Lessons from an Old Trip Around the World Quilt
To watch the video, click HERE or on the image above.
About This Old Quilt
Let’s talk about this incredible antique Trip Around The World quilt that is made with postage stamp blocks.
This style gained popularity during the 1930s, when scrap use and resourcefulness were a necessity. Quilters often turned to every bit of fabric they had on hand, cutting squares as small as an inch to make the most of every scrap. The name Trip Around the World reflects the way the colors move outward in concentric rings, or trips, while “Postage Stamp” aspects of this one highlights the quilt’s tiny pieces that remind us of postage stamps.
There are many variations of this pattern out there along with just as many techniques in making them. One thing is for sure, these are amazing quilts and are fun to make and enjoy!
About This Trip Around the World Quilt
Details-At-A-Glance:
Size: Approximately 50” x 69”
Estimated Date Made: 1930s/1940s
Acquired: My parents picked this up for me at a church rummage sale about a year ago. It was $20.00. My mom asked if they knew anything about it and sadly, they didn’t.
Number of Blocks: This quilt contains 1356 squares that are 1.5” finished.
Borders: The pieces are all pieced together by hand and then appliquéd onto muslin borders.
Construction Technique: Everything is done by hand on this quilt, including the bubble gum pink binding.
Quilting: The quilting is meticulously done by hand, with tiny even stitches in white thread. There are eight stitches per inch.
Fabric: All of the fabric is cotton, with a mix of prints and solids.
Batting: There is a very thin cotton batting in this quilt.
Binding: The binding, which is also done by hand, is a separate piece. It has rounded corners.
Backing: The backing is a muslin fabric that has pieced.
Condition: This quilt is in good condition with some wear in some of the fabric. There are many stains on the back of the quilt.
Fabrics
These fabrics are amazing! I did a lot of research on these fabrics and I think (although I am not sure) that these are from the 1930s-1940s. The bright colors with the mix of the solids and the white quilting thread are some of the clues, as well as the haloing in some of the prints. The black, white, and red plaid seems out of place in this quilt, but it also adds a wonderful distinct boundary in the overall pattern. I am fairly certain this quilt was made of scraps, but it also surprises me that each round is made with the same fabric. I have a few other Trip Around the World quilts where the maker matched the color, but the fabric is different. It always makes me wonder if the amount of fabric needed influenced which “trip” the color landed on. All of the fabric is cotton, and most of the printed fabrics are feedsacks. There is one that is a cotton corduroy fabric. There is a mix of solids and prints in this quilt, adding to its overall design. The solid fabrics give the eye a nice resting place as it is combined with the wonderfully bright busy prints.
Construction
Originally, I assumed this quilt was constructed on-point, meaning that the quilt was assembled by making straight rows and then turning them 90 degrees to make the quilt top. I have since learned that it is most likely made by the maker starting in the center and adding rounds. I love this idea even more! This became evident when I was researching this quilt. I wondered what went into the construction, how the maker kept the pattern straight in his or her head, and how it all came together. This led me to find a blog by Tales of Cloth. I fell in love with this beautifully written blog! Now I want to make one of these completely by hand using the EPP method.
Quilting
The quilting is all done by hand and is done using tiny stitches in off-white thread. Each square is quilting around their perimeters, although some of the thread lines are broken or missing. The quilting gives a great graphic-like design on the back. There are about seven to eight stitches per inch. Just imagine adding all of those little stitches! So cool!
Colors
I would be remiss (do I use the word remiss in every one of these posts? Yes. Probably. Do I care? Nope) if I didn’t mention the colors! OHHHHHHH, the colors! The greens, the oranges, the pinks, the blues! The bright happy colors is exactly what I need in my life! I love them. All of them. Well, except for some. Why is there a black? Or the drab brown? I know, I know—it is what they had. I get it. But imagine this quilt with all bright fabrics. Would it be as interesting? Would we love it as much? More? Less? Something to think about!
Unusual Size
Let’s face it: This quilt is wonky. The average size is 50” x 69”, but this size varies from 48” to 52” wide and 68” to 70”. There are a few extra rows on the top and bottom to, I assume, make this quilt longer. There are also extra squares in these added rows. Considering how I believe it was constructed, it would be easy to make this error. Just imagine being in the middle of making this and remembering where you are at. Sure, the trips would be fairly easy since you could just keep going around until you met the one you started with and then add the next round, but when adding more rows, it would be muddler. Of course, as always, I have no idea what happened here. It is all speculation.
Extra Blocks
Along with extra rows, there are also extra blocks added to those extra rows. I am sure this was so easy to do! Imagine contracting this quilt. I know I would be all kinds of messed up, especially if I added extra rows. I also wonder if these rows were added later. This could be the case. I love thinking about how there could be multiple makers of these quilts. I could spend hours (and often do!) daydreaming about their construction, the stories they could tell, and things they have seen.
Batting & Condition
This quilt is in good condition with only one ring or “trip’’ showing wear. Not bad for this oldie! The best part is that it can be easily repaired by appliquéing squares over the existing squares. This will help preserve the fabrics and hopefully prevent further damage. The only question now is if I should repair it with brown fabric or something brighter? I am leaning towards brighter. There are also some stains on the back, as discussed in the next section.
The upside to these holes is that we can see the batting. This batting is a thin cotton batting. It could have been a bit thicker in its prime but compressed over the years.
Backing
The backing is a solid muslin fabric that could be feedsacks, just like the bordering or base fabric around the front of the quilt. The backing is pieced in many places. There are also a lot of stains on the back of this quilt. I did attempt to remove the stains with very little luck. These stains are now part of this quilt’s story, and I am okay with that. I mean, when I am nearly 100, I will show some wear and tear, too.
Binding
Oh, the binding! It is amazing! It is a bright bubble gum pink solid fabric that brings this design together. I can’t imagine a better choice for the binding. It pulls all of this together so well. I love that the maker used this binding on this and that the maker used a curved corner instead of a mitered or sharp right-angle corner. It adds a softness to this quilt. If you would like to see other examples of this, check out Barbara Brackman’s blog. So interesting!
Lessons We Can Learn
What can we, as modern makers, learn from this old Trip Around the World Postage Stamp quilt?
Make It Bigger! Need it bigger? Add some rows! I love the ingenuity of quilters in general, and especially those from the past. I wonder if there was someone in their life saying they couldn’t do it or do you think quilters were encouraging each other?
Curved Binding: I know many struggle with bindings and maybe this maker did, too. Or maybe the maker was keeping up with a trend. Either way, this curved binding gives a softness to a quilt that contains only geometric elements. I love the combinations of the curves with the squares and how it adds so much interest. Not to mention the color pink! Swoooon!
Extra Pieces: It is true that this was probably an error. At some point I am sure the maker was trying to figure out where they went wrong. Heck, it took me a long time to figure it out! Just imagine if I were super close to the end of a project and had this happen. I don’t think I would be able to decipher the issue either! Not to mention that I would also just want it done by this point. So what did the maker do? Finished it! Yep. Finished it. I may have stuck it in my closet and kept it as a UFO. I know, I know—that wasn’t really an option back then, but still! I know if it happened to me NOW, it would have been abandoned. Sadly. This is a valuable lesson for us all. Just finish the dang quilt.
Stains = History: Sometimes we see stains on a quilt and automatically call it a cutter or not worthy or other negative junk like that, but it really is part of its life, its history. We need to remember that stains, marks, even tears tell a story, as much as the quilting, the fabrics, and the construction. Yes, there are stains. That’s okay.
Many Ways to Make a Quilt: It is so interesting to me that I automatically thought I knew how this quilt was constructed, even to the point that I wasn’t going to look into it at all. I was just going to discuss it in the video. I am glad that I didn’t follow my gut instinct on this one, because I was wrong, or at least I think I was wrong. Maybe I was wrong. Anyway, here we are. I encourage you to research different ways to construct a quilt. There are so many ways to do it.
Prints, Solids, & Colors, Oh My!: I love most of the colors in this quilt. All of the wonderfully bright happiness brings me so much joy! And then there are the blacks, browns, and even a maroon. Hmmmm. Also, there is a mix of prints and solids. Double hmmmm. Does this add interest? Is this something we should be doing? It this the secret sauce? I know, I know. They used what they had, Kris. But WE have fabric at our fingertips. All kinds of fabric! Could we do this, too? Adding the unexpected? Something to think about!
Thank you so much for reading about this beautiful old quilt.
Kris
