Fabulous Fads

February 2–April 25, 2021

The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts (WMQFA) was pleased to present Fabulous Fads, an exploration of quilting trends from throughout the ages from the collections of the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts and Carol Butzke.

While the term “fads” conjures contemporary contexts—today’s quilting clothing phenomenon, for example—fashionable modes of quilting have existed as long as quilters have been able to share information, readily obtain fabrics, and enjoy each other’s handiwork. Defined as having a quick rise, period of favor, and fervor, with a gradual fade, fads can be understood as arbiters of ideas and ideals, both personal and communal. Crazy quilts, for instance, derive their allover pieced designs from treasured fabrics given as gifts and exchanges with friends, gleaned from family, and even purchased from scrap bags from clothing sources and milliners.

Later, toward the Depression, Crazies became the repositories of repurposed fabrics from wool and cutoffs from garments. Similarly, Charm Quilts, consisting of 1000 different examples of fabrics, were tokens of women’s beloved collections and friendship, as the chosen textiles were often products of gifts or trades with loved ones. Albums, Inscribed, and Redwork Quilts could be commemorative, celebratory, or made for a cause, and frequently represented the bonds of a community.

Fabulous Fads looks specifically at fads from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Like many fashions that come and go, modern interpretations also appear in the exhibition. The celebrated styles include Albums, Charms, Crazies, Inscribed, Friendship, Redwork, and Red, Green, and White quilts.

Co-curated by nationally-regarded quilt appraiser, collector, researcher, and teacher Carol Butzke, and WMQFA Senior Curator Emily Schlemowitz, Fabulous Fads featured the ingenuity of quilters to follow a trend while making it their own.