from early 19th to mid 20th century.
Many Welsh quilts feature simple shapes and a bold use of fabric, with elaborate quilting designs, making them strikingly similar to Amish quilts. Some experts now believe that the Amish drew inspiration from the quilts of early Welsh settlers who were their neighbours in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. Certainly, many of these Welsh quilts pre-date the Amish ones.
There are ten ‘sumptuous’ projects inspired by antique quilts, with full step-by-step instructions, and including detailed quilting plans, so that you can make your own Welsh quilts following the traditional designs and patterns. In-depth information is also given on selecting the right fabrics and colours to achieve the antique look. The first 5 projects were made by Mary using traditional hand-piecing and quilting techniques, and templates are provided. The remaining 5 projects were made by Clare using modern rotary-cutting and machine-piecing techniques, which are also explained. Of course, for those with experience, the hand projects could easily be rotary-cut and machine pieced if liked, and vice versa.
The projects may be quilted either by hand or machine and a detailed quilting plan is provided for each. Clare’s designs were based as closely as possible on those used by the makers of the original quilts, while Mary used the library of quilting patterns at the end of the book to develop her own individual designs as she worked, in the true Welsh manner.
This library of Welsh quilting patterns is a unique feature of the book, showing how the most popular motifs were used to make designs for central medallions and borders, and giving instructions on how to draft them for yourself. The authors hope this will encourage today’s quilters to develop their own designs and take the craft on into the 21st century, to be enjoyed by future generations.
Finally, there is a list of books for further reading and a list of places to visit, mostly museums, to see Welsh quilts. These lists have been expanded in a separate section of this site and will be updated regularly.
Buy the Book
You can buy the book from the publishers, David And Charles.
Click here to buy the book from the web site, or
Click here to go directly to the web site.