World War I Quilts by Sue Reich is a look at the history of quilts from the beginnings of the 20th century through the Spanish flu pandemic ion 1918-19. Reich is a quiltmaker, author, speaker, independent quilt researcher and appraiser. She began her study of quilt history with the Connecticut Quilt Search Project in 1991 and has served on the board since it’s beginning. A quiltmaker since childhood, she lectures widely on many aspects of quilt history. She is also the author of a number of quilting books.

I know very little about quilting, but I do know quite a bit about World War I and thought this might an interesting perspective on life on the home front. I did know that on the home front groups formed to make bandages and crude gas masks. Quilts would have done little good in the muddy trenches, but were used for other purposes. Quilts were made and auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Red Cross. Other quilts were Blue and Gold Star quilts. Blue Stars for those out fighting and Gold Stars for those who died in the war. Quilts also made their way to hospitals during the war and during the Spanish Flu.

The turn of the century brought new technology. Mass production of cloth and the advent of sewing machines changed quilting. There are complaints of losing the art of fancy stitching. War brought shortages and there is an article written by one quilter of using socks that were too damaged to be fixed. By cutting off the foot section, the leg section could be used as quilting material. Some quilters took pride in the number of patches used in a quilt. One quilt mentioned had over 16,000 cloth pieces.

The book consists primarily of pictures and newspaper articles from the period. The author inserts her thoughts and research throughout the book. The work seems accurate for the period. Flag themes were popular but, in one example of a "WWI handkerchief" features the Soviet flag on it -- a flag that did not appear until 1923. The quilts pictured in the book show the detail of the work. It is a good informal history, but one intended more for quilters than historians in general.





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One of the books that sort of slipped in under the radar at the close of 2014 was Sue Reich's World War I Quilts. For anyone interested in quilting, crafting, or the history of World War I, this book is a wonderful resource. Reich pairs photographs of quilts from the era with newspaper mentions of quilts from the same time: notes about Red Cross quilting fundraisers and blankets for soldiers, pieces claiming a local owns the world record quilt for most pieces. The names of soldiers—both those who returned and those who didn't—were embroidered on blocks

The early 20th Century was an interesting time for quilts. It saw the first national quilt competitions. It also saw a rise of women entrepreneurs creating and marketing quilt kits. Before this, newspapers published block patterns, but quilters used their own fabrics, rather than ordering fabric selected for a specific design.

At the end of World War I, appliqué quilts were popular—particularly those featuring poppies. This motif served as a reference to Flanders Field, a way to create something beautiful while honoring the dead.

This book is a bit pricey at $39.99, but the ample color photographs justify the expense. To see the quilts in color, to see samples of fabric marketing at the time is a real delight for people like me who are interested both in historical quilts and in making reproduction quilts. While World War I Quilts doesn't include any quilt patterns, it is still sure to inspire many quilts. ( )