If you have the means today, then anything you need
is just a phone call away. This was, however, not the case decades ago.
Life was slow-paced and technology at its inception. While men went out
to earn a living, women spent time looking after the hearth and home -
cooking, sewing and chatting away with friends and neighbors to pass
time. Making quilts, especially for newborns, was an important task.
Quilts served a number of purposes like for covering beds, being hanged
on the walls as a wall hanging, rugs and blankets for adults and kids.
Gifting beautiful quilts to a bride during her marriage and preparing
for the arrival of the newborn by making fresh warm quilts by hands was
a strong tradition and continues to remain so in various pockets across
the globe.
All baby quilts, whether simple or elaborate, are special because they
reflect the love, dedication and adeptness with which they have been
made. A common binding feature in quilts made for the baby is that they
are all usually very colorful and bear interesting motifs. Earlier women
derived their inspiration from nature and surroundings and so their
handmade quilts featured designs that varied from being very easy and
simple to detailed.
The traditional motifs for baby quilts included signs of sun, moon,
stars, animals, mountains, people, village scenes, geometrical shapes,
flowers and so on. Though the traditional designs on baby quilts can
still be found, the new contemporary ones like cartoon characters,
trains, building, etc. have also made their way into it. Also while the
early baby quills were mostly handmade, these are also made by employing
sewing machines.
Quilting is usually done with three layers - the topmost fabric is
normally made of flannel or soft cotton, batting or insulating material
is used in the middle and finally there's a base material. The quilter's
needle or the sewing machine runs over and through all the three layers
as per the design and binds them together. The same technique is applied
across the entire piece where quilting is wanted. The quilt for the baby
is ready!
