Quilting is a Westville activity that was popular among the girls and ladies of 1850. A girl usually learned to quilt by the time she was eight or nine. Cloth wasn't plentiful, so quilts were fashioned from bits and pieces of scrap cloth sewn together and layered over cotton batting to make a warm bed coverlet. Since the scraps varied in pattern and hue, quilt designs were very colorful.

The first step in quilt-making was "piecing." Each piece of the scrap cloth had to be neatly cut and sewn together according to a design. This created the top of the quilt. To make thick, warm quilts, a filler was needed. This was made by carding cotton into matted sheets called "batts."

Next came the actual quilting. The quilt top, batts and lining were placed on a quilting frame and sewn together by hand. It was fun to try to make the prettiest quilt. The smaller the stitches, the prettier the quilt. Ladies would gather for "quilting parties," where they would chat, stitch, and enjoy themselves as they worked.

Sometimes girls would bring scraps of cloth left over from the making of their favorite dresses. You'll find many interesting and colorful quilts at Westville.

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• Basket Weaving
• Buildings
• Blacksmithing
• Candle Making
• Cooking
• Cotton Baling Press
  
• Crops and Gardens
• Pottery
• Quilting
• Furnishings
• Spinning and Weaving

Mules and Wagon passing in front of Adams Store.