Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Bird Prints: Reproductions

Reproduction quilt top by Claire McKarns
Claire framed a pheasant toile with pieced triangles and mitered a madder-style stripe.

Bird prints were so popular with quilters during the 1810-1840 period that reproduction stashes require them, but they are hard to find in quilt-weight fabric. Here are a few you might have in your chintz cupboard.

Jo Morton's 2010 reproduction of a "Bird Chintz" with a dark ground.

And a very accurate Drab or Quercitron yellow ground.

Read Jo's Journal entry on this print and its document here:



Harriet Hargrave reproduced pheasants and a plum tree in her Birds & Basics line a few years ago.


See Kimberley Wulfert's post on this line with a review of the literature on the bird chintzes:


You can always find birds chintzes in decorator-weight fabric like this one, which has a great bird for Broderie Perse. The background is too red to be an accurate reproduction but  those birds isolated would look pretty good.
It's easier to find bird prints as single-color toile reproductions.

Toile from the back of a quilt about 1830-1850.
The toile is probably 1800-1820.

Terry Thompson and I reproduced the toile above about a dozen years ago for our first Moda reproduction collection called Floral Trails. Surprisingly, I found some still available on line.


The tan colorway


Kaye England has a nice chintz out in English Lane. She has done some great bird repros over the years.


Including this bird of paradise which Georgann Eglinski used in her reproduction of a quilt shown in a book by Robert Bishop years ago.

Georgann Eglinski, Thank You, Robert Bishop


The turkey fabric that Georgann used in this strip quilt is also from Kaye---quite a while ago.

Georgann Eglinski, Turkey Red, Turkey Blue

I also remember a good bird chintz in a Fons and Porter line many years ago. I guess that's why we keep a stash. You'll find a use for it someday.

You may have to use a heavier weight decorating fabric to find good bird toiles.

Here's a miniature with a bird toile from an Etsy store by Annette Plog


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