Stars in a Time Warp 19: Serpentine Stripes

Reproduction star by Becky Brown

Vintage block, 1820-1850

Serpentine stripes, which snake along the fabric's surface, were quite popular in the first half of the 19th century. 

Vintage flowers set in a striped set, but a serpentine striped set.

We're changing our focus here, going back into the 1800-1840 era, when serpentine stripes were IT.

Detail of a cotton dress about 1820 from

Charles A. Whitaker auctions

Early Medallion framed by triangles of stripes---serpentine 

and straight (neat stripes, about which more later)

Serpentine stripe reproduction by Becky Brown

Vintage block, 1820-1840

Combination of a serpentine stripe with an indigo neat stripe.

Serpentine stripes add fussy-cut effects to hexagons

as in this early quilt. Also notice the border. 

It's 4 diamonds, 3 shaded one way, 1 another.

Valerie's purple repro block included a serpentine stripe in the center.

Another reproduction star by Becky

She and Valerie have the same print in different colorways.

Vintage block, 1820-1840-

Note the unusual shape that is pieced of the serpentine stripes. It fits with hexagons

and offers more fussy-cutting possibilities.

Rainbow shading in a serpentine stripe

Girl, about 1840

Undulating stripes soften the lines of the dress so curved stripes might have been a fashion demand. But rollers printed these stripes easily and well, so the fad could also have been caused merely by the novelty of the cylinder print machines.

Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection

at the University of Wisconsin

Detail of an early 19th-century scrap quilt. 

Curvy stripes add to the busyness of the classic chintz look.

Mill book with illustrations for fabric about 1825.

Reproductions

Turkey red and a purple stripe by Becky Brown

The purple looks like the 1825 swatches

Terry Thompson and I reproduced this print for Coral Gardens

back in the '90s.

Sharon and Jason Yenter have a lovely example

in their Circa 1825 line for In the Beginning...

used here in a reproduction from Busy Thimble blog

Nancy Gere may be the queen of serpentine stripes.

She reproduces them often and well.

Lori at Humble Quilts used that blue stripe above.

A reproduction dress seen at Hearts Full of Joy blog.

SF's block using a popular repro print.

It was in the Sarah Johnson line from the Shelburne Museum

Here it is again in Old Virginia by Mariann Simmons. The print is rather strange and

quite accurate.

A recent repro from Mary Koval's Edith

Val has a piece of another old favorite

What to Do With Your Stack of Stars?

Make Blocks of Different Sizes

Star Happy Quilts by Judy Martin

We're working with 6" stars but you could be making 3", 9" or 12" stars too. With a little bit

of extra setting fabric you can give these vintage-looking stars a more contemporary look.

America by Leere Aldrich

Winter Blues

from A Year of Cozy Comforts by Dawn Heese.

Dawn alternated a large star with a 9-patch pieced of small stars.

Your 6-inch stars in a Nine Patch block would finish to 18".

If you alternated 5 big stars (finishing to 18") and 4 nine patches.....

You'd need only 20 small stars to wind up with a 54" quilt.

The nine patches are called Cluster of Stars and are BlockBase pattern #1710.

Those big stars would be an excellent spot for a Serpentine Stripe.

One More Thing About Serpentine Stripes

The Smithsonian's History  Museum owns a quilt made

by Martha Washington and her granddaughter Eliza Custis.

The brown stripe in the center border is supposed to be one

of Martha's dresses

That serpentine stripe was reproduced during the Centennial in 1876. Note the stripes going both ways. It's a rather basic print, possibly American manufactured. It's probably a little too primitive to be commercially viable today. But now you know what to look for if you are channeling Martha.

Read more about the quilt here:

http://quilt1812warandpiecing.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html

Repro by Becky Brown. 

She's added seams to the center

square to fussy-cut the serpentine stripe.

Read more about serpentine stripes in my book America's Printed Fabric, pages 37-39