Vintage Fabrics

I received a package of vintage fabrics yesterday which a swapping friend had purchased at an estate sale. I am not an expert but I do have a good memory for fabrics and patterns and these are the colors and sort of patterns I remember from when I first became aware of quilts, which was back in the '50s. A cousin of my father's, an older woman, was the only person I knew who quilted. When we visited her she always had a quilt in progress. Looking at her quilts was far more interesting than the conversations about gardening or cooking or whatever the adults talked about.

This morning I ironed the fabrics which had been folded and crushed together. The photo above shows the smaller pieces, i.e., ones that were less than a quarter yard -- most pieces are irregular. I think they were not used for quilting -- except for the diamond shaped pieces of which there are six each, dark and light. I think they were left overs from clothing or household projects.
They all feel like 100% cotton, and I do believe they are old enough that very little polyester was being used in the fabrics generally available to home sewers. The fabrics in the bottom photo are larger pieces, mostly between a quarter and three-quarters of a yard. The printed lavender gingham actually is flocked. The lavender and the blue ginghams are true woven ginghams, not printed but the blue checks with the tiny flowers are printed.

It is fascinating to me to see a collection of vintage fabrics. If any readers of this blog are better versed in vintage fabrics than I am I'd love to hear how old you think these pieces might be. The pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.