How To Be Quilted Bedcovers

Life before the cotton gin was very strange, unpredictable, and production of cotton was very sluggish. In the 1800s, before the cotton gin, slaves had to pick seeds out of the cotton fiber by hand. Production was so slow southerners began to give slaves breaks until the cotton gin was invented. (Cotton). “The seeds could only be removed by hand, which proved slow and inefficient, Whitney once remarked to a friend that he had never met anyone able to clean more than one pound a day.” (Elizabeth). During this time the only way was by hand, it took slaves days just to get a pound or two.

A long time ago, buckskin and buffalo skins were what the women mostly used for making everyone's clothing. The hard-working women of the Sioux made skirts out of one piece of cloth sewn together at one side and looped over a belt. Their

During the time of the Civil War, there were slaves working on farmers, these slaves were not compensated for their labor and services and were producing cotton for a little to nothing cost. Since the Civil War, America has produced an immense amount of cotton and would export it to different parts of the world. America has also had enough workers to meet the exact supply and demand, which follows the demand policy. Correspondingly, the manifest destiny caused for cotton growers further west. Due to the cotton growers going further out west, cotton became easier to grow and easier to protect. These technological advancements simplified the process by which people were able to grow cotton and export it to China for the workers to create these shirts. There are now many subsidiary industries to cotton; industries are always producing new clothes every day. Due to this

Guatemala is home to a centuries-old weaving tradition through which indigenous women assert a sense of “belongingness” to family and community. The women and their families are descendants of the ancient Maya Indians, and the tools of their trade are cotton yarn, the backstrap loom, and time-proven patterns and techniques. Each village and region is identifiable for its own weaving design and colors. Techniques and designs are passed from mother to daughter and traditional clothes are still preferred by most. Some believe that the different patterns existed before the Spaniards arrived. Others believe they were brought from Europe. It is known that the conquistadors used the clothing to label people and control the populations. The traditional technique was to wrap the threads on a warping board, and then mount them on back-strap loom where a panel was woven. Panels were decorated with brocade designs depending on the textile tradition of the weaver’s community as well as her personal taste and skills. Finally, the woven panels were sewn together to make a garment (Guatemalan Culture).

In the poem “The Century Quilt” by Marilyn Nelson Waniek the “Century Quilt” is a nostalgic necessity of the narrator. The upbringing of nostalgia throughout the poem is the telling of an Odyssey, a journey home though not physical but emotional. Through the constant use of pragmatic imagery that is erupting with allusions to the past and the unusual use of form that gives the poem a platform to project itself Waniek is able to produce a stunning display of emotion and nostalgia that displays the complex meanings of the quilt and the vital importance of it to the narrator.

Quilting can also be used for expression of oneself or for social commentary. Back in the 1800’s when there were many wars women would usually make quilts because they were what was needed in those times and the fabric was often hard to come by and it was usually saved for clothes making.” It was a means to escape from the isolation of their lifestyle and it allowed them the artistic freedom to express themselves. The quilts produced by our ancestors told stories about their lifestyles that could not be captured by pen and paper. Every quilt we see today, regardless of when the quilt was made, relates a story. The types of fabrics, the design of the quilt, the signature of the quilter, all reveal an intimate story of the woman or man who made the quilt.” (Meeske,Quilt Me a Story) They used quilting to get out of the bleakness and horrible things that were going on in their lives at the moment and put how they felt in the quilts. Around the mid-1800’s women quilted a lot more to show artistic talent, political views, and even their emotions. “Prior to a woman’s ability to vote, some women used their artistic talents and expressed their political views through a quilt. The issue of slavery in the United States in the mid-1800s led to quilt patterns called Slave Chain

In Biddeford Maine during the Civil War there were mills and in the mills there was a textile company and they made cloth. There were some abolitionists that worked in the textile companies and they used the cotton to make clothing

As a result America started to produce three quarters of the world’s supply of cotton, allowing for big businesses to mass produce cloth. Cotton soon became “king” exceeding the value of all other products in America combined.

The South’s first experience with exporting wasn’t a good one, in fact it was horrible. One bale of cotton was sent to England and that one bale of cotton rotted on its way across the Atlantic. At that time all of America’s cotton was grown on a total of two hundred acres on the Sea Islands just off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, however this was just the beginning. The only downside of growing cotton was the intense labor it demanded. The most tedious work with the cotton was the picking out of seeds, eventually Eli Whitney’s cotton gin would make this a much faster process and lowering the price of cotton as well. The cotton industry took off after the invention of the cotton gin, there was a much higher demand for cotton especially in

In the South, cotton for cloth was difficult to produce because of the pain and difficulty of having to separate the plant’s seeds from the fibers. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which made the job of producing cotton much more easier. As a result of the invention of the cotton gin, the demand for cotton went up. “Because cotton could be processed more easily, Southern planters wanted to grow more” (Page 423, Chapter 9, “Discovering Our Past: The American Journey” by Glencoe.). Since cotton could be produced more easily, it became the South’s key crop.

The ranking women in the Tonga society would make something called barkcloth. Barkcloth is a soft, thick and textured fabric that is made by the bark of a Mulberry tree.

Waniek describes the quilt in great detail, describing the memories show it’s history, which tells the reader it has been around for awhile. When Waniek does start to describe the quilt’s physical appearance, she leads into talking about the owners of the quilt, noting what color they are. The color of the people goes much deeper than we think, in fact it holds both a connotation and denotation. Waniek uses those elements to further explain the complex meanings of the quilt.

Navajo rugs and weavings have gone through an evolution, the earlier weavings were influenced by legends and represented meaningful events in their lives. The contemporary weavings are more about designs, and demands for the Navajo rug. By taking a look at specific historical events between 1700 and 1900, the reader can discover how this evolution unfolded. Throughout history, the rugs maintained their artistic value, however the intent for their creation was quite different. (meaningful events and legends vs. a growing rug market) These rugs are a very priceless work of art, that have many meanings and an extraordinary amount of time put into them.

The Flower cloth is intriguingly designed by hand. Hmong women were responsible for sewing the cloth and the beautiful embroideries. Several Hmong women use a rare method of reverse appliqué, "designs made by sewing on a patch to the underside of a fabric and then cutting away and turning under the edge of the top fabric" (Fadiman ). The design is extremely difficult and takes years to acquire this skill. Hmong dresses are elaborated with trimmings, coins, and a variety of colorful yarns. The dresses were highly decorative and added bulk to the man or woman wearing the dress. However, the Rooster hat is a modernized tradition when the Hmong people came to the United States. The base of the hat was normally purchased and decorated with the coins and trimmings.

To make a quilt you will need many different supplies. If you know you are one of those people who have problems when you are trying something new or when you sew, you should have an unpicker ready for use. You will clearly need a sewing machine so making the quilt doesn’t take too long to make. Other things you will need are scissors, so you can cut your fabric and fleece, and pins so your fabric doesn’t move into the wrong spot when you are sewing. The last material you will need is the fabric, of course, because without the fabric there is no quilt.