How To Classify Quilts

In the Quilting/Quilters Universe, the myriad kinds of quilts and quilting styles and patterns can be overwhelming to the newbies and novices.  Here are a few definitions of the most common kinds of quilts:

• Crazy Quilts - made from fabric in irregular shapes and patterns sewn together in a random or haphazard way
• Patchwork Quilts - pieces of fabric are sewn together into an assembled design; also referred to as pieced quilts
• Whole Cloth Quilts - made from one large piece of fabric, usually white or cream-colored, with patterns made by quilting stitches, not by pieces of fabric sewn together
• Applique Quilts - smaller pieces of fabric are sewn onto a larger background, by hand or machine
• Traditional Quilts - are quilts made from pieces of fabric sewn together decoratively and quilted to a backing
• Contemporary Quilts - also called art quilts, encompass many forms of the sewing and textile arts and are not necessarily bedcovers

There are several ways to classify a quilt, by style, by pattern, by date or time period in history when created, or by fabric.  The style refers to what method is used to create the quilt, whole cloth or patchwork, for example, while the pattern refers to what pattern is used to decorate the quilt either with pieces of fabric or decorative sewing. The patterns can help to date the quilts, and using a good reference book or guide can help quickly and easily identify what kind or style of quilt it is, what kind of pattern it has, and how old it is or in what time period it was created.

How you classify quilts will depend a lot on what your interest in quilts is. For example, quilt makers, quilt historians, and quilt collectors will all have different kinds of interests in quilts and will therefore be looking for different things in the quilts they see.  A historian may be more interested in the age of the quilt than a quilt maker or quilt collector, who may be more interested in the patterns and qualities of the quilts.  A historian may want to classify by age or date and the collector may want to classify by pattern.  Some targeted research, good reference books, and accurate guides will be needed for accurate classifications.