Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Classic Quilt Blocks: 849 Inspiring Designs
    Classic Quilt Blocks: 849 Inspiring Designs
    Classic Quilt Blocks: 849 Inspiring Designs
    Ebook892 pages36 minutes

    Classic Quilt Blocks: 849 Inspiring Designs

    By Susan Winter Mills

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Inspired by the events and activities of their daily lives, quiltmakers in preindustrial America produced colorful covers in extraordinary numbers. Titles for their handiwork ranged in theme from biblical (Job's Tears, Garden of Eden) and historical (Lincoln's Platform, Underground Railroad) to sociable (Always Friends, Next-door Neighbor). As the nation expanded, many of the same popular designs continued to spring up elsewhere under new names. Birds in the Air, for example, was also known as Flying Birds, Flying Geese, and Flock of Geese, and Pickle Dish was often called Indian Summer or Indian Wedding Ring.
    For this abundantly illustrated index, veteran quilter Susan Winter Mills has collected over 700 of these splendid designs, organizing them according to their most prominent geometric configuration — stars (Caesar's Crown, Blazing Sun), triangles (Blindman's Fancy, Basket of Triangles), circles (Queen's Crown, Rebecca's Fan), squares (Stepping Stones, Stained Glass), and combinations of figures (Clover Blossom, Crazy Ann). The comprehensive volume also includes an appendix with 139 additional quilt patterns, plus useful suggestions for drafting templates for the featured designs. This indispensable reference book will be prized by quilters, quilt collectors, and lovers of American folk art.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateNov 28, 2016
    ISBN9780486817781
    Classic Quilt Blocks: 849 Inspiring Designs

    Related to Classic Quilt Blocks

    Related ebooks

    Crafts & Hobbies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Cathedral Window Block

      May 12, 2022

      The Cathedral Window Block
      5 min read

    • Article

      All Kinds

      Jan 31, 2023

      All Kinds
      2 min read

    • Article

      Inspired By…

      Aug 5, 2021

      Inspired By…
      1 min read

    • Article

      Light And Airy

      Jan 23, 2020

      Light And Airy
      1 min read

    • Article

      Off the Shelf

      May 3, 2023

      Off the Shelf
      2 min read

    • Article

      Off the Shelf

      May 8, 2019

      Off the Shelf
      2 min read

    • Article

      Noughts and Crosses

      Mar 7, 2024

      Noughts and Crosses
      4 min read

    • Article

      Out There

      May 10, 2023

      Out There
      4 min read

    • Article

      Rotations

      Sep 20, 2022

      Rotations
      2 min read

    • Article

      Owl & Hare HOLLOW PART 2

      Apr 5, 2023

      Owl & Hare HOLLOW PART 2
      10 min read

    • Article

      Northern Lights

      Sep 2, 2021

      Northern Lights
      1 min read

    • Article

      Chapel Windows

      Jan 31, 2023

      Chapel Windows
      3 min read

    • Article

      Stars Over Union Hill Pinkeep

      Feb 9, 2022

      Stars Over Union Hill Pinkeep
      1 min read

    • Article

      Owl & Hare HOLLOW PART 1

      Feb 1, 2023

      Welcome to the gorgeous 2023 Block of the Month designed by Natalie Bird. The design features 48, 8in blocks presenting a collection of pieced, appliqué and stitchery blocks —&from sweet little hexagons to Dresden Plates, Coff in Wheel blocks and lot

      8 min read

    • Article

      Dazzling Diamonds

      Feb 14, 2024

      Dazzling Diamonds
      5 min read

    • Article

      Inspired By…

      Sep 30, 2021

      Inspired By…
      1 min read

    • Article

      Treasured

      Sep 6, 2023

      Treasured
      5 min read

    • Article

      Rainbow Rows

      Nov 24, 2021

      Rainbow Rows
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ho, Ho, Ho Santa

      Oct 3, 2019

      Ho, Ho, Ho Santa
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sea Glass Cushion

      Sep 12, 2018

      Sea Glass Cushion
      7 min read

    • Article

      Fat Quarter Slide

      Jan 31, 2023

      Beginner Quilt Size: 71½” x 86½” Block Size: 15” x 15” finished Number of Blocks: 20 • 20 coordinating fat quarters* • ½ yard black tonal* • 1½ yards coordinating cream print* • Backing to size • Batting to size • Thread • Basic sewing tools and supp

      2 min read

    • Article

      Beginner's Guide to SEMINOLE

      Dec 22, 2020

      Beginner's Guide to SEMINOLE
      2 min read

    • Article

      Quilter's Best Friend

      Dec 22, 2022

      Quilter's Best Friend
      1 min read

    • Article

      Evelyn

      Oct 27, 2020

      Evelyn
      5 min read

    • Article

      Flying Scraps

      Jan 4, 2024

      Flying Scraps
      7 min read

    • Article

      Happy Hexies

      Aug 4, 2021

      Happy Hexies
      3 min read

    • Article

      Lemon Sorbet

      Dec 21, 2021

      Confident Beginner Quilt Size: 52” x 67” Block Size: 12” x 12” Number of Blocks: 12 • 11/2 yards white* • 13/4 yards yellow* • 2 yards dark gray* • 1/2 yard light gray* • 41/3 yards backing fabric* • 60” x 77” batting* • Basic sewing tools and suppli

      3 min read

    • Article

      Inspired By…

      Jan 20, 2022

      Inspired By…
      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Classic Quilt Blocks

    5/5

    2 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Excellent source of blocks and names. Great reference book.

    Book preview

    Classic Quilt Blocks - Susan Winter Mills

    CLASSIC

    QUILT BLOCKS

    849 Inspiring Designs

    Susan Winter Mills

    DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

    Mineola, New York

    For my Allie

    Copyright

    Copyright © 1980, 1989 by Susan Winter Mills

    All rights reserved.

    Bibliographical Note

    This Dover edition, first published in 1989 and reissued in 2016, is an enlarged and corrected republication of Illustrated Index to Traditional American Quilt Patterns, first published by Arco Publishing, Inc., New York, in 1980 and reprinted in 1981. The Appendix, Index to Appendix, and Foreword to the Enlarged Edition were prepared specially for the 1989 Dover edition. The 1989 Dover edition was published under the title and subtitle 849 Traditional Patchwork Patterns: A Pictorial Handbook.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Mills, Susan Winter.

    Classic quilt blocks: 849 inspiring designs / by Susan Winter Mills.

    p. cm.

    An enlarged and corrected republication of Illustrated index to traditional American quilt patterns, first published by Arco Publishing, Inc., New York, in 1980—T.p. verso.

    Bibliography: p.

    Includes index.

    ISBN-13: 978-0-486-26003-7

    ISBN-10: 0-486-26003-8

        1. Quilting—United States—Patterns. 2. Patchwork—United States—Patterns. I. Mills, Susan Winter. Illustrated index to traditional American quilt patterns. II. Title.

    Manufactured in the United States

    26003809     2016

    www.doverpublications.com

    Contents

    Foreword to the Enlarged Edition

    Foreword to the Original Edition

    Stars

    Triangles

    Circles

    Combinations

    Squares (Rectangles, Octagons, Hexagons, Diamonds)

    Appendix

    Stars

    Triangles

    Circles

    Combinations

    Squares (Rectangles, Octagons, Hexagons, Diamonds)

    Bibliography

    Index

    Index to Appendix

    Foreword to the Enlarged Edition

    When this book first appeared, I was aware that there were probably many quilt patterns and names that I had not included. Since then, I have continued to research and collect patchwork patterns, and, for this new edition, I have added an Appendix containing 139 new patterns. Some of these are variations of patterns that appeared originally. In these cases, the version appearing in the original edition is considered Variation 1, even though it is not labeled as such, and the new pattern is Variation 2. (For patterns that already had several variations in the original book, the numbering continues where it left off.) A separate index for the Appendix is included.

    Even now, I know that my research is far from complete. The variety of patchwork patterns and their names seems almost infinite and I am sure that there are many more blocks waiting to be discovered.

    Foreword to the Original Edition

    Favorite of the Peruvians, Wind Power of the Osages, Chinese 10,000 Perfections, Pure Symbol of the Right Doctrine, Battle Ax of Thor, Catch Me If You Can, Heart’s Seal, Mound Builders—all names for one quilt pattern; scraps of folk poetry for the pieced-work folk art that, nurtured by necessity, flourished in pre-industrial America.

    Quiltmakers were prodigiously inventive—710 quilt designs are compiled herein. They showed a remarkable sense of design and an intuitive grasp of geometries. As many of the more popular designs spread with the settling of the nation and were repropagated in new soil, they sprang up with new names; the homogenization of language by national media was still far down the road.

    My intention when I began compiling patterns was to piece together a reference tool for my own quiltmaking—something to thumb through, like a catalog, a method more conducive to inspiration than going through many books.

    At first, the name for each pattern was just that—a name. After poring through the sources and finding the same pattern with different names, their profusion and poetry caught my attention. As I go through the pages now, the names delight me as much as the patterns.

    Quilts warmed the Bible Belt: Tents of Armageddon, Job’s Tears, Garden of Eden, Ecclesiastical.

    Some names are memorials to the birth of the nation and history in the making: Burgoyne Surrounded, Underground Railroad, Sherman’s March, Trail of the Covered Wagon, and Free Trade Block.

    More mundane events were part of the naming. We can imagine a quiltmaker coming up with Climbing Rose after a satisfying day in the garden, or an accident in the kitchen resulting in Broken Dishes.

    Individuals were honored in the naming, too: Martha Washington Star, Barbara Frietchie Star, Lincoln’s Platform, and Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.

    Many whimsical names were evoked by the patterns: Duck’s Foot in the Mud, Pickle Dish, Drunkard’s Path, and Wild Goose Chase.

    Sister’s Choice, Granny’s Garden, Aunt Eliza’s Star, Mother’s Fancy Star, and Baby Bunting all reflect the importance of family; Always Friends, Nextdoor Neighbor, and Friendship Chain echo the warmth of companionship.

    To put a practical face on it, collecting as many names as possible is the only sensible way to index patterns that may be known by different names in adjacent counties. In laying out the book, it was necessary to choose one main name for each pattern as they were arranged in sections, with secondary names for the pattern listed below the primary name. All names are included in the index to facilitate a pattern search by the reader. If the name for a quilt pattern is the object of the search, the patterns have been arranged in sections according, more or less, to the most prevalent geometric figure. (Some patterns were difficult to classify—they could easily have fallen as well into one classification as another—so I clenched my teeth and surrendered to pure arbitrariness.) After deciding what shape—triangle, square, circle, star, or combination—is predominant in your quilt, you need only thumb through that section until you recognize the pattern.

    Since quilt patterns depend on the juxtaposition of light and dark fabric to bring out the design, the illustrations in this book are rendered in black and white. A quiltmaker can find a pattern he or she likes, count the shades therein, assign corresponding shades of fabric, and be assured that the quilt he makes will be a faithful rendering of the pattern.

    With many patterns, using different color schemes can cause a subject-field shift or otherwise completely change the aspect of the quilt, making it hard to apprehend how it is put together. Like a blueprint, renderings of patterns in black and white bring up the details relevant to construction.

    The patterns were drafted on a five-to-an-inch grid. Overlaying patterns with tracing paper with the same grid provides a unit measure for the pattern. Dividing the projected dimensions of the quilt by the number of units will indicate the size of individual blocks and pieces of the block.

    Templates can then be cut to the appropriate sizes and used to trace the pieces on fabric. I cut about ¼ inch beyond and stitch on top of the traced line.

    Because of their strong graphic sense, quilt patterns may be adapted for use in many areas of

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1