The history of quilting (briefly). The history of patchwork in Russia

The technique of quilting has long been known in many countries. It consists in the composition of various compositions - mosaic patterns - from patterned patches of cloth, both variegated and monochrome. At us such creativity has received the name of a patchwork (calico) mosaic.

In the compositions made in this technique, there are no visible seams on the front side of the product, in contrast to the application (patching the shreds on a single background). Both directions can be present and perfectly combined with each other in the same product.

The history of quilting is of interest to many. How and when did this unusual tradition of "collect" things from pieces of cloth? In what country did it originate? Let's take a short time to the past.

The history of the appearance of quilting

Homeland of this technique is considered to be England. But in fact the history of the appearance of patchwork sewing is associated with much more ancient times. In the national museum of Cairo there is a sample of ornament, the material for which was leather fragments of the skin of a gazelle, scientists date it 980 BC. E. The museum of the city of Tokyo stores an old outfit of a similar age with patchwork patterns. In 1920, an English archeologist A. Stein discovered a Buddhist carpet, dating back to around the 9th century, made by monks from many pieces of pilgrims' clothes.

The history of the appearance of patchwork in Europe is no less interesting. There is a suggestion that the craft came from the East along with the knights returning from the crusades, carrying carpets, banners, clothes and fabrics with them as trophies. Then, at the end of the 18th century, immigrants from England, Holland and Germany brought the technique of patchwork to America, where it was significantly improved and turned into a national form of creativity.

The Western name for this technique is patchwork. This practical and inexpensive form of decorative and applied art originally existed in England, where from the 16th century, India brought excellent cotton fabrics of bright patterns and colors. A characteristic sign of prosperity in the house was an Indian blanket, luxuriously decorated with a printed pattern or embroidery.

England as the birthplace of patchwork

Since genuine colonial goods by no means all were affordable, the manufacture of counterfeit local blankets made from imported fabrics was quickly developed by the English manufactories. Since 1712, the government of England, in order to develop its own manufacturing industry, was prohibited from importing into the country and selling Indian cotton and articles from it. Since then the history of patchwork sewing in the country has received a push to development.

Chintz became contraband and expensive. Sewing clothes from him, thrifty Englishwomen left the rest of the fabric for other products - mostly appliqués for woolen and linen cloths. The smallest pieces were assembled in a mosaic, forming a single canvas.

The history of patchwork in Russia

In our country, mention of this technique has been encountered since the XIX century with the sale of overseas expensive chintz. This flourishing art reached the end of the XIX century, which is due to the beginning of the development of the production of chintz by machine in the manufactories and the widespread distribution of inexpensive cotton fabrics with printed patterns. Thus, in our country the entire history of patchwork sewing is reduced to the appearance of industrial production in the textile sector.

Calico shirts and sarafans are firmly established in everyday life. As a rule, they were decorated with a patchwork ornament. Economical housewives managed from the slightest cotton prints left after cutting clothes, collect a lot of useful products - and blankets, and curtains, and rugs, and pillows, and much more.

Made in Russia

The history of patchwork sewing in our country traditionally boils down to the technique of "village" patterns - a simple mosaic of triangles, squares, strips and contrasting bright colors. The most interesting and noteworthy are the three-dimensional technologies characteristic of Russian sewing.

The essence of this technology is as follows. All the scraps are cut out according to the form in the form of a square or a circle and they are folded in triangles. Those are grouped in rows and in a circle are adhered to the base, which serves as a dense tissue. Another option is that the fabric is cut into strips, from which long bundles are twisted. Then the pigtail-cord is plaited. Several such braids of different colors are laid out on the fabric in a circle and sewed together.

And in our days?

In the twentieth century (in the 1970s) there was a new surge in fashion for clothing, decorations and interiors in folklore style, on the wave of which interest in this technique revived. This kind of folk art became interested in museums, which started collecting samples of products.

As a result, there were entire collections of masterpieces of folk arts and crafts (which is not surprising, since the history of patchwork sewn numbers many decades). And they are stored in the All-Russian Museum of Decorative and Applied and Folk Art of Moscow, the State Russian Museum of St. Petersburg, the Ivanovo Chintz Museum and many local museums of local lore. Patchwork technology has attracted a huge number of modern professional artists.

Is it easy to sew from rags?

This technique is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. From the artist it is required not only the possession of sewing skills, but also a subtle sense of style, color and, of course, taste. A good result is possible only with high accuracy of cutting and stitching of the elements. The difference of just a few millimeters can lead to a skew of the whole product. It is required to master both manual and machine stitch perfectly (the term "flogging" means sewing through a gasket of cotton wool, a layer of batting or any other material placed between two layers of decorative fabric). The stitch can have different patterns, which additionally decorate the product.

What do not sew masters of colorful shreds! They create a variety of diverse things - from rag dolls, blankets, tablecloths, pillows, curtains, tacksticks, rugs to panels and paintings, as well as bags, jackets and vests. Having developed taste, the artist has complete freedom in choosing fabrics and drawing up her own, always unique design.

Mastering the intricacies of this original art requires patience and time. Beginning needlewomen can be advised to take on a simple product of small size, for example, potholders. When making any object in scrappy technique, first of all, it is necessary to master the connection of a pair of rectangular triangles of the same size into a square in a color, then compose of a strip of similar squares, after which it is already necessary to sew a number of strips into a continuous web.

What is required of the artist

The necessary component of success is the availability of accuracy and artistic taste. That the composition does not ripple in the eyes, pieces of tissue must harmonize with each other in color. A successful geometric solution can give the composition a truly unique color. Complexity arises when working with shreds that have, in addition to the main pattern, many additional colors and shades. Making up a single canvas, the master has to check every minute the effect achieved. And the main thing in his work is not the theory of color combinations, but his own intuition.

The unusual variety of patchwork is striking and attracting attention. In the decoration of the kitchen, tablecloths, smart napkins, mottled stitches, bedroom blankets, all sorts of blankets and pillowcases. Getting into the living room, we pay attention to the decorative panels, and in the wardrobe are stored accessories in the form of a purse, bags and even clothes - it can be a cozy quilted vest or summer sundress in a folk style.

Modern tendencies

Nowadays patchwork embroidery attracts both professional artists and amateur artists. Someone is keen on sewing blankets, inspiring the source of national art, the other chose to make clothes enriched by the decorative variety of folk Russian costume.

In any case, the interweaving of modern sewing techniques with folk traditions can be traced, and through this - the penetration of the cultural heritage of the past. For patchwork of the Russian style is characterized by a special brightness, "fun" colors. In the patterns there is always a multicolor, there in an incomprehensible way harmoniously combine various motley motifs, fabrics of several textures.

In a number of Russian cities, fans of this original remarkable creativity organized their clubs. Fans of patchwork sewing hold joint actions, meetings, exhibitions and festivals, up to the implementation of international projects.

The history of the development of patchwork sewing is by no means complete in our day. All over the world, this craft is being reborn, many countries claim to be a priority in this sphere of applied art. Perhaps, it is more correct to consider it an international art - belonging to the whole world. Like other ways of artistic expression, it serves as an accessible and understandable language for the interaction of representatives of different faiths and nations.