Rolling Star quilt

Rolling Star quilt , circa 1880–1910

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: quilting; cotton; piecing

Credit line: Gift of Miss Clara Gillham

Accession number: 0000.0036

Not on display

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Label texts

Quilts from the University of Kansas Museum of Art

(No. 7) Here the basic Star pattern has been transformed into an octagon by the addition of diamond shapes at the edges. The fabric has been restricted to a blue and white calico set against a white background, an indication that the calico may have been purchased for the express purpose of making this quilt. The fact that it is not pieced together with a variety of scraps (as in Quilt No. 6) suggests that the maker looked upon her quilt as a creative object, not strictly a utilitarian one.

Exhibition Label:
"Quilts! Imported Fabrics, American Treasures," May-2004, Barbara Brackman

This two-color quilt showcases blue and white, a favorite style at the end of the nineteenth century. The blue has been colored with indigo, a dye valued for thousands of years because of its color fastness. The dyeing and printing processes were complex and expensive, as was the dye itself. Natural indigo dye cost $2.35 per pound when logwood blue, more fugitive to light and washing, cost only six cents. Since cotton prints reflected that expense, indigo prints were sparse in patchwork or saved for “best quilts” until the end of the century. In the 1890s, German chemists perfected a synthetic indigo, leading to a change in quilt style. As indigo prints dropped in price, American quilters created a craze for indigo blues.