The vivid explosion of color in Amish quilts often comes as a surprise to those who know the Amish people only by the dark cloaks and covered buggies they present to the outside world. Yet just as one is likely to find a brightly hued dress, shirt, or knitted stocking beneath a black coat, so, too, can a peek inside an Amish doorway reveal a home punctuated by a variety of furnishings colored in a wide array of shades ranging from muted earth tones to brilliant neons.

Perhaps the greatest difference between Amish quilts made in the Midwest and those made in Pennsylvania is the increased number of patterns that are found in the Midwest. This may be a byproduct of the fact that the Amish in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and elsewhere in the Midwest generally do not live in such concentrated communities as their counterparts in Pennsylvania and consequently have more opportunities to be exposed to the outside world and its influences. Also, because of the slightly less restrictive nature of life in some Midwestern communities, there may have been greater freedom to experiment with quilt patterns.

Midwestern Amish quilts are typically block designs surrounded, like most Amish quilts, by a narrow inner border and a wide outer border. Cotton is the preferred fabric, although a variety of different cotton weaves may be used (sometimes in a single quilt), and pieces of other fabrics, such as wool, may be found along with the cotton on some quilts. Although there are exceptions, the quilting on Midwestern Amish quilts is generally not as elaborate as it is on the Lancaster County examples.

Stacy C. Hollander, curator