Folklife in the Classroom
Activity Ideas
Montana Quilting Traditions
Quilting is a very functional art that is learned informally, person to person, primarily among women. Quilting is often learned and conducted in groups, where the creative process is shared and new techniques and patterns evolve from traditional ones. In addition to their use as bedding and as decorative throws and wall hangings, quilts serve social purposes. They can be a record of a family, a community or a nation’s history; they are often made to commemorate an event or a person; they are presented as gifts in friendship or to celebrate cultural rites of passage. They nearly always reflect the experience of their maker or makers, and the time and place they were created.
In Montana, immigrants from the east brought their quilting traditions with them. For example, crazy quilts were popular across the country in the 19th Century. These seemingly random designs of pieced-together fabric may have started as a practical way to recycle used clothing or goods, but by the Victorian era, they were elaborate status symbols made and displayed by women of leisure who had the time to make these labor-intensive quilts. Because of the status they implied, crazy quilts were often used as drapes for couches, rather than as bedspreads, so they could be shown off when guests came. 1
Quilting was brought to Montana’s Indian reservations by Christian missionaries. Native Americans have made the star quilting tradition their own, enriching it with their own traditional symbols and designs. The star quilt design was appealing to Indian people because they already employed geometry in their own designs. To many native peoples, the morning star was a symbol of good luck. To see it upon rising at daybreak meant another day of life ahead. Star quilts also preserved a tradition that began with buffalo robes and has become an integral part of tribal culture. Star quilts are shared at giveaways and powwow and to celebrate and honor friendships and achievements, as in this enlargement of a section of Iris Allrunner's star quilt, which honors her grandson's achievements in basketball. 2
1 Kathy Mosdal O’Brien provided much of the information on quilting in Montana. Kathy is currently working on a book titled Border to Border: The History of Quilting in Montana, to be published by the Montana Historical Society
2 From Montana Star Quilts by Linda Parker.
Activities
1. Invite a quilting artist to the classroom. Shelly Van Haur is a quilter from the farming community of Hilger, Montana. She started sewing when she was five or six and by the time she was ten she was helping her grandmother piece quilt tops. Shelly has received two Montana Arts Council Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship awards to teach her friends and neighbors how to quilt. She spent two Montana winters teaching them to quilt in the old Hilger School House. She says, “My apprentices learn large quiltmaking in the traditional way by choosing their pattern, colors, fabrics, batting, backing, tools and equipment.” Shelly is quite sure that her daughter, who has watched her quilt over the years, will also carry on the tradition. According to Shelly, “You work your life through a quilt.” Shelly works with students in the classroom in much the same way that she works with her apprentices. Students learn the traditions and techniques of quiltmaking, while creating a small wall-hanging or quilt square.
2. Make an album quilt ( This activity idea was developed by the Kentucky Folklife Program: http://history.ky.gov/Programs/Folklife/folklife_guide.pdf)
Album quilts are made up of squares contributed by many individuals. They are often assembled and given away as a gift or to commemorate an occasion such as a wedding. The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a very large example of an album quilt. The AIDS Quilt panels are created by loved ones to commemorate the life of someone who has died of AIDS. Currently, there are more than 44,000 panels, sections of which travel the country on display and are used to raise funds for AIDS research and relief. The AIDS Memorial Quilt has taken the album quilt tradition to a new level, making it a national cooperative effort and using it to bring attention to a contemporary social issue.
Together with your class, find a worthy purpose for making an album quilt. This could be the retirement of a favorite teacher or staff person or the anniversary of an important event in local history. Students could also decide to make a quilt depicting their favorite places in the community. The quilt could then be donated to the local museum or given to the City for display in a public place. Students will be more engaged when their quilt has a purpose.
Once you’ve decided on a theme and a recipient, have each student design an individual square on plain white paper with a pencil. When the design is complete, use fabric crayons to color it in. Next, you will press the design onto white squares of poly/cotton fabric. Follow the directions that come with the fabric crayons to learn how to press the design onto the cloth. Bring in extra materials like ribbon, buttons, yarn etc. and fabric glue, and have students embellish their panels.
Have the class decide how to order and arrange the panels. Use additional panels to include a title for the quilt, such as the school or project name or the name of the recipient. Number the panels on the back.
If you are not familiar with quilting techniques, find a local quilter to help you and the class join the panels together with batting and backing.
3. Discover family or community quilting traditions. Have students interview their parents about family quilting traditions. Encourage them to bring in (or have their parents bring in) a family quilt and explain the history and purpose behind it. Discuss the quilt as a family record that preserves a piece of the past. Consider the quilting tradition alongside other family traditions and rituals. How do they compare? Do the materials used in the quilts tell you something about how your family lived at the time?
4. Design your own quilt. Look at various quilt designs, traditional and contemporary, and consider the symbolism, purpose and aesthetic qualities of each. The website resources listed below have great examples of different types of quilts. A quick Google search will also find many more. Ask students to spend some time designing their own quilt on paper. They will need to first consider the following questions: What will the quilt’s purpose be? Why? Who or what will it be for? Will it include traditional elements as well as some creative additions? Have each student present his or her design to the class.
5. Discuss quilting as an art form practiced mainly by women. What was life like for women pioneers in Montana? Given their circumstances what purpose might quilting have served for these women. Using Linda Parker’s book, discuss Native American women’s practice of the Star Quilt design. What is the symbolism in this design? How is this quilt used in the Native American culture?
6. Discuss the use of star quilts by Montana’s Indian peoples. Compare star quilts to the circular design in winter counts painted on buffalo hides. Discuss the similarities and differences between the ways Indians and non-Indians use quilts.
Potential Content Standards (not grade level specific)
- Art: 1.1-5; 2.1-6; 3.1-5; 1,4.2; 5.1-6; 6.3, 6.4
- Social Studies: 1.1; 4.1-7; 6.1-6;
- Library Media: 1.1-6; 3.1, 3.2
- Speaking and Listening: 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.4; 3.1, 3.2, 3.6; 4.3
- World Languages: 1.1-5; 4.1-4; 8.1; 9.1-3
Selected Resources
Websites
The Quilt Alliance
http://www.quiltalliance.org/index1.html
PBS: America Quilts
http://www.pbs.org/americaquilts/index.html
America’s Quilting History
http://www.womenfolk.com/historyofquilts/index.htm
The AIDS Memorial Quilt
http://www.aidsquilt.org/
The Library of Congress American Memory Project: Quilts and Quiltmaking in America
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/qlthtml/qlthome.html
National Museum of the American Indian Quilt Lesson Plans
http://americanindian.si.edu/education/files/quilts.pdf
Montana Quilts
http://www.montanaquilts.com/index.htm
Books
Hearts and Hands: Women, Quilts, and American Society By Elaine Hedges, Pat Ferrero and Julie Silber.
Hearts and Hands: The Influence of Women & Quilts on American Society By Pat Ferrero, Elaine Hedges and Julie Silber.
The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort 1750-1950, by Roderick Kiracofe, Mary Elizabeth Johnson (contributor), and Sharon Reisendorph (photographer).
Montana Star Quilts, by Linda Parker
Videos
A Century of Quilts: America in Cloth (PBS)
America Quilts (PBS)
