The Roosevelt Administration drew on the symbolic power of quilts
The Roosevelt Administration drew on the symbolic power of quilts
WPA Museum Extension Project prints updated quilt patterns
When frugality and making do became fashionable
WPA Sewing Rooms boosted morale and provided paychecks
... are scrappy, nostalgic, frugal, innovative, commonplace… and many times, they reflect the concerns of Americans struggling to get by during the Great Depression.
Although we often picture the ubiquitous Easter egg shades—colorful pastels—pieced into charming Double Wedding Rings and Grandmother’s Flower Gardens, the quilts Americans made during the Great Depression are so much more. During the New Deal, the federal government embraced both the practical and symbolic potential of quilts, teaching women skills to support their families, while using quilts’ symbolic heft to generate empathy for poor and migrant families, drawing on myths of colonial-era fortitude and self-sufficiency as a means of overcoming poverty.
 Governmental photographers captured pictures of quilts and quiltmakers, using them to generate empathy for struggling Americans. |
 The WPA employed out-of-work Americans, with women wielding needles and sewing machines to learn transferable skills, build morale, and make quilts for the needy |
 The government documented historical American quiltmaking, employing writers, artists, and white collar workers to paint renderings of quilts, screen print patterns, and record stories of quiltmaking. |
 Quiltmakers created quilts on both an individual and collective level in response to the unemployment, displacement, and recovery efforts in the United States, stitching their hopes, fears, and loyalties into quilts. |