email@retrobarn.com
These are just a few of our most popular COUNTRY BEDDING Collections.
A Guide to Country Bedding
What do we mean by "country" bedding? Country bedding is simply a style of bed linen that is designed to accent traditional country or rustic style decor. The look is casual, comfortable, nostalgic and simple. Never fussy or pretentious. The style can range from romantic country cottage floral designs to masculine western looks. There are a few things to consider when choosing your country bedding.
Patchwork Quilts- The quintessential item to dress a country bed. If you can only purchase one piece of country style bedding, the patchwork quilt would be the item to choose. It gives instant rustic, old-fashioned charm to your home. Quilting is truly a form of folk art, and the purchase of a patchwork quilt should be considered as an investment. An antique handmade quilt would certainly be the first choice when it comes to a folk art investment. However, if you plan to use your patchwork quilt as a bed cover, you may want to consider a reproduction quilt. They are widely available today in many different price ranges. The main advantage of a modern quilt vs. an antique quilt would be price and usability. Today's patchwork quilts offer ease of use due to the multitude of matching accessories available. You can choose from toss pillows, pillow shams, Euro shams, dust ruffles, table runners, window treatments and even kitchen linens in the same pattern as your patchwork quilt. And have you ever shopped for an antique quilt to fit a king size bed? Well, you won't find any because the king size bed is a modern creation. So if you want to add rural country charm to your bedroom, the first step is choosing a patchwork quilt. So, continue reading for tips on making your selection...
What exactly is a quilt?
Well, a quilt is a traditional bed covering with 3 layers- a decorative top layer; a backing; and some kind of batting sandwiched between the two. The top can consist of one piece of fabric (a whole cloth quilt), or it can consist of many different fabrics sewn together in a multitude of different patterns (a patchwork quilt.) The actual "quilting" refers to the stitches that bind all three layers together. The quilting part can be done by hand or by machine.
We are often asked why quilts vary so much in price.
The reason is related to a few different factors. The first is due to the intricacy of the pattern. For example, the Tea Cabin Quilt has lots of pieces sewn together to create and intricate design. Another factor is the type of fabric used. The higher quality quilts will use a softer grade of cotton with a higher thread count. The final consideration is the type of batting used. A premium quality quilt will be filled with 100% cotton batting. The highest priced ones will have a thicker measure of batting. Several of the premium quilts that we carry have a lighter-weight batting, making them a bit less expensive than other quilts listed on the same page. These are a great option for the summer, or if you just prefer to spend a bit less and still get a quality cotton filled quilt. The Star Patch Quilt is our most popular quilt in this category. We also offer a "budget" grade patchwork quilt, found in our Clearance section. These quilts are filled with lightweight polyester batting. They're pretty, but are not the same level of workmanship as the others. But they certainly have lots of decorating potential.
That brings us to Whole Cloth Quilts...
A whole cloth quilt would be a quilt that consists of just one fabric on the top, and one on the bottom. It could be just one large piece of fabric, or smaller pieces sewn together to form a large textile bed cover. The history of quilting dates back to the middle ages. Whole cloth quilts are thought to be the first quilts made, then patchworks. The French style "boutis" quilt is an example of whole cloth quilting. A boutis is a traditional French Country quilt made of one fabric on top, one on the bottom and a batting layer in between. Hand stitching was then done through all three layers to secure the textile and make it suitable as a bed linen. The hand stitching was generally close together and could vary from simplistic to very intricate. The fabrics most often used were solid white, or printed toile fabrics. The resulting quilts were heirlooms passed down through families. Today, you can find many examples of modern whole cloth quilts. They are typically lighter- weight and less fragile than their patchwork counterparts. And they look great on an antique country bed!
What do we mean by "country" bedding? Country bedding is simply a style of bed linen that is designed to accent traditional country or rustic style decor. The look is casual, comfortable, nostalgic and simple. Never fussy or pretentious. The style can range from romantic country cottage floral designs to masculine western looks. There are a few things to consider when choosing your country bedding.
Patchwork Quilts- The quintessential item to dress a country bed. If you can only purchase one piece of country style bedding, the patchwork quilt would be the item to choose. It gives instant rustic, old-fashioned charm to your home. Quilting is truly a form of folk art, and the purchase of a patchwork quilt should be considered as an investment. An antique handmade quilt would certainly be the first choice when it comes to a folk art investment. However, if you plan to use your patchwork quilt as a bed cover, you may want to consider a reproduction quilt. They are widely available today in many different price ranges. The main advantage of a modern quilt vs. an antique quilt would be price and usability. Today's patchwork quilts offer ease of use due to the multitude of matching accessories available. You can choose from toss pillows, pillow shams, Euro shams, dust ruffles, table runners, window treatments and even kitchen linens in the same pattern as your patchwork quilt. And have you ever shopped for an antique quilt to fit a king size bed? Well, you won't find any because the king size bed is a modern creation. So if you want to add rural country charm to your bedroom, the first step is choosing a patchwork quilt. So, continue reading for tips on making your selection...
What exactly is a quilt?
Well, a quilt is a traditional bed covering with 3 layers- a decorative top layer; a backing; and some kind of batting sandwiched between the two. The top can consist of one piece of fabric (a whole cloth quilt), or it can consist of many different fabrics sewn together in a multitude of different patterns (a patchwork quilt.) The actual "quilting" refers to the stitches that bind all three layers together. The quilting part can be done by hand or by machine.
We are often asked why quilts vary so much in price.
The reason is related to a few different factors. The first is due to the intricacy of the pattern. For example, the Tea Cabin Quilt has lots of pieces sewn together to create and intricate design. Another factor is the type of fabric used. The higher quality quilts will use a softer grade of cotton with a higher thread count. The final consideration is the type of batting used. A premium quality quilt will be filled with 100% cotton batting. The highest priced ones will have a thicker measure of batting. Several of the premium quilts that we carry have a lighter-weight batting, making them a bit less expensive than other quilts listed on the same page. These are a great option for the summer, or if you just prefer to spend a bit less and still get a quality cotton filled quilt. The Star Patch Quilt is our most popular quilt in this category. We also offer a "budget" grade patchwork quilt, found in our Clearance section. These quilts are filled with lightweight polyester batting. They're pretty, but are not the same level of workmanship as the others. But they certainly have lots of decorating potential.
That brings us to Whole Cloth Quilts...
A whole cloth quilt would be a quilt that consists of just one fabric on the top, and one on the bottom. It could be just one large piece of fabric, or smaller pieces sewn together to form a large textile bed cover. The history of quilting dates back to the middle ages. Whole cloth quilts are thought to be the first quilts made, then patchworks. The French style "boutis" quilt is an example of whole cloth quilting. A boutis is a traditional French Country quilt made of one fabric on top, one on the bottom and a batting layer in between. Hand stitching was then done through all three layers to secure the textile and make it suitable as a bed linen. The hand stitching was generally close together and could vary from simplistic to very intricate. The fabrics most often used were solid white, or printed toile fabrics. The resulting quilts were heirlooms passed down through families. Today, you can find many examples of modern whole cloth quilts. They are typically lighter- weight and less fragile than their patchwork counterparts. And they look great on an antique country bed!