Lessons from an Old Hawaiian Quilt
Click on the image to watch the video or click here.
Hawaiian Quilts
I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Hawaiian quilts prior to making this video and writing this blog post. Reading about these quilts and their history has been so rewarding. All of these old quilts teach me so much, and this one is no exception.
According to the article The Unique Hawaiian Quilts: Here Is Their Fascinating Past, there are a few theories as how these traditionally two-color quilts came to be. One is that there were inspired by paper snowflakes and the other is that a shadow from a breadfruit tree inspired the designs.
There are a few characteristics present in a Hawaiian quilt pattern such as the design being inspired by nature, the quilt block having a symmetrical pattern that can be divided into eighths, one-piece appliqué design, and echoed quilting.
Isn’t this amazing? Wow, wow, wow!
Details About This Quilt
Size: Approx. 90” x 90”
Age: I think it was made in the 1940s or 1950s. There is a gingham border and since ginghams were popular during the 1940s and have continued to be popular since then. This one is tricky to figure out!
Acquired: I purchased this quilt at an auction, and paid a bit more than I usually do. After a bit of a bidding war, I won and paid $110.00 for this one. So worth it, isn’t it?
Quilt History: This is one of those rare occasions that I was able to chat with the family and found out more about the maker. Although I have a lot of information about the maker, I want to protect the family’s privacy, too. Because of this, I am only including a few details here. Please know I will be labeling this quilt with all the information about it, however, to allow her legacy to live on.
Her name was Mildred, but everyone called her Sis.
Born in the late 1920s.
Married for 80 years and had five children, 12 grand children, many great grandchildren, and even a few great, great grandchildren before she passed away a few years ago.
Avid quilter all of her life; Her family have fond memories of her quilting; was always working on something
Her family says she. made hundreds of quilts in her lifetime.
In case you are wondering, yes, I did try to talk the family into keeping the quilts. Her nephew says they kept many that she made. He is happy they are going to a good home (I bought a few at this auction—more of her quilts to come!).
Blocks Size: approx. 18” x 18”
Number of Blocks: 16 Blocks
Borders: 7.5” wide with 28 fleur de lis appliqués on the borders and 4 corner fleur de lis appliqués
Construction Technique: Machine-pieced and hand-quilted
Fabric: All cotton; two color quilt : pink and white/light pink—hard to tell if it was originally light pink or if the pink fabric bled; pink and white gingham binding.
Batting: cotton
Binding: Binding is a separate piece for fabric (not pulled from the backing); It is a pink gingham fabric and was attached to the frot by machine and hand stitched on the back
Condition: There are a few stains on this quilt, but it is in great condition overall. The pink fabric may have bleed some as the white background does have some hints of pink on it. There aren’t any holes, tears, or rips. It is super clean. I believe it was washed before going to auction.
Other Notes About This Quilt: The hand quilting is amazing! There are perfect circles quilted in the appliqués and shadow quilting around each motif. The backing is pieced at the top and patch-worked together.
Blocks
Wow, wow, wow. I just cannot get over how beautifully done this is! The appliqué, the quilting, the colors! All near perfect. There are 16 of these incredible blocks in this quilt and each measure approx. 18” square. There are a few that are a bit smaller, but not many. The average size, however is 18”. The style is a Hawaiian quilt, or what you would associate with a Hawaiian design. I love the circles quilted in the centers of these motifs. The quilting is around each of the appliqués on both sides (inner and outer), making the design pop and giving it a wonderful dimension.
Borders
The borders feature 32 of this fleur de lis design, all hand appliquéd on to a 17.5” wide border. Just like the rest of the quilt, the motif is hand-quilted inside and outside of the motif. Beautifully done!
Batting & Backing
Oh! The backing! Just look at that quilting! It is amazing. The backing fabric is a light pink that compliments the front of the quilt well. The batting is pieced at the top. It appears that the maker didn’t have enough and had piece scraps together to make up the size difference.
The batting is cotton and is in great condition considering the age.
Binding
Oh, the binding! I just love that the maker used a pink gingham as a binding. It give this quilt a whimsical feel and just adds a pop of a something-something to it. For me, it speaks to the maker’s personality, for some reason, as if to tell us not to take things too seriously. I hear you, Sis! Thank you for the reminder.
The binding is a separate piece that was attached by machine to the front and then attached to the back by hand using a whip stitch.
Lessons We Can Learn
Although there are many lessons we can learn as modern-day quilters from this quilt, here are a few I chose. Let me know if you can think of others.
Borders: Adding part of the appliqué design makes the border more dynamic and offers a nod to the overall quilt. Furthermore, adding the corner appliqué at an angle also helps frame the design. Love it!
Quilting Circles: Those circles make the blocks pop! I love this aspect of this quilt! It gives the centers of the motif some dimension while keeping the centers attached. Function and beauty—the perfect combination!
Fun Binding: Using a gingham binding adds a fun touch to this one. In a traditional Hawaiian quilt, you wouldn’t see this. I love that the maker did this. It is fun!
Pieced Backing: To be completely honest, not having enough backing fabric this would have derailed me as a maker. If fact, I KNOW it has derailed me in the past. Oh, what a lesson we can learn! I can just see this maker scrounging for ever last scrap to make that backing work. So smart.
Fabric Bleeding: It is important to test our fabrics before using them. This quilt is a good reminder of that. Although I don’t think it takes away from this quilt at all, it is worth mentioning nonetheless.
Thank you so much for reading about this beautiful old quilt.
Kris