The Whole Nine Yards: Early Quilts and Quilted Clothing in the 18th Century

Baumgarten’s research focused on 18th-century whole-cloth quilts (as opposed to pieced quilts). Whole-cloth quilts, being made from large pieces of textiles rather than smaller pieces or patchwork, rely on the stitching to create the decorative patterns, which can be quite intricate and detailed. Her close study of both furnishing and wearable (specifically petticoat) whole-cloth quilts in the ROM’s collection resulted in Baumgarten producing several detailed drawings of the stitching patterns in these quilts, and developing new methodologies for studying these patterns.