Anne Williams discusses younger quilt-makers and how they are vital to keeping the quilting craft alive
quilting world
For any traditional craft to thrive and survive, skills need to be passed on to new makers who can then share the knowledge they acquire further down the line. As well as working to safeguard and promote traditional crafts, the national charity Heritage Crafts (www.heritagecrafts.org.uk) keeps a list assessing the viability of the UK’s heritage crafts. Currently, patchwork and quilting are considered to be: “… in a healthy state and have sufficient craftspeople to transmit the craft skills to the next generation.” However, there is a caveat that being “currently viable” does not mean there will definitely be no issues affecting a craft’s future success, such as a lack of opportunities to learn, costs of materials and tools, and so on.
For those already engaged in quilt-making, the quilting world is a lively one, with local and national groups, a year-round calendar of shows and exhibitions, specialist shops, magazines and books and even quilting holidays, as well as a plethora of online resources and social media groups for various quilt-y interests. But, whilst definitive facts and figures are hard to come by, snapshot surveys – both in the UK and the USA – indicate that the average quilter is in her (the vast majority of quilters are female) early to mid-sixties, has been quilting for several years (most as a hobby but some as a profession) and lives in a household with an above-average income. This information suggests it is crucial that patchwork and quilting attracts and retains a diverse mix of younger makers – adults, as well as children and teenagers – if the present vibrant situation is to continue.
ENSURING THE FUTURE OF QUILTING
In the past, needle skills have been passed down through the generations in the time-honoured tradition of mothers sharing these skills with their daughters. When all children began to receive a formal education, girls were taught needlework as it was considered an essential domestic skill and useful for jobs like seamstresses or factory machinists. But society has changed, and schooling has necessarily moved on, particularly since the introduction of the National Curriculum in the 1980s. Un
