Antique Double Irish Chain Quilt - c 1890s - Goose Tracks Four-Sided Border - 62” x 72”

This is a beautiful late 19th-century Double Irish Chain quilt featuring crisp red calico against a bright white ground and a wonderful four-sided Goose Tracks border. The piecing is finely executed with small (1.5-inch) consistent squares forming the chain pattern with the same kind of attention given to the goose-track border made of 2-inch wide and 1-inch tall triangles.

The quilt is unusual in that it appears to have been entirely treadle-machine quilted in a tight, double-cross-hatch grid that extends through the entire quilt. Unlike later sewing machines, treadle machines produced variable stitch lengths, shorter repeats, slightly longer stitches and subtle wobbles in straight seams, all of which are visible in this quilt. It was a painstaking effort, but it has kept this quilt sturdy and intact over many decades.

The red fabric is a small-scale printed calico typical of the turn of the century. The back is white cotton, as is the binding that has been machine-stitched to both sides. The cotton batting is lightweight.

The quilt is in very good antique condition with minor fabric loss in the red squares, visible as tiny “popped” areas. See photos. These small losses were most likely caused by the presence of a silk blend or silk content in those portions of the red fabric, with the silks weakening and deteriorating over time.

Details
• Pattern: Double Irish Chain with Goose Tracks border
• Date: Circa 1895–1905
• Size: 62” x 72”
• Quilting: Treadle machine quilted
• Batting: Lightweight cotton batting
• Fabrics: Red printed calico on white cotton ground
• Construction: Hand pieced and hand quilted

This quilt has been soaked and gently hand washed and comes from a smoke-free. pet-free home. It is pictured on a queen-size bed.
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