American Doll Quilts: 16 Little Projects That Honor A Tradition (Paperback)

by Kathleen Tracy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Celebrate the sweet, centuries-old American tradition of antique doll quilts with stories of the past and heirlooms for the future. These simple projects will capture the charm of yesteryear for a child—or the child within.

Sixteen designs represent doll quilts made during different periods in American history, starting with the colonial period and moving through the Civil War, the Victorian era, the Great Depression, and World War II. Make the past come alive with simple patterns much like the ones children learned to stitch long ago.

Projects in a range of sizes up to 20" x 22" include an embroidered medallion quilt, a crazy quilt, Civil War era quilts and needle cases, an Amish quilt and a friendship pillow easy enough for a child to make.

Also includes information on fabrics and designs popular during the different historical periods.

About the Author
Kathleen Tracy designs patterns inspired by antique doll quilts for her quilt kit company, Country Lane Quilts. This is her first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 79 pages
• Publisher: Martingale and Company (December 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564775895
• ISBN-13: 978-1564775894
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #575,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Awaited Treasure, January 3, 2005

By	Tracy Robert (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first became interested in doll quilts in October 2004 as I tired from a creative binge of sewing doll clothes, but still wanted low commitment sewing projects to work on. Little quilts and doll quilts are smaller versions of larger quilt patterns. Doll quilts are an excellent start for any beginning quilter or for those who prefer short term projects. Historically, doll quilts were often made by children as they practiced sewing and quilting skills. Today, they are suitable projects for beginning adults as well as supervised children.

"American Doll Quilts" breaks quilt styles into time periods, giving several different quilt patterns for each time period. There are 16 historical quilt designs in this book; complete with lists of materials, directions, color illustrations of each step and full color photos of completed quilts. The author describes fabric, color, and pattern choices for making historical quilts as well as how and when to tea dye a fabric for an antique look.

Although no specific dolls are mentioned or endorsed in this book, I wanted to mention that the historical nature of these quilt patterns makes them a nice accessory to the American Girl historical dolls (as well as antique and reproduction dolls). A Colonial quilt could be given to Felicity, a Western pioneer quilt could be made for Kirsten, a Civil War Era/Underground Railroad quilt could be made for Addy, a Victorian Crazy Quilt might look nice on Samantha and Nellie's beds, and Depression and WW2 era quilts can be made for Kit and Molly. Pattterns for all of these eras and quilt types are included in this book.

Whether made by an adult or an older child, these quilts are absolutely suited for today's audience of young historians and nostaligic adults. This book is well done. Whether you are interested in sewing historical little quilts for wall hangings, to display with antique or historical dolls, or for child's play, this book can help you create something you will be proud to have made.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a joy to read while still being educational, December 8, 2006

By	Judy "historyofquilts" - See all my reviews

These little patterns would be a delight to make and each one represents a period of time in America's history. Having viewed many vintage and antique quilts I find these little quilts are true to their periods in history both in the fabric and the patterns.

In spite of the charming patterns in this book it's greatest value is it's ability to give you a sense of what it was like to be quilting during different times in history.

It is good resource for historical information about the styles and periods of each project but the greatest value is in the learning the history and then making the quilt. There is something about doing something with our hands that makes the history we have learned so real.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Doll Quilts: 16 Little Projects that Honor a Tradition, May 13, 2007

By	Georgia Barker "GMBarker" (Franklin, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought the book because I have always loved doll quilts. Now I have a granddaughter and anticipate making quilts for her doll babies. This book has many projects and good instructions, as well as, history about quilts and how they fit into the history of our country. The pictures are beautiful and the book is well written. It would be an asset in any quilt book library.