A  Retrospective of Quiltmaker “Granny” Browne
Interpreted by Jane McLean
​

GRANDMOTHER’S FAN: MY STORY

​Several years ago, Mary Browne of Knox NY gave me two large bags full of patchwork pieces and squares from her late husband’s grandmother, “Granny” Browne. Knowing that I love quilts and vintage fabrics, Mary assured me “You’ll do something with them.”

As I sorted through the collection, two ideas came to mind:

• Create a display of Granny Browne’s Depression-era quiltmaking techniques.
• Use the many “Grandmother’s Fan” pieces to create a dozen aprons for a fundraiser for Friends of the Berne Library.

I enjoyed playing sleuth, studying the vintage patchwork pieces and patterns, and  making educated guesses about Granny Browne's techniques. I mounted each piece on unbleached muslin and framed it in a 12" embroidery hoop.

I hope this exhibit takes you back to a time before rotary cutters, self-healing mats, acrylic rulers, fusible batting, and embroidery machines.

Jane McLean      Belfast, Maine  

---

Scroll down to see the exhibit and learn more about
​Granny Browne's quiltmaking techniques.

GRANNY BROWNE’S TEMPLATES

• ​Made her own templates from cardboard or paper that she had on hand
• ​“Dresden Plate” template made from dividers in Shredded Wheat boxes
• Wrote notes to herself on templates
• Glued on sandpaper to help template grip fabric when tracing
• With purchased templates, had to add her own ¼” seam allowance

​DRESDEN PLATE PIECES AND TEMPLATE

• Based on earlier fan design
• Very popular in 1920s and 1930s
• Great variety of charming Depression-era prints
• Each piece was traced and cut by hand

TECHNIQUES AVOIDED BY MANY MODERN QUILTERS

• All pieces traced and cut by hand

• Upper Left: “Flying Geese”: Set-in or Y-shaped seams
• Blue and White: Straight lines machine-sewn, curved seams hand-sewn
• Half Star: White diamonds cut on bias or diagonal, making them stretchy (“wonky”)

​ANVIL

• Hand-stitched
• Thrifty use of fabrics: different muslins, center square is pieced together

​GRANDMOTHER’S FAN: PINK

• Old pattern revived in the early 1930s
• Pastels and pinks very popular during the Depression
• Pieces hand-stitched together, then appliqued on a background
• Blanket stitch embroidery is unfinished

​SUNBONNET SUE: RED AND YELLOW

• Storybook figure popular in the early 1900s
• Revived in the 1930s to brighten the Depression years

​
ROAD TO CALIFORNIA

• Based on very old Biblical quilt block, “Jacob’s Ladder”
• Use of many colors and patterns almost obscures the “ladder” or “road” running diagonally from top right

​SUNFLOWER: VARIATION

• Hand-stitched, then would be needle-turn appliqued onto background
• 1930s blue plaid

​SAILBOAT

• Possibly for a child’s quilt
• Machine-stitched
• Thrifty use of fabrics: different muslins, blue strip is pieced together

​SUNBONNET SUE: BLUE

• All pieces traced, cut, and sewn by hand

• Steps involved: trace and cut out pieces, turn edges under and baste to background in order, embroider, take out basting stitches

​BOWTIE

• Snappy 1930s firecracker fabric in a pattern from 1900, hand stitched
• “Bowtie” looks deceptively simple; the set-in Y-shaped joins are challenging

​SCOTTIE DOG

• Needle-turn appliqued onto muslin background
• Red embroidered details
• Inspired by the Scottie dog craze of the 1930s
• Even the White House had a Scottie named Fala

​DOUBLE WEDDING RING

• Popular since the late 1920s
• Often made for wedding or anniversary gifts
• Many scraps work together because solid colors give the eye a resting place

​FOUR TULIPS

• Preprinted applique square on heavy muslin
• Possibly a kit: fabrics and notches for turning edges are uniformly cut
• “Reseda” (stem) means grayish-green, named for a Mediterranean plant

​UMBRELLA

• For needle-turn applique: all edges would be turned under and hand-stitched down
• Black-and-white novelty print probably from early 1900s, used with 1930s-1940s fabrics
• Red sample shows hand-stitched seam and pencil seam line

​REDWORK

• Embroidery pattern was stamped on muslin squares, called “penny squares”
• Red embroidery thread was originally used in the stem stitch.
• By the 1920s, many colorfast threads were used to create decorative items
• Blue umbrella scene was probably part of a boy’s counterpane (bedspread)

​BLUE AND WHITE

• Both samples appear to use fabrics from early 1900s
• Top sample is machine-sewn, bottom sample is hand-sewn
• Neither method assured accuracy of “points”: notice some corners are cut off when the pieces are joined