Quilt Names

A MONG the most fascinating features of quilt lore are the great number and wonderful variety of names given to quilt designs. A distinct individuality is worked into every quilt by its maker, which in most instances makes it worthy of a name. The many days spent in creating even a simple quilt give the maker ample time in which to ponder over a name for the design, so that the one selected generally reflects some peculiarity in her personality. History, politics, religion, nature, poetry, and romance, all are stitched into the gayly coloured blocks and exert their influence on quilt appellations. Careful consideration of a large number of quilts reveals but few that have been named in a haphazard way; in nearly every instance there was a reason or at least a suggestion for the name.

In most cases the relation between name and design is so evident that the correct name at once suggests itself, even to the novice in quilt making. The common “star” pattern, in which one star is made the centre of each block, is invariably known as the “Five-pointed Star.” A variation in the size of the stars or the number of colours entering into their composition has not resulted in any new name.

It is quite usual, however, when there is a slight deviation from a familiar pattern, resulting from either the introduction of some variation or by the omission of a portion of the old design, to make a corresponding change in the name. Good illustrations of this custom are the minor alterations which have been made in the tree trunk of the “tree” pattern. These may be so slight as to be entirely unobserved by the casual admirer, yet they are responsible for at least three new names: “Pine Tree,” “Temperance Tree,” and “Tree of Paradise.” A minor change in the ordinary “Nine Patch,” with a new name as a result, is another striking example of how very slight an alteration may be in order to inspire a new title. In this case, the central block is cut somewhat larger than in the old “Nine Patch,” and the four corner blocks are, by comparison with the centre block, quite small. This slight change is in reality a magical transformation, for the staid “Nine Patch” has now become a lively “Puss-in-the-Corner.” The changes in some patterns have come about through efforts to make a limited amount of highly prized colour brighten a whole quilt. This circumstance, as much as any other, has been the cause of new names.

Important events occurring during the construction periods of old quilts are quite frequently recalled to us by their names. The stirring frontier activities and the great men of history made impressions on the mind of the housewife which found expression in the names of her quilts. “Washington’s Plumes,” “Mexican Rose,” and “Rose of Dixie” are old quilt names reflecting domestic interest in important events. The hardships and vicissitudes endured by the sturdy pioneers were constantly in the minds of the early American quilters and inspired many names. “Pilgrim’s Pride,” “Bear’s Paws,” “Rocky Road to Kansas,” “Texas Tears,” and “Rocky Road to California” have great interest as they reveal to us the thoughts of our great-grandmothers over their quilting frames.

The names having political significance, which were attached to quilts, show that the women as well as the men had a keen interest in the affairs of our country in its earlier days. “Old Tippecanoe,” “Lincoln’s Platform,” “Harrison Rose,” “Democrat Rose,” “Whig Rose,” and “Radical Rose” are all suggestive of the great discussion over slavery. Of the last name, an old lady, famous for her quilt making, said: “Here’s my ‘Radical Rose.’ I reckon you’ve heard I was the first human that ever put black in a Radical Rose. Thar hit is, right plumb in the middle. Well, whenever you see black in a Radical Rose you can know hit war made atter the second year of the war (Civil War). Hit was this way, ever’ man war a-talkin’ about the Radicals and all the women tuk to makin’ Radical Roses. One day I got to studying that thar ought to be some black in that thar pattern, sence half the trouble was to free the niggers, and hit didn’t look fair to leave them out. And from that day to this thar’s been black in ever’ Radical Rose.”

Other names having patriotic, political, or historical significance are:

Union
Yankee Puzzle
Continental
Union Calico Quilt
Star-Spangled Banner
Confederate Rose
Boston Puzzle

There is also the “Centennial” in commemoration of the Centennial Exposition held at Philadelphia in 1876, and “The World’s Fair,” “World’s Fair Puzzle,” and “World’s Fair Blocks” to perpetuate the grandeurs of the great exposition held at Chicago in 1893.

Religion is closely associated with the life of the industrious, sober-minded dwellers of our villages and farms, and it is the most natural thing in the world for the Biblical teachings to crop out in the names of their quilts, as the following names indicate:

Garden of Eden
Golden Gates
Jacob’s Ladder
Joseph’s Coat
Solomon’s Temple
Solomon’s Crown
Star of Bethlehem
Tree of Paradise
Forbidden Fruit Tree

The glories of the sky enjoy ample prominence among quilt names. Beginning with the “Rising Sun,” of which there are several different designs, there follow “Sunshine” and “Sunburst,” then “Rainbow,” and finally a whole constellation of “Stars”:

Blazing Star
Brunswick Star
Combination Star
Chicago Star
Columbia Star
Crosses and Stars
Cluster of Stars
California Star
Diamond Star
Eight-pointed Star
Evening Star
Feather Star
Five-pointed Star
Flying Star
Four X Star
Four Stars Patch
Joining Star
Ladies’ Beautiful Star
Morning Star
New Star
Novel Star
Odd Star
Premium Star
Ribbon Star
Rolling Star
Sashed Star
Seven Stars
Star Lane
Star of Bethlehem
Star and Chains
Star of Many Points
Star and Squares
Star and Cubes
Star Puzzle
Shooting Star
Star of the West
Star and Cross
Star of Texas
Stars upon Stars
Squares and Stars
St. Louis Star
Star, A
Twinkling Star
Union Star
Wheel and Star
Western Star

In connection with the “Star” quilt names it is worthy of notice that geometric names outnumber those of any other class. “Squares,” “triangles,” and “circles” are well represented, but the “Stars” easily lead with nearly fifty names.

Names of various other geometric patterns appear below:

Art Square
Barrister’s Blocks
Beggar’s Blocks
Box Blocks
Circle within Circle
Cross within Cross
Cross and Crown
Cube Work
Cube Lattice
Diamonds
Diamond Cube
Diamond Design
Double Squares
Domino and Square
Eight-point Design
Five Stripes
Fool’s Square
Four Points
Greek Cross
Greek Square
Hexagonal
Interlaced Blocks
Maltese Cross
Memory Blocks
Memory Circle
New Four Patch
New Nine Patch
Octagon
Pinwheel Square
Red Cross
Ribbon Squares
Roman Cross
Sawtooth Patchwork
Square and Swallow
Square and a Half
Squares and Stripes
Square and Triangle
Stripe Squares
The Cross
The Diamond
Triangle Puzzle
Triangular Triangle
Variegated Diamonds
Variegated Hexagons

Names of a nautical turn are to be expected for quilts which originate in seaside cottages and seaport villages. “Bounding Betty,” “Ocean Waves,” and “Storm at Sea” have a flavour as salty as the spray which dampens them when they are spread out to sun by the sandy shore.

That poetry and romance have left their mark on the quilt is shown by the names that have been drawn from these sources. “Lady of the Lake,” “Charm,” “Air Castle,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and “Wonder of the World” are typical examples. Sentimental names are also in evidence, as “Love Rose,” “Lovers’ Links,” “True Lovers’ Knot,” “Friendship Quilt,” and “Wedding Knot.”

Nature furnishes more suggestions for beautiful quilt designs than any other source. So frequently are her models resorted to by quilt makers the world over that many different designs have been inspired by the same leaf or flower. The rose especially is used again and again, and will always be the favourite flower of the quilter. There are at least twenty “rose” names to prove how this flower has endeared itself to the devotees of piece-block and quilting frame:

Rose
California Rose
Complex Rose
Confederate Rose
Democrat Rose
Dutch Rose
Harrison Rose
Harvest Rose
Love Rose
Mexican Rose
Prairie Rose
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Dixie
Rose of the Carolinas
Rosebud and Leaves
Rose Album
Rose of LeMoine
Radical Rose
Whig Rose
Wild Rose
Wreath of Roses

Other flowery names are also popular:

Basket of Lilies
Bouquet
Cleveland Lilies
Cactus Blossom
Chrysanthemums
Double Peony
Daisies
Daffodils and Butterflies
Field Daisies
Flower Basket
Iris
Jonquils
Lily Quilt Pattern
Lily of the Valley
Morning Glory
Morning Gray Wreath
Persian Palm Lady
Poppy
Pansies and Butterflies
Single Sunflowers
Sunflowers
Tulip in Vase
Tassel Plant
Tulip Blocks
Three-flowered Sunflower
The Mayflower
Tulip Lady Finger
White Day Lily

When seeking flowers that lend themselves readily to quilt designs it is best to choose those whose leaves and blossoms present clear, distinct, and easily traced outlines. The names of many of the quaint varieties that flourish in old-fashioned gardens, as lilacs, phlox, larkspur, and marigolds, are absent from the list. This is because their lacy foliage and complex arrangement of petals cannot be reproduced satisfactorily in quilt materials.

Even the lowly vegetables secure some mention among quilt names with “Corn and Beans.” The fruits and trees are well represented, as noted by the following list:

Apple Hexagon
Cherry Basket
California Oak Leaf
Cypress Leaf
Christmas Tree
Fruit Basket
Grape Basket
Hickory Leaf
Imperial Tea
Indian Plum
Live Oak Tree
Little Beech Tree
Maple Leaf
May Berry Leaf
Olive Branch
Orange Peel
Oak Leaf and Tulip
Oak Leaf and Acorns
Pineapple
Pine Tree
Sweet Gum Leaf
Strawberry
Tea Leaf
Tufted Cherry
Temperance Tree
Tulip Tree Leaves

The names of birds and insects are almost as popular as those of flowers, as this list will bear witness:

Bluebird
Brown-tailed Moth
Butterflies
Bird’s Nest
Crow’s Foot
Chimney Swallows
Cockscomb
Dove in the Window
Duck and Ducklings
Four Little Birds
Goose Tracks
Goose in the Pond
Honeycomb
Honeycomb Patch
Hen and Chickens
King’s Crows
Peacocks and Flowers
Spider’s Den
Shoo Fly
Spider’s Web
Swarm of Bees
The Two Doves
Wild Goose Chase

The animals also must be credited with their share of names:

Bear’s Foot
Bear’s Paws
Bat’s Wings
Bunnies
Cats and Mice
Flying Bat
Four Frogs Quilt
Leap Frog
Puss-in-the-Corner
The Snail’s Trail
Toad in the Puddle
The Lobster (1812)

Occasionally the quilt maker was honoured by having her name given to her handiwork, as “Mrs. Morgan’s Choice,” “Mollie’s Choice,” “Sarah’s Favourite,” and “Fanny’s Fan.” Aunts and grandmothers figure as prominently in the naming of quilts as they do in the making of them. “Aunt Sukey’s Patch,” “Aunt Eliza’s Star Point,” “Grandmother’s Own,” “Grandmother’s Dream,” and “Grandmother’s Choice” are typical examples.

Quilt names in which reference is made to persons and personalities are quite numerous, as is proved by the list given below:

Coxey’s Camp
Crazy Ann
Dutchman’s Puzzle
Everybody’s Favourite
Eight Hands Around
Grandmother’s Choice
Garfield’s Monument
Gentleman’s Fancy
Handy Andy
Hands All Around
Hobson’s Kiss
Indian Plumes
Indian Hatchet
Jack’s House
Joseph’s Necktie
King’s Crown
Lady Fingers
Ladies’ Wreath
Ladies’ Delight
Mary’s Garden
Mrs. Cleveland’s Choice
Old Maid’s Puzzle
Odd Fellows’ Chain
Princess Feather
President’s Quilt
Sister’s Choice
The Tumbler
The Hand
The Priscilla
Twin Sisters
Vice-President’s Quilt
Widower’s Choice
Washington’s Puzzle
Washington’s Sidewalk
Washington’s Plumes

Names derived both from local neighbourhoods and foreign lands occupy a prominent place in the quilt list:

Arabic Lattice
American Log Patch
Arkansas Traveller
Alabama Beauty
Blackford’s Beauty
Boston Puzzle
Columbian Puzzle
Cross Roads to Texas
Double Irish Chain
French Basket
Grecian Design
Indiana Wreath
Irish Puzzle
Kansas Troubles
Linton
London Roads
Mexican Rose
Oklahoma Boomer
Philadelphia Beauty
Philadelphia Pavement
Rocky Glen
Royal Japanese Vase
Rocky Road to Kansas
Rocky Road to California
Road to California
Roman Stripe
Rockingham’s Beauty
Rose of Dixie
Rose of the Carolinas
Star of Texas
Texas Flower
The Philippines
Texas Tears
Venetian Design
Village Church
Virginia Gentleman

Sometimes the names of a flower and a locality are combined, as in “Persian Palm Lily” and “Carolina Lily.” This latter design is quite a popular one in the Middle West, where it is known also as “Star Flower.”

Figures and letters come in for some attention, for a few of the designs thus named are quite artistic. The best known are “Boxed I’s,” “Capital I,” “Double Z,” “Four E’s,” “Fleur-de-Lis,” “Letter H,” “Letter X,” and “T Quartette.”

Inanimate objects, particularly those about the house, inspired many names for patterns, some of which are quite appropriate. A number of such names are given here:

Album
Base Ball
Basket Quilt
Block Album
Brickwork Quilt
Carpenter’s Rule
Carpenter’s Square
Churn Dash
Cog Wheel
Compass
Crossed Canoes
Diagonal Log Chain
Domino
Double Wrench
Flutter Wheel
Fan
Fan Patch
Fan and Rainbow
Ferris Wheel
Flower Pot
Hour Glass
Ice Cream Bowl
Log Patch
Log Cabin
Necktie
Needle Book
New Album
Pincushion and Burr
Paving Blocks
Pickle Dish
Rolling Pinwheel
Rolling Stone
Sashed Album
Shelf Chain
Snowflake
Snowball
Stone Wall
Sugar Loaf
Spools
Shield
Scissor’s Chain
Square Log Cabin
The Railroad
The Disk
The Globe
The Wheel
Tile Patchwork
Watered Ribbon
Wind Mill

Occasionally the wag of the family had his opportunity, for it took some one with a strain of dry humour to suggest “Old Bachelor’s Puzzle,” “Drunkard’s Path,” and “All Tangled Up,” or to have ironically called one quilt a “Blind Man’s Fancy.”

Imagination was not lacking when it came to applying apt names to some of the simplest designs. To have called rows of small triangles running diagonally across a quilt the “Wild Goose Chase,” the maker must have known something of the habits of wild geese, for as these migrate from North to South and back again following the summer’s warmth, they fly one behind the other in long V-shaped lines. The resemblance of these lines, swiftly moving across the sky, to her neat rows of triangles supplied the quilt maker with her inspiration.

Names that are grotesque, or fanciful, or so descriptive that their mention is sure to provoke a grin, occur with pleasing frequency. Who can help but smile at “Hairpin Catcher,” “Hearts and Gizzards,” or “Tangled Garters?” Other grotesque names worthy of mention are:

An Odd Pattern
Autograph Quilt
Boy’s Nonsense
Brick Pile
Broken Dish
Cake Stand
Crazy Quilt
Devil’s Puzzle
Fantastic Patch
Fool’s Puzzle
No Name Quilt
Pullman Puzzle
Puzzle File
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
State House Steps
Steps to the Altar
Swing in the Centre
The X quisite
Tick-Tack-Toe
Vestibule

The everyday quilts, not particularly beautiful, perhaps, but nevertheless so essential to the family comfort, are also considered worthy of names. Homely and prosaic as their owners, the following names have a peculiar rugged quality entirely lacking in the fanciful ones given to their more artistic sisters:

An Old Patchwork
Bedtime
Coarse Woven Patch
Country Farm
Crib Quilt
Crosses and Losses
Economy
Home Treasure
Odds and Ends
Odd Patchwork
Old Scrap Patchwork
Right and Left
Simple Design
Swinging Corners
The Old Homestead
Twist and Turn
Twist Patchwork
Winding Walk
Workbox

In the old days grown-up folks were not the only ones who had to do with naming the quilts; children shared in the honour, and many of the quaint and fantastic names were the result of humouring their fancies. There was no “B’rer Rabbit” in quilt lore, but he was not missed when the two or three youngsters who cuddled in the old-fashioned trundle bed could have so many other fascinating names for their quilts. “Four Little Birds,” “Ducks and Ducklings,” “Children’s Delight,” “The Little Red House,” “Goose in the Pond,” “The House That Jack Built,” “Toad in the Puddle,” and “Johnny Around the Corner” are some of the old names still in use to-day. Any one of these patterns made up into a quilt was a treasure to imaginative children, and it was doubly so when they could pick out among the tiny blocks bits of colour that were once in their own gay dresses and pinafores.

Clinging lavender wisteria, sweet jasmine, and even scarlet amaryllis pale beside the glowing colours displayed during sunny spring days on the gallery rails of many country homes through Delaware and Virginia. These picturesque scenes, in which the familiar domestic art supplies the essential touch of colour, are aptly described by Robert and Elizabeth Shackleton, those indefatigable searchers for the beautiful among the relics of our forefathers.

“In many a little village, and in many an isolated mountain home, the old-time art of making patchwork coverlets is remembered and practised. Some may be found that are generations old; others are new, but made in precisely the old-time way, and after the same patterns. Many are in gorgeous colours, in glowing yellows, greens, and purples; and being a matter of housewifely pride, they are often thrown over the ‘gallery rail’ so their glory may be seen.

“One guest bed had nineteen quilts! Not to sleep under such a padded mountain, but it was the most natural method of display. Each quilt had its name. There was the “Western Star,” the “Rose of the Carolinas,” the “Log Cabin,” the “Virginia Gentleman,” the “Fruit Basket,” the “Lily of the Valley”—as many special names as there are designs.”

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