FAQs

Your Cart

Close
Paper Plane Your order qualifies for free standard delivery
Subtotal £0.00
Delivery £0.00
Order Total £0
Checkout Securely

“Beautiful things come together, one stitch at a time”

5th May 2017

‘Our last blog was all about the lovely quilt our friend quilted for us recently, which got us thinking about the history of quilting- we love looking  back at the crafts William Morris produced and the processes behind the crafts to hone them and so we wanted to look at the history of quilting in this blog!

As an art, quilting can actually be traced back until at least the Middle Ages- in the Victoria & Albert in London you’re able to see examples from around the world; Europe, India and the Far East, but quilting has also been a popular activity in Persia, Turkestan and Moslem Africa, according to the V&A website regarding their exhibitions.

The word ‘quilt’ is Middle English, coming from Old French ‘cult’ which is from the Latin ‘culcita’ meaning ‘mattress, cushion.’

Today, quilting usually means two layers of fabric which sandwich a padding or lining. In 18th century English quilting however, only the two outer layers are used with no filling and in Italian quilting, the raised pattern is created through strands of cord or thick wool threading between parallel lines of stitching.

Before the 18th Century, there’s little known about patchwork and quilting as few examples have survived. From 1718, one of the earliest dated patchworks remains well known as the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet which was made using paper templates and expensive silks- used for decades before they were eventually used to be turned into the coverlet. Patchwork was a popular pursuit of ladies at the time for a leisure activity but quilting was considered a professional skill.

Towards the end of the 18th Century and the early 19th Century, technology had advanced and the textile manufacture developments meant printed cotton fabrics increased in popularity. For those in higher society who could afford the luxury, expensive printed cottons were made into a mosaic patchwork which also required paper for the template- which was also expensive. This meant less complicated patterns were used by those without as much money.

Today, quilts are such a lovely past time- we’ve become addicted to looking through quilting tips and tricks on Pinterest with photos of beautiful quilts. Have you ever made a quilt with our fabric? We’d love to see, please email us photos to: laurasbeaufabric@gmail.com

Happy Quilting!

Related Articles

Post Title

William Morris Eyebright

We've always been drawn to William Morris Eyebright design since it's so versatile and timeless. One thing we love about Morris designs (additional to the...

Post Title

The Crescent, Buxton

  The Crescent in Buxton was built in 1780 to provide accommodation for the rapidly increasing number of visitors who were arriving in Buxton to...

Post Title

A Walk Down Cold Bath Road (4)

  Cold Bath Road is an interesting locality.  There is a variety of independent retailers which creates a  vibrant atmosphere and a very pleasant walk...

🌷 William Morris Month Day 26 🌷 Absolutely loving a spring time floral on the table right now, especially when paired with an Easter craft or two! 🤍
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morris #fabric #fabriccraft #fabrics #crafting #independantbusiness #indiebusiness #preraphaelite
🌿 William Morris Month Day 25 🌿 Florals on florals on florals; all of the William Morris florals just look so beautiful together and, as Morris said himself, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morrisdesign #quoteoftheday #florals #modernflorals #teatowels #preraphaelitebrotherhood #preraphaelites
🐥 William Morris Month Day 23 🐥 Loving the sunshine this week for springtime 🌿 We absolutely love Willow Bough on the table in the sunshine paired with spring blooms 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #willowbough #easter #eastertables
🌷 William Morris Month Day 22🌷 A themed table is always our favourite, we’ve been loving setting the table lately with an Easter theme- especially when it means we can eat the eggs after! 🐣✨ 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #eastertables #eastereggs #eastertablescape #springflorals
🌿 William Morris Day 20 🌿 William Morris fact of the day; did you know he founded the Kelmscott Press? 🖋️ He wrote of the venture – “Here is a new craft to conquer and to perfect.” Printing began at the press in Spring 1891 🪴 He designed multiple fonts including “Golden” Roman typeface and “Troy” Gothic type along with “Chaucer” and he worked to create beautiful books in regards to their designs which took into account their type, image and decorative elements – you can see beautiful examples of what he achieved today if you do a quick search on the Kelmscott Press- it’s well worth a Google! 🌷
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #kelmscottpress #morris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #victorian #victorianart #victorians
🌷 William Morris Month Day 19🌷 Happy first day of spring everyone! 🪴 We celebrated in our favourite way; coffee and cake of course! 🍰 Now we love florals all year round of course, but especially love adding in even more this time of year to reflect the blooms in the garden 🌷 What’s your favourite Morris design this time of year? 🌿
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrismonth #spring #spring2024 #preraphaelite #florals #floralfabric #springflorals #springflowers
📝 William Morris Month Day 18 📝 Did you know that as well as being an incredible designer, William Morris was also a brilliant writer and poet; have you read any of his writing? What’s your favourite quote? 🌷🌿
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #strawberrythief #quotesaboutlife #quotestoliveby #quotes
☀️ William Morris Month Day 17 ☀️ The sunshine today has made us feel so excited for spring, it’s almost officially here! 🪴 This William Morris bunting is the dreamiest backdrop to all the spring summer days in the garden, it’s by @ellejoycreations - isn’t it fabulous!🌷
•
•
•
#spring #williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabricstash #smallbusinessuk #printedintheuk #etsyshop
🐰 William Morris Month Day 16 🐰 A Sunday spent Easter decorating, these cute little bunnies were a craft a few years back and they are always a firm favourite to bring out this time of year to hang on our Easter tree 🐥 Have you started decorating or eating eggs yet? 🐣
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisprint #easter #easterdecor #eastercrafts #eastercrafting #fabriccraft #greatfabricdestashuk
🍓 William Morris Month Day 15 🍓 Absolutely can’t wait for the summer months to get our Strawberry Thief picnic basket and blanket back out- if you missed this craft we have a DIY on our website blog, along with a lot of other craft ideas and how-to blogs ☺️
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #picnicbasket #craftideas #craftidea #fabriccraft #fabricstore #fabricshoppingonline #fabricstash
🍓 William Morris Month Day 14 🍓 Strawberry Thief was inspired by William Morris’s watching the thrushes under the strawberry nets at the stunning @kelmscottmanor 🌿 May Morris conjured up this scene when speaking of the design, “You can imagine my Father going out in the early morning and watching the rascally thrushes at work on the fruit beds and telling the fanned who growls ‘I’d like to wring their necks!’ that no bird in the garden must be touched. There were certainly more birds than strawberries in spite of attempts at protection. And the walls of the little dining-room are hung with this note of the June garden and the little lords of it.” 🍓 What a lovely insight into the Morris family life! 🥰
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #strawberrythief #floraldesign #maymorris
✨ William Morris Month Day 11 ✨ A spotlight on Willow Bough today! 🌿 This beautiful botanical design was first designed in 1887, isn’t it so timeless! It actually was the design his daughter May Morris used to decorate her bedroom before it was adapted for wallpaper in 1895 when it was block printed in Merton Abbey 🇬🇧
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #victoriandesign #preraphaelite #uksmallbusinesses #willowbough #botanical #botanicalprint #botanicaldesign
⭐️ William Morris Month Day 10 ⭐️ Florals on florals (on florals) are our favourite 🤣 Which of these William Morris design tea towels is your favourite? 💕
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #teatowelsofinstagram #floralteatowel #preraphaelite
💫 William Morris Month Day 8 💫 a relaxed weekend featuring floral filled tables are on the agenda this weekend 🥰🍰
•
•
•
#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #morrisdesign #floraltable #floraltablescape