Dresden Plate Quilt, 1973

Dorothy and/or Stan Rankin created two Dresden plate quilts, one from older fabric and one from new. This quilt, created in 1973, was made from fabric saved from the 1940s or earlier, possibly saved material from feedsacks. It was completed in the 1970s and has a polyester backing.  

A Dresden plate quilt is composed of blocks within which are petal shaped wedges formed into a circular motif that resembles a Dresden porcelain plate.  This quilt has thirty blocks (five across, six down) of plates. A powder blue grid separates each block. There is an off-white border but no binding.   Each plate is composed of twelve petals. Every other petal in each plate is created from the same powder blue material as the binding.  The alternate petals are green, orange, black and white, purples, and blue calicos. 

The materials used to create the plates are the same type of calico as used in feedsack quilts. The Grandmother’s Fan quilt made by Dorothy’s family uses just such feedsack material.  Why feedsacks? The Great Depression and changing fashion forced a precipitous drop in the value of cotton. Grain companies found it cheaper to sell their animal feed in colored cotton sacks rather than barrels. The sacks were saved and reused in quilts.  Quilters often traded feedsack material, for the colors or patterns they wanted for a particular quilt.