The Signature Quilt Project

Signature quilts hold a special fascination for those of us who love old quilts. Somehow a name on a quilt makes us feel more connected with person who signed it. Some autographed quilts were made to raise money and people paid to have their name on the quilt. The quilt may have been auctioned off or it might have been given to honor a special person like a minister. Friendship quilts were made by family and friends to give to someone who was getting married or possibly moving away.

During the mid 1900s these quilts often displayed more than just signatures. People included sayings, poems or quotes from the Bible. Later it is more likely each block would just contain a name. No matter how they were signed these quilts can help tell the story of a family or even a community.

Much of this information could be lost to future generation if it weren't for the efforts of a group of quilt historians who are working out a way for these quilts and their signatures to be recorded.

Learn about their plans and if you are interested volunteer to help them with this endeavor. Go to The Signature Quilt Project on the Quilt Index site to learn more about this project.

Take a look at this fascinating 1857 example of a signature block, The Fanny Minard Signature Quilt Block from 1857 As you can see we can't let information like this be lost!

Learn more about signature quilts:

Friendship Quilts: Precious Remembrance

Baltimore Album Quilt: The Finest of Autograph Sampler Quilts