Editing Quilt (section)

{{Short description|Bedcover made of multiple layers of fabric}}
{{Other uses}}
{{About||the sewing technique|Quilting|the fine art form|Quilt art}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}

[[File:Russellquilter.jpg|thumb|1940 photograph by [[Russell Lee (photographer)|Russell Lee]] of Mrs. Bill Stagg of [[Pie Town, New Mexico|Pie Town]], New Mexico, with state quilt<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cliohistory.org/visualizingamerica/quilts/visualhistory|title=Quilts as Visual History: Introduction|website=Clio}}</ref>]]

A '''quilt''' is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or [[fiber]]. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of [[padding|batting]] or wadding, and a woven back combined using the techniques of [[quilting]]. This is the process of [[sewing]] on the face of the fabric, and not just the edges, to combine the three layers together to reinforce the material. Stitching patterns can be a decorative element. A single piece of fabric can be used for the top of a quilt (a "whole-cloth quilt"), but in many cases the top is created from smaller fabric pieces joined, or [[patchwork]]. The pattern and color of these pieces creates the design. Quilts may contain valuable historical information about their creators, "visualizing particular segments of history in tangible, textured ways".<ref>{{Cite web|author=Jennifer Reeder|title=Quilts as Visual History: 'Send out an old quilt': Quilts as Homespun War Memorials|url=https://www.cliohistory.org/visualizingamerica/quilts|access-date=May 9, 2024|website=Clio Visualizing History}}</ref>

In the twenty-first century, quilts are frequently displayed as non-utilitarian works of art<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=International Quilt Study Center and Museum|title=Quilts as Art|url=http://worldquilts.quiltstudy.org/americanstory/creativity/quiltsasart|website=World Quilts: The American Story|access-date=November 2, 2015}}</ref> but historically quilts were often used as bedcovers; and this use persists today.

(In modern English, the word "quilt" can also be used to refer to an unquilted [[duvet]] or [[comforter]].)