8

fShare

Tweet

Vintage 1974 Pinwheel Quilt. Source eBay
 

Double Knit Quilt Enters Collection
By Marian Ann J. Montgomery, Ph.D. Curator of Clothing and Textiles,
The Museum of Texas Tech University

I knew that one day we would accept our first double knit quilt into the Museum’s collection and I hoped that it would be a pretty one. Double knit quilts were made in the 1970s as part of the quilt revival around America’s bicentennial celebration. Early American quilters  made quilts using scraps left over from sewing for their families. In the 1970s this meant using double knit fabrics. Unfortunately, the quilters found that these quilts were very difficult to hand quilt. The quilts also ended up being very heavy, and in many cases very unattractive to some viewers.

Triangle Quilt, circa 1970 made of woven and double knit fabrics.
TTU-H2018-069-001, Gift of Judy Pesetski.

When Judy Pesetski brought this one in I knew we had found our beautiful double-knit example! The quilt was made around 1970 by Rosella (Rose) Engeleiter Derge (Mrs. Melvin) in Hartford, Wisconsin and donated to the Museum by her daughter. The beautiful fabrics are an encyclopedia of fabrics from the time. Double knit fabrics are mixed in with woven fabrics. Judy admitted that it wasn’t used much because it was heavy.

Triangle Quilt, circa 1970 made of woven and double knit fabrics.
TTU-H2018-069-001, Gift of Judy Pesetski.

The quilt was constructed by cutting a square, laying a piece of batting on the wrong side and folding it on the diagonal wrong sides together to get a triangle shape. The triangles are then whip stitched together on all sides to other adjoining triangles. This method allows the maker to create the top and back at the same time. The quilt was hand quilted a little more than a quarter inch inside each triangle edges. With so many different fabrics in this beautiful quilt, I see a "new" one one each time I look.