Ann Champion's Blog

Today the quilt I’m pulling from the quilt top cupboard is a very simple design.

The maker made four patches then sewed them into columns.  The columns are then separated by strips of double pink.

The top is entirely hand pieced.  It dates to around 1880-1910.

The top contains mourning prints, ginghams, shirting, indigos and double pinks.

There are several poverty patches, which are pieces that are made from sewing two scraps (or more) together in order to get a piece of fabric large enough to cut the piece needed for the pattern.

I like the simplicity of this this quilt top and I think it would look pretty with a cable type design running down the length of the double pink?

Here you can see some of the fabrics, which are very plain and simple.

The top needs a good pressing, but otherwise is in wonderful condition.

I thought I’d show you what might have been used in times gone by to press a top.

This iron is a reproduction of an antique.  It opens so a hot coal, hot sand, or a hot metal slug could be placed inside to keep the iron hot.

This type of iron was first used in the fifteenth century.

Prior to this invention a metal iron was heated in a fire, then a piece of fabric was placed over the item to be pressed to prevent soot from being transferred onto it.  This iron allowed people to iron their fabrics directly and thus be able to see that they weren’t ironing wrinkles into their fabrics.  It was much cleaner.

By the 1820s, cast iron was also used to make flatirons. These irons were called sad irons because they were heavy, weighing about 15 lb (5.6 kg), and hard to move.

This example is an 8lb. size.

With the advent of cast iron stoves, flatirons could be heated on top of them, which was much cleaner than a fire.

Like flatirons, sad irons were heated on the stove top, but they sometimes heated unevenly. The handle also heated up, which posed problems for users. American Mary Potts solved these predicaments in 1870. She made a cardboard base and filled it with plaster of Paris. This was placed around the iron’s body and kept it cooler for more even heating. Potts also devised a detachable wooden handle that was spring loaded for the sad iron. Because wood does not hold heat in the same way that iron does, the person using the iron would not be burned.

After gas became available in American homes in the late 1800s, gas irons came into existence. The earliest were patented in 1874. Homes had individual gas lines into them, and the gas iron was hooked up to the gas line by a pipe. The iron contained a burner to which the gas flowed. When the burner was lit with a match, the iron heated up. The iron was very hot and gas sometimes leaked, but the gas irons were lighter than sad irons. Other fueled irons soon followed. These irons were heated with oil, gasoline, paraffin, and other fuels.

The electric iron was invented in the 1880s when electricity became widely available in homes. The first electric iron was patented by Henry W. Seeley in 1882. His iron was hooked up to an electrical source by detachable wires. The electricity stimulated the iron’s internal coils. But Seeley’s iron, like many early electric irons, did not have electric cords. The irons were heated on a stand. One big problem with Seeley’s iron was that it heated very slowly on the stand, and cooled quickly while in use. This iron had to be reheated frequently.

By the turn of the century, iron technology had progressed considerably and irons became more common in American house-holds.In 1903, irons with electric cords directly attached to the iron were being sold.

In 1926, the steam iron was introduced by the Eldec Company. Steam made it easier to smooth dry stiff fabrics. Previously the user sprinkled water on dry clothing, or clothing had to be ironed when damp. The steam irons employ a water tank that allows heated water vapor to be created and applied through small holes on the sole plate. Steam irons did not become popular until the 1940s.

I’m sure glad we don’t have to use irons like my old examples. I love my electric steam iron with temperature controls!

There now..the next time you go to iron something you may enjoy it more, knowing what a wonderful convenience our modern day irons are?