Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960 (Spiral-bound)

~ (Author) "Quilts and fabrics from this period are rare, and it is difficult to find them other than in museums and private collections..." (more)
Key Phrases: overdyed greens, kit quilts, mourning prints, Dating Fabrics, Cofor Guide, Dating Tabrics (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In dating antique quilts, fabric identification takes on paramount importance. This practical handbook compiled by Trestain, an experienced quilt appaiser, includes photos of more than 1000 color fabric swatchesmany from the authors collectioncovering the period from 1800 to 1960. Trestain devotes a chapter to each of six different eras: pre1830, the settling of the West, the first centennial, the turn of the century, the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, and World War II. She prefaces the fabric swatches for each period with historical background and information about print styles, colors, and quilts of the period. This should appeal to quilt show visitors, fabric collectors, and quilt and vintage clothing collectors and is an essential purchase for textile collections and large public libraries.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Are you a fabric collector, quilt collector, appraiser, or antiques collector who needs to know specifics about fabrics or quilts? Then this book is for you! It will help you identify, date, and recognize antique fabrics and their uses in quilts and clothing. Over 1,000 color fabric swatches are listed in this handy, easy-to-use reference guide. You'll be able to identify fabric dating from the pre-1830 era through the Second World War. Match your antique fabric by selecting a suspected time period and comparing colors and prints. REVIEW: There are many books out with beautiful color prints of quilts from various eras but until now we couldn't examine an extensive collection of fabrics. Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960 offers this opportunity by organizing hundreds of fabric swatches by period. For each period, Eileen Trestain gives us fascinating information about how textiles were made, dyes were used and prints created in the making of fabrics during that time period.

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Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 206 pages
• Publisher: American Quilter's Society (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891458840
• ISBN-13: 978-0891458845
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference for antique quilt lovers, April 10, 1999

By A Customer

We've needed something like this for a long time - it will be especially helpful to those people who buy or sell old fabrics but who don't have years of experience to guide them on dating. Also very useful are Eileen's introductions to the various periods, explaining the dyes used, printing techniques, and how aging has affected the fabrics and dyes. I am an antiques dealer with a specialty in quilts and will recommend this to all my customers.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book for dating cottons, April 8, 2001

By	Mary Z. Cox (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've owned this book for two years and I find myself referring to it whenever I want to create a specific time period quilt. I took it with me to the quilt shop when I picked out the material for the 1912, Lady In An Elegant Red Hat workshop given by Linda Cantrell. My appliqued lady looked almost magical because her dress was of a cotton popular during this time. The book is broken into sections that reflect historical changes in textiles in the United States.(Pre-1830,1830-1860, 1860-1880,1880-1810, 1910-1935, 1930-1960. Color plate swatches are arranged by color and color examples are given of fabrics in faded colors as well. This is a boon to history buffs in documenting quilts with faded fabrics. I love redwork and have found the red examples in both the 1880-1910 and the 1910-1935 section to be helpful in selecting period appropriate reds. The 1830-1860 and the 1860-1880's swatches have helped me identify fabrics to use for Civil War reenactment. Truly a great resource for anyone interested in reproducing or identifying historical quilts.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME! Great visual identification guide....a MUST have!, December 8, 2001

By	M. Swearingen (Arizona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is the one we've all been waiting for. It has literally the most definitive collection of clear, full color fabric swatch pictures of fabrics dating from 1800 to 1960 that has EVER been compiled and published in one easy to use spiral, hardbound book. Her explanations are cursory, but the pictures make this book my most often referred to book when dating old fabric and/or vintage quilts with their multitudes of different fabrics.

One neat thing about this book is that it lays open flat so you don't have to juggle with it to keep your place in the book while examining and comparing with your actual quilt or fabric. It has a great, and I mean GREAT, resource list with web site addresses including quilt societies, appraisers and museums, a full glossary of what all those "trade insider" words mean, and a very comprehensive bibliography.

I can't imagine how I got by without this book. It is the visual bible of quilt/fabric dating and identification. It deserves more than 5 starts, it is a gorgeous, useful, well documented and very organized fabric dating reference manual!