Old Swedish Quilts and Men Who Quilt

The image above is from Asa Wettre's Book "Old Swedish Quilts" and pictures a quilt made from Swedish folk clothes in the 1780s. This book is phenomenal. It showcases quilts from different eras in Swedish Quiltmaking, from wedding quilts to soldier's quilts, all of them illustrated with stories and old photographs. Chapters include "History of Swedish Quiltmaking", "The Quilt and Everyday Life of Women", "The Creative Process" and "How A Patchwork Quilt was Made".

Here are some images of the book:

Here's a soldier's quilt from 1840 made from uniforms and broadcloth:

The image above is from the chapter I find particularly interesting "Men and Quilts". Author Asa Wettre explains that quilts made by men were done differently than those by women. Men developed new and unique ways, including cutting templates, creating new designs or coming up with additional improvements to the process.

This quilt by Karl Magnus Joensson, a tailor born in 1835 is my favorite:

There's something magical about that quilt. When draped, its pattern plays with light, an interesting idea (conscious or not) given the lack of light during Sweden's winters. The top image on the right side of the page highlights that really beautifully.

Here's another close up of a similar quilt made by another male quilter using suit samples:

Old Swedish Quilts
Asa Wettre

# ISBN-10: 1883010152
# ISBN-13: 978-1883010157

It's not that the entire book highlighted men and quilts, but it's an interesting inclusion. To me, quilting was always woman's work. But now that I think about it, there are male quilters.

One guy coming to mind is Kaffe Fassett, the brilliant quilter from Britain, with his colorful sense of style and design. He's passionate about patterns and travel:

And here's another video with the same theme of traveling and pattern from a very different world. Jennifer Levitz wrote an excellent article on quilting truckers on the road, featuring Dan White, an ex-Air Force mechanic who sews quilts in his truck at truck stops. (Warning: ignore the annoying advertising at the beginning of the clip):

As much as these two men's aesthetic is not mine, do you think quilts made by men are different? Do you know a quilting man?