QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5166

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

94.0096

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

7515.2

Object label:

Butterfly
Maker unknown
Provenance unknown
c1930
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#7515.2

Essay:

John and Theresa Dickey inherited this quilt from his mother, Ruth Simms Dickey, who inherited it from her mother Alice Bay Simms. Neither of them were quilters but they considered this a family quilt and speculated Alice's sister in Ohio made it.

Butterflies were a very popular motif for quilts in the 1930s. Advertisements in ladies' needlework magazines offered die-cut butterflies for and many appliqued butterfly quilts survive today. Pieced butterfly quilt patterns were printed in 1928 in Needlecraft and a butterfly pattern was also published by Eveline Foland in her syndicated column that was carried by newspapers all over America. Even though the pattern was widely distributed, very few pieced butterfly quilts survive. Synthetic dyes of the 1930s produced a wide range of fabric choices and made light, bright quilts like this one popular.

From American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum.

Quilt's title:

Butterfly

Brackman # or other source & #:

922

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, state:

Ohio (OH)

Time period:

1930-1949

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's state:

Ohio (OH)

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

82

How long is the quilt?

92

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Describe the corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Green; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors; Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Damage:

Pencil or pen or marking lines; Stains

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

42

Size of quilt blocks:

10 1/2 x 10 1/2

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by sashing with cornerstones or connecting blocks

Sashing width:

3

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

4

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch; Outline

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

Butterflies were a very popular motif for quilts in the 1930s. Advertisements in ladies' needlework magazines offered die-cut butterflies for and many appliqued butterfly quilts survive today. Pieced butterfly quilt patterns were printed in 1928 in Needlecraft and a butterfly pattern was also published by Eveline Foland in her syndicated column that was carried by newspapers all over America. Even though the pattern was widely distributed, very few pieced butterfly quilts survive. Synthetic dyes of the 1930s produced a wide range of fabric choices and made light, bright quilts like this one popular.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Images of family that inherited the quilt.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Images of family that inherited the quilt.

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

John and Theresa Dickey inherited this quilt from his mother, Ruth Simms Dickey, who inherited it from her mother Alice Bay Simms. Neither of them were quilters but they considered this a family quilt and speculated that Alice?s sister in Ohio made it. John and Theresa Dickey donated it to the MSU Museum.

Details

• 

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

According to Brackman: "922, page 127, Butterfly -- Verdie Foster in Needlecraft 1928. Earliest Example: This is probably the first pattern published for a pieced butterfly quilt. Although appliqued butterflies appear in earlier quilts. I haven't found any pieced butterflies that predate this pattern." In Khin, page 439 it's called, "Old Fashioned Butterfly." In Carrie Hall Blocks by Bettina Havig, it's called Butterfly and on page 17, acc# 38.402 In Kansas City Star it's called Butterfly and it's #161 and published 10-21-31 and the signature designer is Eveline Foland.

Who photographed this quilt?

Whalen

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees