It is believed that in the 1820's the missionaries taught the Hawaiian women the art of sewing,
using the traditional New England material scraps sewn together. However, no one knows when
the first traditional Hawaiian style quilt, as we know it today, was made. One theory is,
in 1858, when a son was born to the king, the first in over 50 years, the women made quilts
to cover the baby. Unlike the patchwork style, the Hawaiian quilt follows the contour of
the pattern, over and over with tiny stitches, which makes the cloth ripple like waves or wind.
Because the climate in Hawaii is so mild, time was not a factor in completing their quilts,
unlike places where the inhabitants needed their quilts for warmth. This gave the Hawaiians
more time to design and work in a leisurely manner.
Hawaiian quilting is done completely by hand, no machine stitching. There are four methods of
quilt design, which when combined, make the traditional Hawaiian quilt.
- The use of whole pieces of material for applique and background
- The “snowflake” method of cutting the design all at once
- Use of two colors of fabric
- Echo or outline follows around outside of design
I included some links below where you can view some quilts already completed and some
helpful hints on Hawaiian quilt making. We now have three Hawaiian quilting stores on Maui. Look below for
the one nearest to where you are visiting or living.
