Barbara Brackman's Civil War Sampler: 50 Quilt Blocks with Stories from History

by Barbara Brackman

Witness Civil War history chronicled in quilt squares, discover more about the women behind them, and learn how to craft a quilt of your own. 

Journey through a historic time in American history with Barbara Brackman, bestselling author and quilt historian. Barbara's book features fifty quilt blocks that commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Each block (most were first published in the 1930s) was selected for the symbolism its name lends to recounting stories from the era’s women. This compilation of quilt block patterns includes period photos and first-person accounts. Choose from pieced or appliquéd blocks, each in two colorways with instructions for 8” and 12” sizes. Dig into your reproduction fabrics and enjoy combining blocks to make your own tribute quilt.

“This is another lovely book of Barbara’s to add to the collection.”—Australian Quilters Companion

Genres: Quilting, History, Nonfiction, Crafts, Civil War, Historical

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

Barbara is a free-lance writer, historian and museum curator with seven published books on quilts and numerous museum catalogs to her credit.

Reviews

[Andréa]

This is a very thought provoking book, linking quilting blocks with Civil War events. The author explains the history very eloquently and the photographs of the made blocks are an excellent illustration along the way. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the women of the Civil War years in the US.

[A Foxtrotter Reads]

If you are entertaining making a Civil War era quilt, this book with the block directions and snippets of history will be invaluable. Can't wait to retire again to start my sampler quilt.

[Rhonda]

I was disappointed . The quilt blocks were beautiful and the little history tidbits interesting, however, I thought the book was going to be about the quilt designs used during the Civil War - as a language for the Underground Railroad.

Barbara in the first pages explained this book was not that book. So really it is my fault that I didnt read a preview before hand.

Basically this book was 50 quilt blocks with assorted bits of history with each block. It is not the history of the quilt block or how it got it's name -- it is really just a nice quilt block book with some history assigned to it.

Being a history lover- not what I would normally choose.

[Debbie]

This is a lovely collection of Civil War Quilt Blocks and historical stories. Beautiful photographs and hints for piecing.

I selected several blocks that I want to include in a Civil War row in a row-by-row sampler.

[Susan Molloy]

Cozy Quilts.

🖊 This turned out to be a very nice compilation of quilts, with excellent photographs and interesting stories. I enjoyed this book.

🎨Illustrated.

જ⁀🟡 Kindle Unlimited.
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[Kristin]

Love this one!

[Megen]

Interesting collection with historical vignettes about the people on both sides of the conflict.

[Lacey Addis]

Fascinating details about the blocks and clear-cut instructions on how to piece them.

[Lisa]

I read this book with my quilt club. A brief history about each block was helpful. Blocks were easy for the beginner quilter. I would like to read more about quilt history

[Robyn]

Great patterns , will be a beautiful quilt . Tip of the day , watch Karen Montgomery’s videos on YouTube as she goes along and pouts together the blocks . One quilt I am keeping for myself

[Jenny]

Fun Patterns

Some fun patterns to try. Interested in trying some of the triangle pieces. I have done half square triangles. Also I have done flying geese.

[Leigh Beaumont]

I liked this book! I am a new quilter and love the CW reproduction fabric. Hoping to incorporate some of these blocks into a quilt!

[Meryn Shireen]

Super interesting! I thought the book was going to look at the history of different blocks, but it was more like a history of different things related in idea or context to the block. I think I would have been irritated by that, but the vast majority of the history examples chosen were ones I haven’t ever read or heard (and I’ve read a lot about the civil war) and I liked the focus on women, fabric, sewing, and how the war impacted that.

[Kathleen]

One thing to remember when looking through this book is that you still want to do your own research on civil war quilts (if you intend to make a quilt for civil war reenacting). Many of the blocks used can be traced back to the civil war. However, many do not, several were published well after the ACW. That being said, I love the snippets from diaries and other sources, I even love the quilts, blocks and many of the fabrics used in the book.

The copy I have right now is owned by my local library. I will eventually add this book to my quilt library mostly because of the variety I blocks in it and because of the well written instructions.

[J2418 K]

Library Book: Thinking of doing at least one Civil War quilt

[Laura]

Fascinating

[Sherri]

I like the historical snippets of the Civil War and how they related to the square configurations.