Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Past Perfect: Shopping for Civil War Repros


When I used to travel and teach about making reproduction quilts my favorite classroom site was in a quilt shop. I could drag out bolts of fabric to show people the perfect prints to copy a certain era.

Bolts & bolts of fabric.
(I never had to put them back.)



My latest: Baltimore Blues

Of course I'd advise you to buy some of
the fabric I designed, but there are many other
great repro fabric designers.

Suedio's Stash

And I'd have people bring their stash of Civil-War-era fabric to class so I could
tell them what worked and what didn't.


I've been trying to figure out how to do that kind of
teaching online.

Some way I could digitally drag out bolts of fabric (mine and other designers)
to show what's a great reproduction.

Here's what I've come up with.

Pinterest Pages labeled Past Perfect.

This one for example:
MADDER STYLE: PAST PERFECT

I've been posting pictures of period quilts
in the fabric topic.
Union Square by Pam Mayfield 2001

Reproduction quilts for inspiration...
Suggestions for reproduction prints...
Above some old ones of mine. If you click on the picture
and then click again you'll go to the page I pinned from.

I show you other designer's repros too. Above, an old one from Pat Nickols.
You might have it in your stash or can find it online at Etsy, eBay or 
an online shop.

You also get information about the vintage fabrics' properties.
Sometimes if you click twice it takes you to a blog post I've done on the topic or to another site with more information. You'll recognize some of the posts and repros from our Stars in a Time Warp QuiltAlong.

I can add new fabrics and information as I find them on line.

Like this new stripe from Jo Morton's
Gratitude line.

If you keep up with my Madder Style page you'd know what was new and what was old.
Here's a link:

Next week I'll give you links to some other Past Perfect pages.

13 comments:

Vic in NH said...

Love the madder reds and browns and I so enjoyed this post! Thank you.

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Fabulous idea! Not that I need encouragement to buy more fabric, but this is another great way to share your knowledge and your fabulous fabrics!

Lori said...

Perfect for my "Quilters Madder" quiltalong! So many people aren't sure what a madder is.

Becky in VA said...

Until now, due to time management, I've resisted jumping into Pinterest, but your Past Perfect Pinterest Pages will give me lots to look at as you've done all the work of collecting and organizing these wonderful images. Love it. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Will your Past Perfect pages show what not to use? As a lover of all things repro, I find that knowing what shouldn't be used can be just as important as what not to use--with a few exceptions.

CecileD said...

I'm dreaming in front of these beautiful madders ....
Thank you for your Pinterest Pages ! :)

Barbara Brackman said...

What not to use? That would be tough. First I'd have to find a bad repro. Then I'd have to hurt somebody's feelings by saying it's BAD. I'll have to think about that. Hmmmm.

Suzanne A said...

Fantastic!!!!! Can you tell us how the fabric lines are made of copies of "document" fabrics modeled on actual period fabric and the other colors of the fabrics in that line are produced to appeal to more modern tastes? That has been my difficulty, distinguishing between the authentic and the variation that would look out of place to people more familiar with the period. I don't always want to be close to 100% authentic in using repros, but I would like to know what I'm doing.

/sewprimitive said...

Thank you for doing this! It's very helpful to have a visual reference.

Unknown said...

Thank You for sharing. This information helps. I am just now getting into repro fabric. I am just starting to tackle a Dear Jane quilt.

Quacks on the Lamb said...

Yes, yes! Reproduction colours are what I am trying to learn about now. Thanks for sharing all the great information.

Roxanne said...

Great idea! I am a pinterest "follower" of yours and have been seeing some great fabrics in my feed. Having these reference boards will be nice for shopping--thank you so much!

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