Quilt Research and History
While quilts are present in our written history from the 13th century on, we have existing fragments of quilted textiles from as early as 980 B.C., and evidence of quilting in relics dating as far back as circa 3400 B.C.
Quilting in the United States began before the 1700s, however no examples survive. It was not until the first half of the 19th century that textile production increased sufficiently to make manufactured fabrics available to the average household, and quilt making became an occupation of the common woman.
| Aids Memorial Quilt Founded in 1987, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a poignant memorial, a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections, and the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. |
| Alliance for American Quilts - Center for The Quilt Online Resources and projects offered by The Alliance for American Quilts. |
| America's Quilting History Your Doorway to Over 100 Textile and Women's Quilting History Articles. |
| American Textile History Museum The American Textile History Museum tells America’s story through the art, history, and science of our textiles. |
| Australian Quilt Tree - National Quilt Register, Australia The National Quilt Register is a major initiative of the Pioneer Women's Hut, a museum located at Tumbarumba at the foothills to the Snowy Mountains in southern NSW, Australia. |
| A Century of Quilts: America in Cloth The 20th century was the century of the American quilt. In this era, quilts transformed from traditional necessities to glorious works of art. |
A Collection of Notes on the Historical Aspects of Quilting |
| Great Lakes Quilt Center The Great Lakes Quilt Center has evolved from the sustained and significant quilt-related activities and resources at the Michigan State University Museum and the museum's long-standing interest in and commitment to preserving and presenting traditional arts history. |
| International Quilt Study Center Located at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the International Quilt Study Center houses one of the largest publicly owned collections in the world. The quilts range from outstanding early examples of American quilts to contemporary and international quilts. |
| Museum of the American Quilter's Society A non-profit charitable institution established to educate the local, national, and international public about the art, history, and heritage of quilt making, including the diversity of quilts and their makers. |
| Nova Scotia Museum - Old Nova Scotian Quilts With Nova Scotia's rich heritage of quiltmaking, and a wonderful collection of quilts, the Museum takes a special interest in preserving examples of this tradition. |
| Patches from the Past Quilt history, including information on making reproduction quilts. |
| Patterns from History Quilt patterns like the ones that women shared with each other in days gone by. Discover a bit of history that will give you a sense of what the pattern meant to quilters of the past. |
Quilt Ethnic |
| The Quilt History List Ccreated to provide a forum for people around the world who are interested in antique quilts and related textiles to discuss the historical aspects of quilting. |
| The Quilt Index An online research and reference tool designed to provide unprecedented access to contextual information and images of quilts held in private and public collections. |
| Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996 American Memories, Library of Congress Quilts and Quiltmaking in America showcases materials from two American Folklife Center collections, the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project Collection (1978) and the "All-American Quilt Contest" sponsored by Coming Home, a division of Lands' End, and Good Housekeeping. |
| San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles The mission of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is to promote the art, craft and history of quilts and textiles. |
| Southern Quilting A look at the Southern quilting tradition as it has evolved over the last one hundred and fifty years both in terms of the physical patterns and quilts produced and in terms of the role quilting represents in America |
| Quilts and Textiles at the Smithsonian Institute Selected resources at the Smithsonian. |
| Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Textiles Dedicated to studying the artistic, cultural, and social importance of quilting and the encouraging the proper care and preservation of quilts. |