My mother has the king-size, wool stuffed, wool scrap pieced, flannel backed comforter that my great-grandmother made. The wool stuffing is hand carded, and laid in swirls. (I noticed when I did some repairs on it a couple years back.) It's impressively heavy; you might suffocate under it, but you wont be cold. The Illinois farmhouse didnt have central heating.
She also made several cotton piecework quilts, one for each grand & great-grand child. They are much much lighter in weight than the wool one. The cotton stuffing is hand-carded, too. My husband's great-grandmother made a down stuffed "best" quilt that I have, as well. Very high loft & extremely lightweight. I recall that sleeve stuffings could be down (in various eras), but dont recall any down petticoats in any inventories or museums. I'm a quilter, too, and that "Warm & Natural" stuff sandwiched in cotton is a whole lot lighter than the all-wool one of the same size. My quilted petticoat is nuthin' by comparison. It's very light, and not much more batting in it than a baby quilt or lap quilt might have. It's those 1840s-50s corded & ruffled petticoats that are beasts to wear, IMHO. It all depends on the weight and density of the rope being used. I'm not an expert & I never made a corded petti. Maybe someone else can provide some insight on these. Enjoy the 3-day weekend, ladies & gents! --cin Cynthia Barnes cinbar...@gmail.com On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 4:28 PM, Helen Pinto <helen.pi...@comcast.net> wrote: > I have a queen-sized wool comforter (wool batting between two layers of > egyptian cotton). It weighs less than the much thinner quilted all-cotton > bedspread. > YMMV, > -Helen/Aidan _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
