Dating Fabrics 2: A Color Guide 1950-2000

by Eileen Jahnke Trestain

From poodle skirts of the 1950s to baby doll dresses of the 1990s, the fabrics of our everyday lives are featured in this handy reference guide to the materials of the last half century. A companion to Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960, this source is ideal for those studying fashion and clothing trends from the late twentieth century, as well as collectors of recent quilts. Today's quilts may have elements of more than one decade because many quilters collect a great deal of fabric, and may draw from one group of fabric over a long period of time. The recent proliferation of reproduction fabrics has caused concern for the ability to differentiate the old from the new in reproduction quilts and repairs. An informative section on these fabrics from the 1980-2000 era provides a blueprint for building confident conclusions as to the fabric's origins. For ease in identification, prints are shown actual size and specific fabric lines and styles are grouped and sorted by date, then color. Dating divisions coincide with turning points in history which influenced attitudes and styles, and are highlighted by a brief history of each era.

Genres: Quilting, Crafts

208 pages, Spiral-bound

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kathy Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book for dating fabrics. Spiral binding and small size make it ideal for taking with you if necessary. Book is divided roughly by decades with history of the period, fabric textiles, fabric colors, and quilting trends followed by a sample of fabric swatches organized by color. Interesting to see how the political and cultural climate of each period influenced textiles. Consider that the "flower children" influenced the prevalence of daisy motif fabrics int the 1960s. Ironic to think about in conjunction with LBJ's daisy commercial.

This little book can be used to date fabrics, select reproductions, dress dolls in appropriate period fabrics.