A Little Block History Fun

Hi all! Since I am writing this right before 4th of July, I figured I would do a post on some quilting history. They history of block quilts and also the history of some individual blocks. I know I am inspired by paging through antique quilt books and block history books, so perhaps I can inspire you with this post. Let’s go!

Quilt Evolution to Block Quilts

Although there are block style quilts dated from the 1820s to 1830s, many early American quilts were of the whole cloth variety before the mid 1800s. Block style quilts began to gain more prominence in the 1840s. That’s when the popular layout of the grid style of one block type, alternating blocks, or sampler blocks emerged.

Earlier quilts were either whole cloth surrounded by several borders or an appliquéd center medallion with borders. Here are two mini quilts of mine that are a “hat tip” to the medallion style. Of course the medallion quilts of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were large quilts.

The one on the left is a bit more modern, using blocks for the border, but you get the idea.

Block style quilts emerged in the mid 19th century because they were more versatile and easy to make. American mills were manufacturing more fabric and it was becoming less expensive to buy fabrics to create quilts. Also, women who couldn’t purchase new fabric used scrap fabric from their sewing baskets to create a variety of blocks and then piece them together in the grid look. They would have a large quilt, but it was easier to make than an intricately appliquéd medallion quilt. 

So, what emerged were block quilts made up of one block style, two block styles, or samplers.

There were also block style quilts that emerged that weren’t pieced blocks, most famously Baltimore Album quilts. These originated in Baltimore, MD and were made up of a variety of elaborately appliquéd blocks so they were a sampler style block quilt. 

Many Baltimore Album quilts featured floral themes. I based my 2022 BOM pattern on that type of Baltimore Album style, although mine uses wool appliqué instead of fabric appliqué.

Block History

The earliest, and easiest, blocks known are the nine-patch and the four-patch blocks. It’s easy to see why these are the earliest since they just consisted of stitching together squares into rows and then those rows into blocks.

Those blocks can now be made easier and more quickly using the strip piecing method, which I used to make my quilt, Seaside Cottage:

More intricate patterns emerged as quilters became more skilled. Patterns like Log Cabin and Churn Dash took a bit more skill than the earlier four and nine patch blocks.

Here’s a little history on some of those blocks.

The Snowball Block. This simple block doesn’t always get recognized as a traditional or historic block. But it actually has its origins in Amish quilting. Until I did a little research, I had no idea. It is a traditional block of theirs that can be found in many quilts, both Amish and not, from the 19th century. The design of this block creates an optical illusion because they look like circles when you step back to view the quilt. These blocks are a fun way to add movement to a quilt. Here’s two of my quilt patterns, Carnival Time and Sweet Harmony, that incorporate this block:

For the quilt pattern on the right, I had a little fun by piecing the center of the Snow Ball block.

From a distance, the Snow Ball block looks like a circle, but a close-up shows they are not.

The Churn Dash Block. Looking at my patterns, you will see that this is one of my favorite traditional quilt blocks. It’s a block that has been around for over 150 years. In the nineteenth century, women would make blocks and would often name them after everyday items they used in their homes. The perimeter of this block resembled a churn and the center a “dash” (the stick that was used) to them.

Many blocks were re-named by these women, even if the block already had a name. That’s why you see several names for the same block in many block books. Churn dash is one of them. Other names I have found for this block (among many) are: Double T, Shoo Fly, Double Monkey Wrench, Fisherman’s Reel, and Picture Frame.

This block is a fun one to play with because it looks good alone or combined with other elements. Here’s a few of my patterns that use the block.

My pattern on the left, Barn Dance, uses the churn dash block as a stand alone block. In Bountiful, on the right, I added a star to the center of the churn dash block for a bit of fun.

The block is simple to make. It’s technically a modified nine-patch block. If you look closely at a traditional churn dash, it is a 9-grid block usually with all nine units measuring the same. (in the beginning of this post you’ll see another Churn Dash quilt of mine called Country Dance.)

The Log Cabin Block. I think this block is my all time favorite traditional block. If you scroll through my pattern offerings, you will see that I return to it again and again. I think it’s because it is so versatile and it makes use of my vast stash of fabric strips. There are many variations of the block too, which keeps things interesting.

These blocks are thought to be very American, representing the pioneers as they moved west and built homes of logs. However, this pattern has been found in earlier quilts and on other items as early as the mid 18th century. The traditional Log Cabin has a center square with “logs” added on alternating sides. Two sides of the block is made up of light fabrics while the opposite sides are built with darker fabrics. Here’s a traditional log cabin:

The center square was often a red fabric to represent the hearth of the home.

One of my favorite variations of the Log Cabin block is the Courthouse Steps variation.

It’s named that because the “logs” look like steps up to a door. Here are a few other variations that I have used in quilts:

These blocks also look cool on point!

These are just a few of my favorite historical blocks. I’ve made a lot of these blocks in sizes from 4 x 4″ all the way up to 16 x 16″. That’s the fun of traditional blocks. You can make them bigger and they’re a little easier to piece or you can make them small and use up your favorite scraps from your fabric stash.

You can find a lot of quilt block books on the market where you can learn more history about your favorites. Here is one of my favorite books by Jinny Beyer:

That’s all for this week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne