Introduction

Quiltmaking allows the sharing of ideas and traditions that link individuals, families, and communities. The history of a quilt can be viewed as threads of association that all too often become broken over time. Amish quiltmakers, with their reverence of tradition, love of family, and faithfulness to beliefs, have created quilts that share common characteristics linked to their culture yet are as unique as the individual quiltmakers.

The Illinois State Museum Amish Quilt Collection contains nineteenth and twentieth-century quilts made by Amish women living in the area of Arthur, Illinois. This online collection features 21 of those quilts, and a short introduction to the Amish.