Red and white has been a classic color scheme for American quilts since the nineteenth century. Their popularity exploded among quilters when a synthetic inexpensive red dye was introduced in 1868 and became widely available. Numerous quilting patterns incorporating red designs against a white ground were introduced, including Ocean Waves, Drunkard’s Path, Baskets and Pinwheels. Also on view is a redwork quilt, a type of needlework popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that uses red thread on a plain white ground.
