The International Quilt Museum developed World Quilts to share its premiere collection and hallmark scholarly perspective on the significance of quilts and quiltmaking with the world. It also moves existing quilt studies scholarship beyond disciplinary boundaries to integrate quilts within a broader art and humanities context. The Great Depression Story, based on the award-winning IQM book by Janneken Smucker and its companion exhibition, A New Deal for Quilts, presents the story of quilts made during the global economic crisis of the 1930s. 

The American Story was the first component of World Quilts, followed by The Amish Story, The Central Asian Story, The Crazy Quilt Story, The 1971 Story, and The James Story. Future modules are slated to cover other geographic and thematic areas. With more than 8,500 quilts—too many to show in any physical gallery—the IQM values sharing its quilts and their historical and cultural context virtually.

The IQM is the the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection. Established in 1997, the IQM opened a new museum in 2008 and an expansion in 2015. The museum’s mission is to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. The IQM is an academic museum within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.