Vintage Quilt Sun Bonnet Sue

Bonnet Girls

Spring is here, Easter is just around the corner and I think it is the perfect time to introduce you to my bonnet girls. This quilt is an "orphan" quilt; I purchased it in the late 1980s at an antique show in Columbus, Indiana. I remember the day I bought the quilt. I was on my lunch hour browsing items in an antique show at the Commons Mall. The pink and blue borders caught my eye first, then the little girls in their bonnets. The quilt reminded me of the pink and blue wall paper in my bedroom when I was a little girl. My Mom and Dad had even wallpapered the inside of the closet pink and blue. The quilting stitches were simple and some of the fabric was worn. I believe I paid $40 for the quilt.

Each Spring, as winter melts away, I bring out my Sun Bonnet Sue quilt and hang it on my living room wall to ponder and enjoy for a few weeks. The quilter and origin of this quilt is unknown, thus an orphan, so I can only use the clues of the fabric, pattern and construction to imagine it's journey.

Clues

The quilt is made up of 25 Sun Bonnet Sue blocks framed in pink and blue. Each dress is made of a different fabric and appears to be feed sack print. Poultry feed was distributed and sold in these colorful prints in the 1930s-1950s. Farm women used the fabric to make dresses, aprons and quilts. I could imagine the bonnet girls' dresses were made from scraps left after making little girl dresses or possibly aprons but that doesn’t quite fit with this quilt. Each bonnet's fabric matches its dress perfectly. I don’t think it would have been possible to find all the matching fabrics, unless the farmer bought coordinating solid fabric with each batch of feed, which isn't likely. The pink and blue sashing could have been added later but the fabric has the same feel and color values as the bonnet fabrics.

The appliqué and embroidery are very precise. The appliqué has a turned edge and either a very fine blind stitch that was then coved with a black embroidered outline stitch or the turned edge was secured using the embroidered outline stitch. Each piece of Sue is outlined in black and each bonnet has accents and a bow embroidered with a color matching the dress print. Notice in the following example how the apricot accent thread in the bonnet matches the apricot color in the dress fabric.

The backing and block backgrounds are made from the same fabric, a medium weave unbleached muslin.

The batting is thick cotton that shows signs of pulling apart when held up to the light.

Looking at an exposed seam reveals machine stitching, indicating the blocks were joined using a sewing machine.

The majority of the quilt is hand quilted. The quilting design is simple diagonal lines spaced about two inches apart. There are about six stitches per inch. However, a few of the lines are machine quilted.

The binding was machine stitched to the top then turned over the edge and hand stitched to the back with a visible running stitch. The binding corners are curved not mitered.

I wonder why part of the quilt is machine quilted? It appears the person making the blocks was much more skilled than the person doing the quilting. I wonder why the batting is thick and kind of lumpy? I wonder how it is that all the fabrics and embroidery thread colors match perfectly? I wonder who made this quilt and why? I wonder how it ended up in an antique show with no story? I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions about how my little orphan was created. However, regardless of where or how this quilt came to be, she is loved and secure for now with me. If you would like to share your thoughts, please email me at charlena@doveinthewindow.com.

Happy Easter... and don't forget your bonnet!

...But the angle said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen". Matthew chapter 28 verses 5 & 6

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