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Mariner’s Postage Stamp Quilt-King

$949.00

Measures 114″ x 112″ long.

This Mariner’s Postage Stamp displays a stunning Mariner’s Compass in the center of the Postage Stamp pattern. The lovely blue and yellow fabrics compose an artful bed quilt. The quilt is generous enough in length so that one can use a simple pillow tuck rather than pillow shams. The generous width gives a drop measurement of 18 inches per side. The quilt is hand-quilted, initialed, and dated!

Homemade quilts combine the warmth of a bed cover with a unique story told by the quilters from Lancaster County, PA. Every homemade quilt is as unique as the family, busy mother or Amish ladies group who uses a needle and thimble to thread stitch on the quilt. Some quilts involve hundreds of hours and thousands of stitches to create a unique patchwork quilt that will last for generations.

When you peruse our HOMEMADE QUILTS you are shopping for an item that tells a story and adds meaning to your bedroom! Discover more about our unique patchwork quilts and the stories behind them

We have a lot of quilts! Want to see a gallery of the major patterns? Checkout our Common Amish Quilt Patterns.

Mariner’s Compass Quilts for Sale: Handmade by the Amish of Lancaster County

We employ local craftspeople to design, piece, and quilt these works of art. Each quilt is entirely handmade, from cutting the quilt blocks to binding the edges of the quilt. We bring together artisans for different steps of the process–one sews the quilt top; others stitch it together; and still another finishes the edges. Every part of the process recalls the way quilts have been made for centuries.

mariner's compass quilt made by the amish of lancaster county

One of our Mariner's Compass Quilts

heart and center of mariner's compass quilt

The Striking Compass Design

beautiful front and back of mariner's compass quilt

Front and Back of a Mariner's Compass Quilt

Connecting the Past and Present: The Mariner’s Compass Quilts Legacy

While most early quilts were simple, the Mariner’s Compass quilt was complex, and often was reserved for special occasions.

The Mariner’s Compass quilt pattern has been known and loved among dedicated quilters, only the best of whom could manage the intricacies of stitching the precise points of the compass or star, as it was variously known. While most early quilts were simple, the Mariner’s Compass quilt was complex, and often was reserved for special occasions.

While other patterns may suggest a star pattern, the Mariner’s Compass name specifically refers to quilts in which the star radiates from a circular center. The roots of this pattern are hard to trace. Barbara Brackman writes of the many names used for this pattern, including The Explosion, the Merry Go Round, the Rolling Pinwheel, the Slashed Star–even Chips and Whetstones. Each name suggests what quilters saw as they stitched their quilt tops!

Quilt pattern books began to use the Mariner’s Compass name, widely accepted today, around the 1960s; its first published use was in 1929. Various historians, knowing the pattern’s popularity in the American northeast, have suggested that seafaring folk saw the compass rose on nautical maps and reproduced it on their blankets. The Pennsylvania Germans picked it up, adding brighter colors and patterns.

Mariner's Compass in a Wall Hanging

classic red mariner's compass quilt

Red is a Classic Fit for Mariner's Compass

The Intricate Mariner's Compass

Did you know?

The term handmade is generally utilized to describe crafts created by an artisan in contrast to a factory. Since it is not mass-produced, each handmade quilt is unique. Nonetheless, not all the stitching in a handcrafted quilt is done manually. Just as the woodcrafter makes use of mechanical tools to create his craftsmanship, our seamstresses make use of different tools to craft these quilts. The seamstress cuts her items with a rotary knife and also sew them together on the sewing machine. The quilter functions with only string, thimble, as well as needle to quilt hundreds of tiny stitches throughout the quilt. Handmade is a gift: it is the gift of time and also ability to produce a product uniquely for you.

Community Creating Beauty: How We Piece Scrap Quilts

We source our homemade patchwork quilts from local Amish and Mennonite artisans, who craft them by hand with the care and art of the American quilting tradition. Frequently, families work together to piece and quilt these bedspreads. With their help, we offer you patchwork quilts, each unique and handmade.

scrap quilts for sale from amish quilters in pa

The Postage Stamp is a popular Scrap Quilt Pattern

country hearts scrap quilt pattern

Square and Applique Scraps compliment in this Country Hearts Quilt

scrap quilts in many colors from family farm fabrics

A few Scrap Quilt variations.

Frugality Creating Beauty: How Scrap Quilts Developed

Scrap quilts are called a variety of different names, each a thread connected to quilters years ago who first used this pattern.

Called a “charm” quilt in the late 19th century, young women collected hundreds of different fabrics from their family and friends. Perhaps if they collected 999 different squares, their true love would bring them the thousandth–and their happily-ever-after dream, too. One quilting blogger speculates that collecting these fabrics may have given girls opportunities to ask their love interest for a contribution!

The scrap quilt has also been called a “beggar” quilt, referring to quilters asking each other for contributions to their projects. Trying to put together a bedspread without repeating every fabric, they also called the quilts “odd feller” quilts–every piece was an odd feller. Some families recall their mother repeating one square, however, so that a child sick in bed might be entertained looking for the matching patches.

Still another name scrap quilts went by is the “postage stamp” quilt, so called because quilters would use their tiniest scraps, sometimes no bigger than a postage stamp. Perhaps the original motivation was not wasting the smallest piece (historians recall the scarcity of the Great Depression in this), but it also became a challenge at some point. Quilters would collect thousands of pieces to compete with each other in making stitched masterpieces.

amish handmade scrap quilt for a twin sized bed

Twin Sized Postage Stamp Quilt

ancient star scrap quilt for sale in pa

Ancient Star is another Scrap Quilt Pattern

beautiful scrap quilt red orange and blue

A color coordinated Scrap Quilt is an exquisite work of art!

Amish Homemade Quilt Facts

Over the centuries, all sorts of strategies have been cultivated to make it easier for quilt-makers to piece multi-angled quilts together. One of these tactics is called paper piecing, which is normally utilized to combine the intricate corners of the Mariner's Compass quilt. Paper piecing, as it title implies, uses a specific paper pattern on which the material pieces are sewn. The pattern guides the seamstress to accurately sew the pieces together so that the finished top will lie out evenly. Tactics of this sort as this are a marvelous support to our quilt-makers!

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Welcome to Family Farm Handcrafts! Quilt making is an iconic representation of the Amish way of life, where working with their hands is highly valued. All items in our store are hand-stitched or handmade.

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