Casgliadau Arlein

Wholecloth quilt made by the Porth Quilters in 1933, one of six quilting groups established by the Rural Industries Bureau to revive the art of quilting in the depressed south Wales valleys. The group was taught by Miss Jessie M. Edwards.

Cream cotton poplin cover. Carded wool filling. Overall quilting pattern in running stitch: central diamond shape filled with nine diamonds, the central one containing flower motif and others alternating four-leaf motifs and double spiral motifs, on a square field of double trellis. Inner border of diamonds and triangles, the diamonds filled with double spiral and triangles with three-leaf motifs. Middle border of double trellis with eight squares, each containing a four-leaf motif. Outer border of large spirals.

This quilt was made under the auspices of the Rural Industries Bureau. The Bureau established a scheme in 1928 to encourage small craft industries in economically deprived areas. Evidence collected during the 1920s by Mavis FitzRandolph on behalf of the Bureau concluded that the few remaining village quilters in south Wales were producing work of poor quality, but were capable of improvement given better materials and financial incentives.

In response, the Bureau established several quilting classes in the industrial valleys of south Wales, taught by the most accomplished quilters in the area. Classes were set up in six centres: at Porth in the Rhondda, Abertridwr, Merthyr Tydfil, Splott in Cardiff, Blaina and Aberdare. The Bureau paid for the provision of materials and sourced commercial outlets for their work, one being Miss Muriel Rose's The Little Gallery, off Sloane Street, in London. Miss Rose demanded well-designed quilts and needlework of the highest standard, a contributing factor, no doubt, in her winning a commission to supply quilted bedcovers for Claridge’s. The Porth group became especially well-known for the quality of their work, mainly due to the knowledge and skill of their teacher, Miss Jessie Edwards.

The Bureau’s scheme ended with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Although geared towards a luxury market outside their locality, the scheme succeeded in raising the standard of Welsh quilting, producing a new generation of quilters who were well-versed in the traditional Welsh techniques and patterns.