Types of Quilts
If you are new to quilting, you may be wondering about all the different terms you hear when quilters get together and discuss quilts. There are so many different types of quilts that it begins to get a bit confusing. Here is an alphabetical listing of the assorted types of quilts and a bit of history about some.
Alphabetical List of Quilt Types
Album quilt - An album quilt is usually made as a presentation quilt for a special person or event. In most cases, a number of people each design and stitch a quilt block, either appliquéd or pieced. These blocks are signed and dated by the creator. In the past India ink or embroidery was used to sign the quilts, but today special marking pens are available for that purpose.
Amish quilt - Plain, solid colors of darker hues are stitched into simple geometric designs. Intense, intricate quilting patterns such as scrolls, feathers and cables enhance the plain nature of Amish quilts.
Applique - Appliqué quilt - Appliqué is the process of stitching irregular shapes to a background fabric. There are many different methods of appliquéing the patches to the background fabric. The raw edges of the shape can be turned under using the needle (needleturn method) or by using freezer paper as a template and basting the raw edges down over the paper. Raw edges can also be finished by machine using a satin stitch or by hand using a blanket stitch (also known as a button hole stitch) to apply the patch to the background fabric.
An appliqué quilt allows the creator to be freely expressive in her choices of what motifs to stitch onto the background fabric. Birds, flowers, people, animals are just a few examples of common appliqué quilt elements.
Appliqué quilts usually feature exquisite and intricate quilting patterns in the background areas of the quilt.
Baltimore Album quilt - Baltimore Album quilts began in the mid 19th century in Eastern Maryland and feature ornate appliqué and embroidery embellishments, usually in an album style, where no two blocks are the same and blocks could be made by different people.
Bargello quilt - Many strips of multi-colored fabrics are sewn together in sets and then cross-cut into smaller segments. These segments are rearranged and sewn back together in a manner that depicts waves or other geometric patterns.
Celtic quilt - Narrow interweaving bias strips of various colored fabrics are stitched to a background fabric (usually by hand using the appliqué stitch) to form Celtic (pronounced Kel-tic) symbols.
Charm quilt - A charm quilt is a quilt which is typically made of a single patch shape repeated over and over. Each patch is composed of a different fabric, so that no two patches in the quilt are the same.
Crazy Quilt block - Crazy quilt - Many “crazy” pieced blocks are sewn together to create a Crazy quilt. The name comes from the fact that patches are stitched together in what appears to be a random arrangement. Actually, much planning went into the process. This type of quilt had its heyday in the late Victorian era and was primarily a pastime of affluent ladies. The patches were made of rich and luscious fabric scraps of silks, laces and velvets and stitched to a foundation fabric. Later they were heavily embellished with embroidery, beads, fabric painting and ribbons. These quilts were not quilted due to their weight and ornate decoration and did not contain any quilt batting.
Eye Spy quilt - Patches, often of one geometric shape such as an octagon, are fussy cut from novelty prints and assembled with additional brightly colored fabrics to created a wildly visual quilt. This quilt serves as a fun quilt for a child and is often used to play the memory game “I Spy”.
Hawaiian quilt - A shape (often a floral shape) in a solid color is cut from a piece of fabric that has been folded into quarters or eighths (in the manner of a child creating a paper snowflake). This fabric piece is then appliquéd to a background fabric. An Hawaiian quilt can consist of one very large appliquéd shape or many blocks of appliquéd shapes. Hawaiian native quilters developed this type of quilt.
Linsey-Woolsey quilt - One of the earliest quilted bedcover fabrics consisted of a linen (or sometimes cotton) thread running lengthwise (warp) and a wool thread running crosswise (weft). This resulted in a coarse fabric which was often colored with natural dyes from the Indigo plant and used in a whole cloth quilt.
Sunshine and Shadow Log Cabin quilt
Log Cabin quilt - A traditional quilt made from blocks constructed from narrow strips (the logs) around a center square, traditionally red or yellow (the hearth). The finished block appears to contain two triangles making a square, with distinct contrasting colors (usually a light side and a dark side). These log cabin blocks can be set in a multitude of arrangements to make any number of different quilts. Some of the most common settings are known as Barn Raising, Streak of Lightning, Sunshine and Shadow and Straight Furrows.
Medallion quilt - A central motif is the focal point of this quilt which is surrounded by multiple borders.
Memory quilt - In the past, favorite articles of clothing from a deceased person were cut up and fashioned into a quilt. Today, memory quilts are often created to celebrate special occasions in the life of a family member or friend and can include photo transfers and mementos of the person being honored.
Miniature quilt - A quilt made on a much smaller scale than a regular full-sized quilt. Blocks are usually only 2 - 3 ” square. Paper piecing is used frequently to produce miniature quilts as this allows for more stabilization of these smaller pieces. Often miniature quilts are reproductions of full sized quilts.
Mystery quilt - A quilt created from steps, usually issued in installments. Participants in a mystery quilt project are given fabric suggestions to buy but have no idea what the finished product will look like until the quilt top is completed.
Scrap Quilt; Scrap quilt - A quilt made up of an assortment of fabrics or scraps (”patches”) of fabric left over from other quilt projects. The process of creating the quilt blocks is called “piecing”.
Postage Stamp quilt - This quilt is similar to a Charm quilt in that all pieces are the same, but a Charm quilt uses each fabric only once. A Postage Stamp quilt can repeat the same fabric many times and is so named because each piece of fabric is approximately the size of a postage stamp.
Rag quilt - A quilt made of flannelette or homespun. The raw edges of the seams are exposed on the front side of the quilt and then clipped. Washing the quilt frays the clipped seam allowance giving a ragged appearance.
Round Robin quilt; Round Robin quilt - A group project. Rules are set out and agreed upon by the group before beginning the project. A quilt block is created by each quilter in the group. That block is then sent to the next quilter who adds an element (border, corners, etc) using her own stash of fabric. This process continues until all members of the group have added an element to the original block. The piece is then returned to the owner of the first block. The fun part of this project is that no one sees her piece again until the last element has been added.
Sampler quilt - Many blocks, all different, are stitched together to create a quilt top. Blocks may be the same or different sizes. A great project for a beginning quilter as she is introduced to many different techniques and patterns.
Scrap quilt - A patchwork quilt created from the scraps of many different fabrics, often leftovers from previous projects. Today’s quilter often purchases small amounts of a variety of different fabric colors and styles in order to boost the number of “scraps” in her quilt. Trades with other quilters are also quite common.
Seminole Patchwork quilt - Seminole Patchwork quilt - A quilt created in the style developed by the Seminole Indians of Florida. Many colorful fabric strips are sewn together and then cut crosswise into smaller segments. These segments are then rearranged and reassembled to form decorative new strip variations. The Seminole Indians applied these strips to decorate their clothing. Quilters today often use larger scale Seminole patterns as decorative borders.
Stack and Whack -Several layers (often 8 layers) of the same large print fabric are stacked. Geometric shapes such as hexagons or diamonds are then fussy cut (or whacked) through all the layers from different areas of the print. These sets are then assembled to create a series of kaleidoscope-like features giving the appearance that many different prints were used. This technique is commonly credited to Bethany Reynolds.
Stained Glass quilt - A quilt meant to give the impression of a stained glass window. Vibrantly colored pieces of fabric are laid out on a background fabric. The edges of the pieces of colored fabric are covered with thin bias strips of fabric (usually black) to simulate the lead that separates the pieces of glass in a stained glass window.
Summer quilt - A quilt made with a decorative top and a backing fabric. No quilt batting is inserted in the middle. These quilts are used as coverings in the hot summer months.
Tied quilt - The 3 layers of the quilt are secured together by yarn or thread instead of quilting stitches. The knots can either be on the front or the back of the quilt depending on the look that the quilter wants to achieve. This type of finishing is often used with high loft quilt batting projects.
Trapunto quilt - The quilting design is raised by stuffing the area from behind prior to attaching the backing to the quilt. Often featured in antique quilts to enhance the feathered quilting motifs.
Utility quilt - A simple quilt, (often a tied quilt), that was used for everyday and extra warmth.
Watercolor quilt - A quilt made of hundreds of tiny squares (usually 1″ to 2″) of many different fabrics to create a new design. Large floral prints are often used because when they are cut into tiny squares, small pieces from the same fabric look entirely different. Value is important in creating a Watercolor quilt. The full range from dark to medium to light and several stages in between are necessary to get the look of an Impressionist painting. This technique is commonly credited to Deirdre Amsden.
Whole Cloth quilt - A quilt made from one piece of fabric for the top, that contains no patchwork or appliqué and is often used as a showcase for elaborate quilting designs.
Types of Quilts