Place

Delta, British Columbia

Date

Late 1800s

DIMENSIONS in centimetres

88 x 80

Materials & techniques

Cotton, down; Quilting

Credit

Mary Darling

ID

Delta Museum and Archives Society DE1990.50.1

Quilts and their layers were designed to provide a high degree of insulation, with stitching that kept the crucial layers from shifting. The effectiveness of this type of construction has been proven in Canadian winters. Common in bedding and household items such as tea cosies, the technique has even been incorporated into clothing as an insulating strategy.
 
Although the Lower Mainland of British Columbia typically enjoys a warmer winter than the rest of Canada, cold winds coming off the ocean inspired creative ways to stay warm, like this quilted petticoat. It displays precise, even spacing between rows of stitching, demonstrating the maker’s pride in craftsmanship. The front contains six rows of batting, compared with nine rows in the back; this would offer greater comfort to the wearer when seated and meant that the front was less likely to bunch up at the waist. Such a design protected the wearer from not only the cold but also the notorious dampness of the west coast.