Some quilts are purely functional; others are works of art and a form of expression. Learn more about this popular art and craft form with these Library items.


Compiled by:
Jane R.
Allie Aller’s Stained Glass Quilts Reimagined: Fresh Techniques & Design

Allie Aller
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 All

Outlines techniques used in making wallhangings, throws and bedcovers with the look of stained glass. The results are bold and art-inspired, with a focus on composition, colors, lines, shapes and fabric.


American Quilts: The Democratic Art, 1780–2007

Robert Shaw
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Sha

An insightful look at quilting aesthetics, placing the craft in its historical, cultural and socioeconomic context. Shaw examines key moments that had an impact on quilting culture, including Amish emigration, slavery and the Civil War, the Great Depression, new sewing technology, and the Bicentennial.


Comfort and Glory: Two Centuries of American Quilts from the Briscoe Center

Katherine Jean Adams
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Ada

Essays and color photographs introduce 115 quilts from the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas. Selections span more than 200 years of American quilting and represent a broad range of traditional styles and functions.


Men and the Art of Quiltmaking

Joe Cunningham
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Cun

As more and more men become quilt artists, this volume addresses the design sense of 30 men who have created quilts, both traditional and contemporary. The text is accompanied by more than 100 photos of their work.


Mixing Quilt Elements: A Modern Look at Color, Style & Design

Kathy Doughty
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Dou

Covers approaches quilters might not have tried, such as English paper piecing, raw-edge and needle-turn appliqué, and improvisational piecing. The goal: creative, adventurous designs.


The Quilt: A History and Celebration of an American Art Form

Elise Schebler Roberts
Adult Nonfiction 746.46 Rob

Describes the evolution of quilting in America, showing in vivid colors and patterns how African American, Amish, Hawaiian, Hmong, and Native American quilts celebrate cultural identity and help connect us to one another.


Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955: A 100-Year Photographic History

Janet E. Finley
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Fin

The history of quilts, their makers, and use is an important part of our country's heritage, presented here through 330 vintage photographs and commentary.


Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum

Elizabeth V. Warren
Adult Nonfiction 746.4607 War

This volume places the quilt firmly in the realm of art. It brings together 200 masterpiece quilts, each chosen as an emblem of its time, style and technique.


Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar 1950-2000

Roderick Kiracofe
Adult Nonfiction 746.46 Kir

The 150 featured quilts from Kiracofe’s collection, made predominantly by anonymous quilters in the United States, represent a freer, more casual style that departs from earlier norms and standards.


World War I Quilts

Sue Reich
Adult Nonfiction – 746.46 Rei

Quiltmaking in the 1910s merged the styles of the late nineteenth century with new innovations of the early twentieth century. Two events–World War I and the pandemic flu–interrupted this trend, as quilters focused on providing quilts for soldiers and the Red Cross. Reich tells this history with narrative, photos and vintage illustrations.