Vintage 1940s–1950s Improvisational Folk Art Quilt – Mixed Fabrics – 73” x 89”

This is an unusual American improvisational folk art quilt dating to approximately the late 1940s to early 1950s and constructed in an entirely free-form arrangement of strips and rectangular pieces rather than a traditional repeating quilt pattern. Wide bands of dark navy divide areas of smaller piecing, creating a strong geometric composition.

The quilt was made from an interesting assortment of period scrap fabrics, including rayon, cotton, linens, woven plaids and checks, crepe-textured fabrics, knit or ribbed fabrics, jacquard-type woven textiles, and assorted dress and clothing fabrics. Colors include navy blue, teal green, light blue, orange, yellow, pink, cream, red and muted green.

The rayon and dress-weight textiles, small geometric prints, woven plaids, abstract blue-and-white fabric, bright striped material and strongly saturated solid colors are particularly characteristic of the 1940s period.

The quilt is machine pieced and sewing-machine quilted with the quilting consisting of straightforward rows and large rectangular sections, appropriate to its practical utility construction. The back is an off white cotton as is the binding that has been machine stitched to the front and handstitched to the back. The batting is thin and lightweight.

CONDITION: The quilt is in excellent vintage condition, with the irregularities in piecing and quilting characteristic of its handmade utility construction. Please examine all photographs closely as they form an important part of the description. This is a particularly good example of a mid-20th-century improvisational scrap quilt, with the mixed clothing fabrics and unconventional arrangement giving it a very different character from quilts made from patterns of the period.

Details
* Date: Circa 1945–1955
* Approximate period: Late 1940s / early 1950s
* Size: 73” x 89”
* Pattern: Improvisational / free-form strip and patchwork
* Style: American folk art / utility quilt
* Fabrics: Mixed rayon, cotton, linen or linen blends, woven apparel fabrics and other period textiles
* Construction: Machine pieced
* Quilting: Sewing-machine quilted
* Backing: Light-colored cotton
* Binding: Narrow light-colored binding