Double Knit Quilts

 One of the things that intrigued me the most

about the 

Art of Quilting Show

at the Gilbert Museum

was the collection of 

Double Knit Quilts

shown by 

Gail Van Horsen

 Seriously?

Could anything beautiful come from Double Knits?

I lived through the 1970's

and I considered the thick polyester scary even then.

It was a fabric trend that passed through quickly

and my only comment is

Thank Heavens

Cathedral Windows-completed 1971

As Gail was studying to become a quilt appraiser

she noticed there was a big gap in quilting

between the late 1960's through the mid-1970's.

You guessed it.

She wrote

"I found that polyester double knits, 

a fabric normally shunned by quilters,

 was the most 

available fabric during that time."

 Gail went on a quest to see if there were any 

Double Knit Quilts 

"out there".

She could not find any printed material on the subject.

Her first DK Quilt acquisition was through an E-Bay search.

 In fact, Double Knit Quilts may be such a rare find,

that Gail might possibly be the only known collector.

What an interesting position as a quilter!

Gail is a AQS Certified Appraiser of Quilted Textiles.

She will be presenting more about her collection

May 4th

10 a.m.

at the Gilbert Museum

 This Cathedral Window was made by the traditional method

of using muslin for the body,

but all of the colored windows

are polyester double knit.

 Grandmother's Flower Garden

Gail wrote

"This quilt was given to me as a collection 

of machine pieced flowers."

She completed the piecing by hand

and is currently in the midst of 

hand quilting the top.

 There are several 

Double Knit quilts currently on display

at the show that runs through May 31st.

I will show you a few more pictures in the next few days.

Be prepared for a trip down memory lane.

This lime green Leisure Suit 

was made by Fern Zebisenski

for her husband in the 1970's.

Yes, he actually wore it in public.

And Fern added 

"He fit right in with the crowd."