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The 23 Very Best Quilts
This article serves as a comprehensive guide to selecting the best quilts for various needs and aesthetic preferences, covering a diverse range of materials, stitching styles, and sizes. It emphasizes that quilts, beyond their functional purpose of providing warmth, also hold significant artistic and cultural value, acting as decorative elements, storytellers, and embodiments of tradition. The guide begins by defining a quilt as essentially two fabric layers with insulation in between, highlighting the infinite possibilities in their creation. It notes that quilts can be purely functional bedding or decorative pieces, citing examples of vintage quilts used as sofa throws or intricate patchwork quilts displayed as wall art.
The selection process for these top quilts involved consulting a dozen interior designers and individuals known for their tasteful selections, alongside leveraging expertise in textiles and amateur quilt collecting. The article also includes personal testing of several featured quilts, such as the Hawkins New York Simple Linen Quilt, which is lauded as the best overall choice due to its softness, quality, and versatile design. This quilt is described as weighty enough to provide a calming effect similar to a gravity blanket, suitable for year-round use, and available in a wide array of colors.
Key considerations for choosing a quilt are meticulously detailed, starting with material. The "quilt top" or outer layer can be made from various fabrics, with cotton and linen being popular choices for their handfeel. Batting, the insulating layer, commonly uses polyester, cotton, or wool. The article acknowledges that while synthetics like polyester are generally avoided, their use in batting is acceptable given they are enclosed. Wool batting is recommended for those who prefer more warmth and weight. Stitch style is another crucial factor, ranging from simple machine-done box and channel stitches to complex, labor-intensive hand-sewn patchwork designs. The Quilt Index is introduced as a valuable resource for exploring various patchwork patterns and their historical significance.
Quilt sizes are standardized into categories like throw, twin, queen, and king, with general dimensions provided to aid in selection. Beyond the top pick, the guide recommends other quilts, such as Parachute's Linen Box Quilt as a more affordable alternative to the Hawkins New York option, distinguished by its cotton back. For those seeking heirloom quality, the Linoto Quilted Linen Coverlet is presented, praised for its substantial linen, diverse color palette, and option for natural cotton or wool batting. Other categories include reversible quilts from Eastern European makers, luxurious velvet quilts, organic cotton pebbled quilts, silky Egyptian-cotton sateen quilts, and various patterned options like kantha, color-block, and modern patchwork quilts. The article also encourages exploring vintage quilts and highlights the artistic Gee's Bend quilts, emphasizing authenticity in purchasing directly from their makers. The article concludes by listing the experts who contributed to the selections, underscoring the collaborative and expert-driven nature of the recommendations.
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