Woman's petticoat. Perhaps made in USA. 1730-1745. Quilted silk tabby lined with wool made of 6 full width panels of material and one narrow panel. 974.381.2 Gift of Mrs. Edward A. Dunlop.
Quilt with figural motifs. Perhaps made in Goa (India) for the European market; used in Cornwall, England. c. 1600. Cord quilted silk tabby. 975.349 Gift of Betty Kingston.
Fellowship Year: 2006
Project Title: The Whole Nine Yards: Early Quilts and Quilted Clothing in the 18th Century
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.
About the Fellow:
Linda Baumgarten is curator of textiles and costumes at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation from 1978 to 2017, where she is responsible for their collection of extant garments, quilts, coverlets, and other textiles displayed within Colonial Williamsburg, at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.
Linda Baumgarten is curator of textiles and costumes at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation from 1978 to 2017, where she is responsible for their collection of extant garments, quilts, coverlets, and other textiles displayed within Colonial Williamsburg, at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.
Related Publications: “The Layered Look: Design in Eighteenth-Century Quilted Petticoats,” Dress 34 (2007), the journal of the Costume Society of America.
“The Layered Look: Design in Eighteenth-Century Quilted Petticoats,” Dress 34 (2007), the journal of the Costume Society of America.