A Couple of Old Unfinished Quilts…What Decade?

Howdy Folks!
I’ve got quite a few quilts from one side of my family. I’m “ASSuming” my Grandmother is responsible for these two…she was probably the most active from the mid-40s to mid-70’s.

I’m hoping the knowledgeable fabric folks can tell me what decade(s) these fabrics are from….I realize this doesn’t pin-down when they were quilted, I’m just trying to date the fabrics.

Thanks as always!
#1:


#2(swear these are my Grandpa’s old shirts)

 

Those are tricky. At first glance I thought 1960s/1970s but, with a closer look, think earlier. What are the fabrics? Cotton? Can you identify any synthetics? What do the backs look like?

Debora

 

Gosh…it all feels like natural/cotton material to me but I can’t be certain. Here’s some shots of the back:

#1



#2

 

The first one may incorporate fabrics from more than one decade. The random, wiggle-worm pattern on the red ground (bottom right corner of the 1st photo) I associate with late 19th - maybe early 20th century, while some of the other prints look like they might be 1930s. There are many other clues in quilts, though, that might be useful. The references I have on dating such fabrics concentrate on the 19th century, becoming less specific for more recent periods. But you might find these helpful:

Barbara Brackman. Clues in the Calico: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Antique Quilts. EPM Publications, 1989. ISBN 0939009277

Eileen Jahnke Trestain. Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960. American Quilter's Society, 1998. ISBN 0891458840

 

I agree as fabric from mixed decades typical of quilts made by thrifty housewives. The back is actually helpful. I see 1930s too. You might want to take an Google Image gander of "vintage flour feedsack fabrics" to see if they might have been one source.

Debora

 

That’s awesome! Thank You so much everyone! I’m going to take a quick peek down this rabbit hole in an attempt to see how deep it goes lol!

 

My thoughts on the small quilt squares were late 1800's as well....I had so many same/similar color that I know were that age.....shirts definitely look more 40's -60's!...TO ME!!! LOVE the block pattern!

 

That's my impression, too.

 

I can say from experience that unless the maker is someone doing it professionally, or in an exceptional quantity, the odds of all the fabric being from the same era are virtually nil. I know intellectually that there are people who just go and buy the fabric from a fabric store, but I (and my Mom) cut the buttons and trim off unfixable clothes, stored them in the appropriate box, and might not use the fabric for several decades.

The quilts my Mom and I made often had fabric from a 50 year spread.

 

Also, your Grandma did good work, and had a good eye. I never made any fancy quilts. The amount of time it would take to find and choose the right fabrics for each piece -! The patterns here are not particularly unusual, but the fabric choices and placement is better than some are capable of. Just FYI.

 

Unusually for the time, it was done by hand.

Debora

 

Wow. Grandma had an fully loaded 1970’s Bernina machine, there were also a slew of Singers going way back. They were all in good order as well. Maybe she was just keeping sharp, or I suppose someone else made them. Hmmmm.