I still have a few of the quilts from the late 1970's-early 1980's when we had our first quilt shops in my little town. Many of us had never owned a hand made quilt so we didn't really have the background which included hand quilting. We came into this new, as seamstresses who made our own clothes and household items and we used a sewing machine.
Most of the calico fabrics were 100% cotton but we used polyester batting on everything. The newer versions of cotton batting were not available yet. Most of the cotton battings from this time period had to be quilted as close as 1" or they would start deteriorating in the washing machine.
This quilt features the Card Trick pattern shortly after it was designed and published by the Gutcheons, husband and wife team. I made the blocks with all of the same fabrics in the red part, and 2 different fabrics for backgrounds. Then I alternated the backgrounds and also turned the blocks of the opposite background a half turn so the reds wouldn't all be in the same position so it would have a little interest. It is 47" square and would make a great floor quilt for a baby. I would only use cotton batting for a baby quilt (fire safety).
Most of the calico fabrics were 100% cotton but we used polyester batting on everything. The newer versions of cotton batting were not available yet. Most of the cotton battings from this time period had to be quilted as close as 1" or they would start deteriorating in the washing machine. This quilt features the Card Trick pattern shortly after it was designed and published by the Gutcheons, husband and wife team. I made the blocks with all of the same fabrics in the red part, and 2 different fabrics for backgrounds. Then I alternated the backgrounds and also turned the blocks of the opposite background a half turn so the reds wouldn't all be in the same position so it would have a little interest. It is 47" square and would make a great floor quilt for a baby. I would only use cotton batting for a baby quilt (fire safety).