The Feisty Quilter: The Hand Quilting Frame

Sunday, April 21, 2019

The Hand Quilting Frame

My great grandmother didn't use a frame. She sandwiched her quilt between two mattresses. She stitched a row and rolled it up and then, pulled another row out from under the mattress. She quilted sitting on the floor. A frame was only necessary for quilting bees. My great aunt (her sister) had a ceiling frame made with broomcorn slats clamped together with C-clamps. Pulleys were screwed to the ceiling. The ropes were tied around the slats. They ran over the pulleys and were held in place by drape hooks screwed into the walls.

Frames from at least 1813 had holes drilled in them for running ropes through the backing to stretch it. In modern times, the backing was tacked or stapled on. Today, we use clips. Only the backing fabric is stretched. The top and batting are basted to prevent them from shifting.

Wooden clamps had been in use since at least the 1870s. Some were intended for holding wood slats together, but others were carved as standing clamps to make a floor frame.

Metal clamps came into use in 1900.

The Stretch Frame, also known as a Floor Frame or Stand Frame hasn't changed much in the last 200+ years. They can still be found in homes today. The one on the top left is probably homemade. The one on the top right is the new FA Edmund's Legacy Frame. I own the Edmund's model 5560D frame on the second row that was marketed with an optional extension kit (5560D1). Both kits are shown beneath the frame. The Edmund's frame on the fourth row is the 5560A. I don't know who manufactured the last frame, but it looks fairly modern and includes an ingenious tool box.

Scroll frames were actually intended for making tapestries, but quilters adopted them. On the top row, are two primitive antique scroll frames. I'm going to jump out on a limb here and say that the Scroll Frame is contemporary with the Stretch Frame. Hand frames were such utilitarian objects that dating them is almost impossible without old photos or paintings. If they're primitive, they date before 1900. If they include metal hardware, they date after 1900. The frame on the second row left features a hand carved cogwheel. The one on the second row right is a modern frame. The frame on the third row appears to be a modern homemade version as well. It looks like an adaptation of the Edmund's 5560A. The Dutch Treat Frame on the bottom is another type of scroll frame.

Tapestry Frames tilt, whereas quilt frames remain level and stationary. Tapestry frames are also more narrow than quilt frames. If you'll notice, old scroll frames had two legs and round or square rails. An area rug was heavy and had to be advanced or rolled up to make a large rug. Quilt frames always had four legs and flat rails. Combing these two elements has led to some confusion about the different frames and what they're used for. Quilts weren't rolled up. Women sat around a large frame and quilted at arms length. You must keep in mind that the largest antique mattress was a 3/4 size (48x75" or 4ft by 6ft 3"). Women on either side of a four foot wide quilt would have no problem stitching it. They didn't need, nor did they use the massive quilt frames we use today.

Despite its simplicity, the Ceiling Frame only came into use during the 1930s to save space.

Some time around the 1940s, quilting bees became less commonplace and the market shifted to individual frames and hoops. The Quilt As You Go Frame (bottom left) and Stretcher Bars (bottom right) were ntroduced.

In the 1970s, we got the Quilt and Rug Hooking Frame. FA Edmund's, Sears and Gibbs all jumped on the stand hoop bandwagon.

Different companies marketed various shapes and sizes of Quilt Hoops. The round, oval, square and half round hoops on the first and second rows were sold by Darice. I don't know who marketed the half round in the middle, but I've never seen one like it. It comes in two parts and has a center bar connecting them. The last one is FA Edmund's border hoop that comes in two sizes.