Ralli Quilts: Traditional Textiles from Pakistan and India

by Patricia Ormsby Stoddard

This book tells the story of a fascinating quilting tradition found in southern Pakistan and neighboring western India. These quilts, called ralli, are stunning in their designs, brilliant in their colors, and intriguing in their history. The designs, which include patchwork, appliqu*/e, and embroidered styles, are reminiscent of motifs found on painted pottery from the ancient civilizations of the area. Showcased here are more than 130 stunning ralli quilts, all shown in full color. They date primarily from the mid- to late twentieth century and feature a wondrous array of designs and patterns that have been passed from mother to daughter and woman to woman for hundreds of years. Quilt descriptions identify where each quilt was made, design or pattern characteristics, type of fabric, and dimensions. The carefully researched text provides intriguing information on quilt construction, colors, patterns, and regional variations. A valuable reference for textile historians, designers, and quilt lovers everywhere, this book is a tribute to the skill and creativity of the "ralli region" people who continue to make and use these beautiful textiles.

Genres: Quilting, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2003

Reviews

[Shasta Matova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of the quilt histories that I have access to focus on American quilts. It harkens back to colonial women saving pieces of fabric, or maybe the civil war quilts or the quilts of the 30s and the Baltimore album quilts. But quilts have been around much longer in other parts of the world. I have been going down the rabbit hole of other quilts and Indian quilts have fascinated me. There are many different styles of Indian quilts, and ralli quilts is just one of those styles.

This book is amazing. It is chock full of photos of quilts and the people of the region. I haven't read the whole book yet, but the photos enough are worth the purchase. The book goes into the history and culture of the peoples. While it isn't a pattern book, it gives you instructions on how to make quilts of this stye.

A lot of the quilts look like traditional quilts we see in the States with nine patches and half square triangles, but the colors and the execution make them Indian. I would love to try to duplicate a lot of these quilts.

I ordered the book used on Amazon, and was tickled to find that it had been autographed by the author, Patricia Ornsby Stoddard.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

We went to see this exhibit at MSU - it was fabulous. :D