About the quilts
A Guide to Quilt Types at the Edmonton Quilt Festival
Did you know there is a wide variety of quilts at the Quilt Festival?
This guide introduces different quilt types, highlighting their unique features and artistic parallels.
If you’re an art lover, you’ll find striking similarities between quilting styles and well-known artistic movements.
Traditional Quilts
What it is: These quilts use classic patterns like Log Cabin, Double Wedding Ring, or Nine-Patch—designs cherished for generations. Their block names often reflect themes of home, farm life, and nature.
Collage Quilts
What it is: These quilts layer small fabric pieces to create artistic, often pictorial, compositions.
Distinct features: Bold, freeform designs (such as animals, landscapes, or abstract images) using raw-edge appliqué.
Stitching: Usually machine-stitched for durability.
Art parallel: Mixed media or assemblage art.
Improv Quilts
What it is: Created without a predefined pattern, these quilts rely on spontaneity and instinct.
Distinct features: Asymmetry, playful color use, and unexpected fabric combinations.
Stitching: Typically machine-stitched, though hand-stitching may add texture.
Art parallel: Abstract Expressionism—akin to Kandinsky’s or Pollock’s works.
Art Quilts
What it is: More than functional pieces, these quilts are designed as artistic statements and often include unconventional materials.
Distinct features: Often used as wall hangings; may incorporate fabric painting, embroidery, beadwork, or mixed media.
Stitching: A mix of hand and machine stitching for artistic effect.
Art parallel: Contemporary art.
Three-Dimensional Quilted Items
What it is: Quilts that aren’t flat! Includes wearable art, fabric bowls, bags, pillows, and sculptural pieces.
Distinct features: Techniques like trapunto (stuffed areas for raised effects) add dimension.
Stitching: Both hand and machine stitching, depending on the project.
Art parallel: Sculpture.
Modern Quilts
What it is: A contemporary take on quilting with bold colors and minimalist or abstract layouts.
Distinct features: Negative space, high contrast, bold lines, and nontraditional arrangements.
Stitching: Typically machine-stitched for a clean, sleek look.
Art parallel: Minimalism and Modernism
Paper-Pieced Quilts
What it is: A precision technique where fabric is sewn onto a paper pattern for sharp, intricate designs.
Distinct features: Crisp lines and complex geometric or pictorial patterns.
Stitching: Always machine-stitched for accuracy.
Art parallel: Precisionism.
Pieced Quilts
What it is: Created by sewing fabric pieces together to form a cohesive design.
Distinct features: Ranges from simple patchwork to intricate star and kaleidoscope designs.
Stitching: Hand or machine-stitched.
Art parallel: Impressionism—a vibrant pieced quilt resembles Monet’s shimmering water lilies.
Slow-Stitched Quilts
What it is: A meditative quilting process that values hand-stitching and craftsmanship.
Distinct features: Visible hand-stitching, often using thick threads like sashiko or big-stitch quilting.
Stitching: Always hand-stitched, embracing imperfections.
Art parallel: Folk art—big-stitch quilting resembles hand-carved or painted folk pieces.
Sustainable Quilts
What it is: Quilts made with eco-friendly materials and mindful practices.
Distinct features: Often use repurposed fabrics (old clothing, fabric scraps), natural dyes, and organic batting.
Stitching: Hand or machine-stitched with a focus on minimizing waste.
Art parallel: Environmental art.
What is Quilting?
Quilting is the process of sewing layers of fabric together by hand or machine to create a warm covering – either as a quilted garment or as a bed cover. The layers are often called a quilt sandwich because you have an upper and a lower layer of fabric (the bread) and a thicker layer in the middle (usually batting) which is the filling.
The quilting stitches, made by hand or machine, which hold the layers of the quilt sandwich together. They can be very basic, just a few lines of straight stitching, or very elaborate, making beautiful designs of their own.
Patchwork or Piecing is the making of a quilt top out of many different fabrics. A lot of people use the terms quilting and patchwork/piecing interchangeably. But patchwork actually refers to small pieces of different fabrics cut into squares, rectangles, strips, triangles, or any shape at all, and stitched together.
Longarm Quilted vs. Domestic Machine Quilted
Longarm Quilted Quilts
What it is: Quilted using a longarm machine, where the machine moves over a stationary quilt.
Distinct features: Large-scale, intricate designs, often edge-to-edge for a professional finish.
Stitching: Exclusively machine-stitched.
Art parallel: Digital or mechanical art.
Domestic Machine Quilted Quilts
What it is: Quilted using a regular sewing machine, with the quilter moving the fabric.
Distinct features: Often smaller in scale, with free-motion quilting (FMQ) for custom designs.
Stitching: Exclusively machine-stitched but with an intimate, hands-on touch.
Art parallel: Plein air painting—free-motion quilting resembles the personal brushstrokes of Impressionism.
Are Some Quilts Hand-Stitched?
Absolutely! Many quilts, especially traditional, heirloom, and slow-stitched quilts, feature hand-stitching. This can include:
- Piecing (sewing fabric pieces together).
- Quilting (stitching through the layers to create decorative patterns).
- Binding (finishing the quilt edges).
Hand-stitching adds an artisanal touch and reflects a quilter’s dedication and skill. While less common in modern quilting, it remains a cherished technique.