Madderleigh

In the mid to end of the 19th century, madder prints were popular due to their colourfastness. The red colour was produced from the compound alizarin found in the roots of the madder plant, along with some other obnoxious ingredients such as urine, blood and animal dung.

This antique quilt appealed to Michelle Marvig due to the number of fabulous madder prints to be found in the design. In the quilt, the sashings are simply long lengths of fabric. However, the maker has not aligned the blocks very well. Michelle has chosen to modify the instructions to add cornerstones between the sashings — see the Quilt Layout Diagram on page 42. They add visual interest while also making it much easier to keep the blocks aligned.

While this antique quilt dates to the 19th century, is very versatile and would lend itself well to modern fabrics., however you would need to trim the before you started cutting for the blocks. Another alternative would be to use pieces from your scrap bin, using .