Crazy quilt by Elizabeth Ramsden c. 1900

Crazy quilts are the oldest form of patchwork, going back to Colonial times when every scrap of cloth was saved and used for bedding.  By the late eighteenth century, geometric patterns replaced random ones, and it was nearly a hundred years before they regained their popularity.

Unlike their earlier counterparts, however, Victorian crazy quilts were ornamental rather than utilitarian.  They became couch throws for the parlor, and fancy fabrics like silk, satin, and velvet were typical, as were elaborate embroidery stitches on seams and borders.

After 1876, when the Centennial Exposition introduced Japanese art to the American public, Japanese motifs, like dragonflies, insects, spider webs and flowers, were often used as embellishments.

Many crazy quilts also recorded family histories, with pieces of fabric gathered from family members, and names and dates appropriately embroidered.

The crazy quilt craze reached a peak in the late 1880’s, although they continued to be made up to 1920.

Elizabeth Ramsden, a Willimantic milliner around the turn of the twentieth century, made this quilt with scraps left over from her millinery work.