Technique: Patchwork

This log cabin patchwork is believed to have been used as a ‘carriage rug’. Carriage rugs were made from thick, warm materials and were draped over the knees and legs whilst travelling in a carriage to help protect against chills and draughts. The many overlapping strips of fabric used to make log cabin patchwork create […]

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This small patchwork coverlet is probably a cot cover and has been made by piecing without paper templates. The design has a frame layout, where concentric borders frame a central panel. Squares, strips and triangles have been used to create several different borders including examples of the patterns ‘tree everlasting’ or ‘flying geese’ and saw […]

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This unfinished patchwork is made using the English paper piecing technique. Diamond shaped papers have been covered with fabric and arranged into a pattern of colourful stars formed by six diamonds within a framework of darker diamonds. The covered paper shapes are joined together by overcast or whip stitching. The design effectively uses high contrast […]

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This beautiful textile is an example of an amli shawl, a technique where small woven pieces are hand sewn together and then further embellished with embroidery. Every step of the making process was labour intensive and required high skill levels meaning that amli shawls were highly prized luxury items. Unlike many other styles of shawl […]

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Patchwork and appliqué cot coverlet made by Nancy Horsfall in 1834. White linen ground with appliqué motifs including stylised leaves or branches, six pointed stars and a four leaf clover like design in the very centre. Around this is a dog tooth or Vandyke border, then a border of pieced patchwork triangles surrounding lozenges arranged […]

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Patchwork and appliqué coverlet made from printed cottons by Nancy Horsfall for her wedding in 1833. The design uses a typical early 19th century frame layout with a central section of finer, smaller scale piecing and appliqué that would have been the most visible part on the flat top of the bed. The edges are […]

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