What to Know About Making or Ordering Quilts

Most Americans have seen a quilt, and many own one or more of these large blankets. But in fact, some quilts are meant to be used more as decoration, such as bereavement quilts, rather than use as bedding. As for making quilts, such as bereavement quilts or custom quilts, this process is not easy. In fact, making custom T-shirt quilts and the like is best left to skilled artisans, who have all the correct materials and experience with making these. T-shirt quilt makers or memory quilt makers may receive many orders from customers for making bereavement quilts or memory quilts, and this may take some time. But the end result can certainly be worth it, and many people love to own a quilt. What is there to know about making quilts today, such as bereavement quilts or T-shirt quilt models?

On Quilts

The idea of making quilts in general is quite old, and quilts were made even in ancient Egypt and in ancient China, too. In those times, quilts were made by combining three layers of fabric and stitching it all together to prevent clumping and slipping. A top, batting for warmth, and backing are all stitched together to form quilts like these, and the oldest surviving quilt is the Tirstan Quilt. Estimates place its production somewhere between 1360 and 1400.

What about quilts today? This is a fairly robust industry, and there are plenty of patrons to support it. In 1981, the national Canadian Quilters\’ Association was formed, and by now, it has some 20,000 members who may attend conferences every single year. Quilting is big in the United States too, and statistics show that around 14% of household today are home to at least one dedicated quilt maker. The numbers also show that among these quilters, 81% are traditionalists, 38% try out art quilting, and 35% make use of modern quilting styles (a person can use more than one style). As of 2014 the total number of quilters is around 21 million, and each of them may have a dedicated studio with thousands of dollars\’ worth of materials and supplies on hand. In this way, a dedicated quilter can accept commissions from customers and make quilts for them based on their specifications.

Making Quilts

The average American probably does not have the skills to make their own quilt, but they can contract a quilter who is open for commissions, and ask for a quilt (such as bereavement quilts) to be made. This means specifying the dimensions of the quilt, and the customer can also provide any and all materials that they want to have involved in the final product. A good example of this is T-shirt quilts, which are partially made from old T-shirts. The quilter may cut out pieces of those shirts and incorporate them into the final product, and this can make for a unique and attractive piece of bedding. A person may donate all their old clothes from their college days, for example, to make a quilt like this.

Some quilts may have a series of squares on them, and each one may have a different pattern, image, or message sewn onto them as the customer requires. This may be done as a wedding gift, or to mark the birth of a child, or it can even be done to make bereavement quilts. Sentimental messages of any kind can be used to make those quilts. While personal tastes vary, it may be typical for a person to use a T-shirt quilt as bedding, while they will use a sentimental quilt as a decorative piece instead. If a quilt is not used as bedding, it may hang from a rack or be hung up on the wall as a sort of art piece.