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Quilting Research: Origins of the Mystery Quilt

  • Writer: vafibrearts
    vafibrearts
  • Oct 4, 2021
  • 7 min read

Hello Friends and Welcome!


As fall continues, I am excitedly anticipating the official start of my quilt guild's annual block of the month project!


Every year, the BoM conveners scheme up another new and exciting quilt pattern for guild members to create. The pattern is unveiled at the first meeting of the year, in September, with assembly instructions being distributed at the beginning of each of the following months.


For this year's project, it has been announced that we will be following along with a mystery quilt project, which I can't wait to get started on!


To keep myself occupied until instructions are released, I've been doing a little research into the history of the mystery quilt genre. I hope you're just as excited as I am to delve into this topic!



What is a Mystery Quilt?


'Mystery quilt' is a commonly used phrase in the quilting community. It has several different definitions depending on how the term is being used. For example, it could be a quilt pieced according to an unknown pattern, or one with very little known about its origins.


For the purposes of today's post, a mystery quilt is a genre of quilt-along where participants make a quilt, following pattern instructions, but without knowing how the completed design looks. When the final set of instructions are released, the pieces of the quilt come together, and the mystery is solved!


Mystery quilts are often made together with a group, where individuals can benefit from the help and encouragement of others. Speculating on the design of the project is a great way to engage with the group and connect with like-minded creators!


As for the schedule, each mystery quilt will be just a little different. Generally, instructions are released incrementally over a set period of time. A short mystery quilt project may take place over just a few days, while longer projects could run for as much as a year.


Even if you aren't a part of a quilting group, it's easy to get involved with a mystery quilt program online. Many blogs run free mystery quilt challenges, with individuals participating from around the world!



History of the Mystery Quilt Genre


With so much time recently spent thinking about mystery quilts, I became curious about where the genre began.


I struggled to find sources with relevant information, so most of the following is speculation based on a combination of the few sources I could find and my own experiences.


Feel free to skip ahead to my conclusions for a summary if you aren't interested in the background research.



Mystery Quilting on the Internet


For most of this research, my main source was Heim and Hansen's Free Stuff For Quilters on the Internet. Originally published in 1998 with the intention of helping quilters navigate the internet, connect with other makers, and access quilt making resources, the book was reprinted in two subsequent editions in 1999 and 2001, including a new wealth of additional information.


The first edition mentions mystery quilts in passing, as a feature of some popular websites but without any detailed description, but each subsequent edition includes a chapter dedicated to them. These chapters primarily feature a collection of links to online mystery quilt groups, but their addition to the book, as well as the volume of links provided, suggests the genre was extremely popular at that time, especially online.


This assumption was solidified by a comment from Druding, stating that mystery quilts could be found in some magazines, but the best place to find them was online. Based on the copyright dates of the website (1998-2005), this comment was contemporary to Hein and Hansen.


The timing of these publications aligns with the rising popularity of home internet throughout the 1990s. I don't know if this is because the genre was already popular, simply migrating to an online platform when it became available, but I have a hunch that the mystery quilt genre actually originated online.



Mystery Quilts and Detective Adventures


Mystery quilt would seem to be an apt name for a genre of quilt pattern where the final design is unknown. However, it would seem that the name is, in part, tied to a very popular genre of novel.


Many sources noted that mystery quilt patterns are often accompanied by a mystery novella. Stories of detectives solving thrilling crimes or even of ordinary people swept into extraordinarily mysterious circumstances. These would be released a little at a time, alongside pattern instructions, giving quilt makers something extra to look forward to and discuss amongst themselves.


Many of these mixed mystery novel and mystery quilt groups still exist today, on of the most well known being Murder Mystery Quilt. Many more links can be found through my sources, although I haven't had the chance to confirm how many of those are still active.


The detective stories that accompany many mystery quilts suggest there was a common interest between quilt making and mystery novels. This is, once again, primarily speculation, but quilt makers with both interests likely wanted to create a quilt that was, in and of itself, a mystery. I don't know if the first mystery quilt was published with an accompanying story or not, but given how often they are mentioned together in my sources, I can't ignore the significance.



Quilting a Community


If my speculations on the origins of the mystery quilt genre are correct, then I believe I also understand how it became so incredibly popular.


Nearly every source I so much as glanced at referenced mystery quilts as a group activity. As a group quilting challenge, mystery quilts encouraged quilt makers to form virtual communities through the use of new technologies (home internet). As more and more quilters gained access to the internet, mystery quilts became more accessible, and more popular.


But more than being an interesting quilt making challenge, I believe that mystery quilts were popular because they encouraged makers to interact.


Druding mentioned magazines as a print source for mystery quilts, but that significantly more patterns could be found online. Magazines don't have the same kind of instantaneous and personal interaction that web forums do, making relationship building more difficult.


A large part of the appeal of mysteries is the interpretation and speculation, which only grow more thrilling when shared with others. Having the ability to speculate on the outcome of an ongoing mystery quilt design with friends, who were always available as a result of the internet, was a new and novel opportunity.


For those who joined groups with additional mystery novellas, there was even more to discuss. Not just their shared interests, but their own plays at being a detective and attempting to solve the mystery before the quilt could be completed.



The Exclusivity of Mystery Quilts


Yet another facet of the popularity of the mystery quilt genre is the exclusivity.


I don't mean to say that certain people are excluded from participating, rather that as the last step of the pattern instructions are released, the mystery of the quilt is resolved. This resolution means that anyone who makes this quilt in the future has a chance of the mystery being spoiled before they complete their quilt. Because of this, it is less likely, but still possible, that they will have a community making the project alongside them.


By choosing to make an old mystery quilt project, who's instructions have been released in their entirety, an individual accepts these limitations to their experience. The fact that the genre remains popular, even today, means the option to make that choice still exists.


However, there is another aspect of exclusivity to any online quilt genre, the threat of deletion.


It is commonly understood that once something has been posted on the internet, it never truly goes away. However, for the average user, something that has been deleted from a web page may never be found again.


Many of my sources featured lists of links to sites that run mystery quilt programs, or which have in the past. These are often accompanied by disclaimers that the contents of the site may have changed or been taken down entirely. Quilt patterns take up a lot of memory on a website and occasionally need to be removed to make room for new ones.


Knowing that a quilt pattern could be taken off a website, becoming unavailable to the general public, increases the incentive to work on it now. If the opportunity is missed, it may never come again. This means that the group who first participated in a given mystery quilt project may be the only people in the world to ever be able to make that quilt.



TLDR: Mystery Quilt Conclusions


While I don't have sufficient information to confirm this, I believe the mystery quilt genre was originally developed as a way for quilt makers who also enjoyed mystery novels to combine their multiple interests into a single project. The growing popularity of home internet offered a great place for them to share instructions, stories, and speculations, facilitating the creation of many online communities.


A large part of the mystery quilt's continued popularity is due to this element of connectivity offered by online spaces. Individuals from across the world can work on the same project, sharing ideas and insight, and becoming friends along the way.


As more and more different patterns were designed, the mystery quilt genre gained an element of exclusivity. Old patterns were taken down to make room for new, removing any chance that new makers had of creating old designs. Those who originally participated in the mystery quilt project would be the only people to own quilts of that design.


Again, I want to reiterate that I reached these conclusions with the help of relatively few sources and a lot of speculation. I am very interested to learn more on the subject, so if you know of any resources I should check out, or have any personal stories from past experiences, please share those in the comments below!



Thank you for joining me on this week's research escapade, I hope you've enjoyed learning about mystery quilts as much as I have! It has been a great way to distract myself while waiting for an update on the MQG BoM mystery quilt project!


Speaking of, that project should be releasing its first update on the MQG website on Thursday. Feel free to check it out if you're interested!


I'll be sharing more information about my plans for that mystery quilt, including my colour choice and fabric selection next week! If you can't wait that long, I will be sharing photos on Instagram @vafibrearts once I have the fabric in hand.


Until Next Time Friends, Happy Fall!

VA


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