Dogtooth Borders

Quilt by Anne Dagge, date-inscribed 1818

Collection of the Smithsonian Institution

I've been looking at a lot of quilts with the dates inscribed on them, working on my digital newsletter for 2011. One of the things that impresses me most is how popular the appliqued dogtooth border was before 1860, and particularly before 1830.

Dogtooth border on a tattered quilt from about 1850

When you see pictures of these triangular borders you might think they are pieced, but several years ago quiltmakers Elly Sienkiewicz and Judy Severson, researching quilts by reproducing antiques, realized borders of spiky triangles that look pieced in photographs were actually appliqued. Quilters probably slashed strips in regular fashion and turned the edges under to form triangles.

The source for the name Dogtooth seems obvious; canine teeth are sharp. The word is used to describe several pointed objects such as the Dogtooth Violet in botany and dogtooth spar in mineralogy. In her quilt research, Sandi Fox noted that dogtooth is also a name for an ornament in English gothic architecture, a type of quatrefoil detail found in medieval buildings.

1797

A Vandyke scallop or Portuguese hem on the right

Fox suggests the word Vandyke scallop might be a better name for the quilt technique. She found fashion illustrations in the 1790s featuring geometric borders such as a dress described as having a "chintz border in Vandyke scallops." A search of fashion illustrations from 1790-1820 will show many such clothing details.

Queen Henrietta Maria by Van Dyck,

 wearing a few scallops in the 17th century

Louis Harmuth's 1915 Dictionary of Textiles defines a "Van Dyke" as a "pointed scallop in laces and embroideries." The name comes from the paintings of Anthony Van Dyck, an artist born in Belgium in 1599. Van Dyck achieved fame as court painter to the English king when fashion dictated small pointed beards and elaborate clothing with v-shaped scallops on collars and cuffs. His name still describes a goatee beard, but the association with dress and embroidery has been forgotten.

Vandyke scallops in 1813

Fox also defined the edge as a Portuguese hem. A 1917 book Dressmaking: A Manual for Schools and Colleges described "Portuguese laid work" as a technique "chiefly used as a border decoration."

Cut-out chintz quilt with dogtooth border by Mrs. James Lusby,

 date inscribed 1837-1838

Collection of the Smithsonian Institution

A Star of Bethlehem with a dogtooth border, a photo sent by Jane Hall

One sometimes sees these double dogtooth borders in different colors

I tried to find a tutorial on the internet about how to stitch a dogtooth border (or a Vandyke scallop) but couldn't find any. Instructions are in two of my books and in Judy Severson's Flowers in Applique.

Below is a small illustration from my Quilts From the Civil War.

Begin with two strips of fabric, for example 

1 strip 4 x 20" inches of light

1 strip 2-1/2" a 20 inches of dark

Baste them together with a stay stitch on the bottom.

Mark every 2" on the top of the dark strip

Slash 1-1/2" down at those marks

Turn the edges under and applique them into a point. 

Erma's Wedding Quilt, by Judy Severson and friends

Judy does a very orderly dogtooth border

Nancy Hornback, Reunion Eagle

And so do Nancy and Karla

  

Liberty's Eagle by Karla Menaugh

Karla Menaugh, Sunflowers

Karla has included instructions for her plaid dogtooth border in my book Borderland in Butternut and Blue, available from Kansas City Star books. Click here to read more about the book:

https://www.pickledishstore.com/productDetail.php?PID=765 

 I love to find the dogtooth appliqued edge used in other ways

A quilt from about 1850 with a dogtooth top to the basket

And a dogtooth edge on a scallop from another mid-19th-century quilt

Here's a detail of a terrific album quilt

in the collection of the Winterthur Museum.

See more 19th-century quilts with dogtooth borders by clicking on the links:

Two from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum

Number 2008.040.0195

http://cdn.firespring.com/images/6/8/4/9/c/6d24ebd8-8a84-41a8-949b-c888b4561056.jpg

Number 1997.007.0688

http://cdn.firespring.com/images/a/2/4/a/6/a65515c7-2270-4a60-a8f1-6eb169f2d267.jpg

Another from the Winterthur

http://content.winterthur.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/quilts&CISOPTR=455&CISOBOX=1&REC=3

Chirp, Barbara Brackman, 2010

Inspired by Anne Dagge's 1818 quilt at the top I put a wacky dogtooth border on my little Broderie Perse quilt of paisley birds.

Phoebe's Favorite: Links to Dogtooth Applique Patterns

Blocks 1-4 by Jeanne Arnieri

The Block of the Month at Material Culture in 2023-2024 is Pheobe's Favorite: Dogtooth Applique.

Here are links to posts with 9 free patterns for this traditional applique

technique in which you slash and turn points rather than using a template.

Becky Brown's Block #2 showing 5 finished, pointy edges and 3

before the fabric is slashed to make the points.

Denniele Bohannon is stitching her points using

templates---the more common applique style. Each month you

get patterns for both techniques.

We have a Facebook group where you can share your progress. It's an open group. You don't have to join.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1007843703959466
PhoebesFavoriteDogtoothQuilt

And you can buy the set of patterns here in my Etsy shop---32 pages for $12. Do note there's an error in there ---the blocks finish to 18-1/2" not 18".
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1505697913/9-traditional-applique-blocks-in-a?

Click on the links below to see the nine free patterns posted on the first day of each month beginning July 1, 2023

The Introduction:

http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2023/06/applique-block-of-month-phoebes.html

#1 Sunflower by Becky Brown

Barbara Brackman's MATERIAL CULTURE: Phoebe's Favorite: Dogtooth Applique #1

#2 Bouquet by Elsie Ridgley

Barbara Brackman's MATERIAL CULTURE: Phoebe's Favorite: Dogtooth Applique #2

#3 Mexicali Rose by Denniele Bohannon

Barbara Brackman's MATERIAL CULTURE: Phoebe's Favorite #3: Mexicali Rose

#4 Floral Vase by Jeanne Arnieri

Barbara Brackman's MATERIAL CULTURE: Phoebe's Favorite #4: Floral Vase

#5 Tobacco Leaf by Becky Brown

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2023/11/phoebes-favorite-dogtooth-applique-5.html

#6 Princess Feather by Elsie Ridgley

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2023/12/phoebes-favorite-dogtooth-6-princess.html

#7 Pineapple by Denniele Bohannon

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2024/01/phoebes-favorite-7-pineapple.html

#8 Eagle by Becky Brown

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2024/02/phoebes-favorite-dogtooth-8-eagle.html

#9 Cochise County by Elsie Ridgley

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2024/03/phoebes-favorite-dogtooth-9-cochise.html

Denniele Bohannon

All nine blocks and a border beginning

Becky Brown plans to applique a dogtooth triangle border

around the nine blocks and turn that on point.

You know she isn't going to leave those corners empty.

Two good sources for how-to's on slashed and turned Dogtooth borders:

Elly Sienkiewicz's Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts

&

Jeana Kimball's The Quilter's Ultimate Visual Guide.

Or sash them and do a Dogtooth Star in the cornerstones.

Applique Block of the Month: Phoebe's Favorite---Dogtooth Applique

 

We've been working on an appliqued Block-of-the-Month for the Material Culture blog here, a sampler of nine patterns using the old-fashioned "dogtooth" applique design.

 Tobacco Leaf or Pineapple block in which the scalloped edges

are cut and stitched dogtooth fashion

On the first of each month for the next nine months I'll post a pattern beginning in July. You'll see free patterns for traditional quilt designs where the points and curves are cut by slashing the edges of the patch and then turning points under free-hand, a technique popular from about 1840 on. 

The yellow circle will be an 8-pointed star when stitched.

Becky Brown has learned a new technique. 

And she's great at slashing, folding & stitching it down by hand.

She's using primary colors on a patterned white background.

Phoebe's Favorite is named for my dog, a rather short German Shepherd.

As today’s quiltmakers prefer a more predictable result Phoebe’s Favorite will give you patterns for both techniques---traditional dogtooth applique plus templates for conventional applique. But you will enjoy learning the old-fashioned applique method.

Pattern for a floral appliqued in dogtooth technique

Pattern for the same  floral in conventional applique.

Add seam allowances.

Becky's version of the floral with an 8-pointed star in the center

Dannielle's fabric choices

The blocks finish to 18-1/2", which means setting them side-by-side will give you a small top 55-1/2" square. You need about 3 yards of background fabric to cut nine 19" squares. Sashing, borders up to you.

You could add 6" finished sashing with an 8-point star in

the cornerstones. You'd have a quilt 79" square.

Cut 6" circles (or a little smaller) to fit in the 6" squares (squares cut 6-1/2".)

Read an old post about making dogtooth stars here:

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2011/08/dogtooth-stars-how-to.html

Becky Brown is thinking about bordering the nine squares

with a dogtooth border and then turning that on point.

Read another old blog post about dogtooth borders:

https://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2010/12/dogtooth-borders.html

Jeana Kimball did a better job than I could explaining the technique in The Quilter's Ultimate Visual Guide.

Look for the first pattern here on July 1st.

We have a Facebook group where you can share your progress. It's an open group. You don't have to join.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1007843703959466

PhoebesFavoriteDogtoothQuilt

And you can buy the set of patterns here in my Etsy shop---32 pages for $12.. Do note there's an error in there ---the blocks finish to 18-1/2" not 18".

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1505697913/9-traditional-applique-blocks-in-a?