Log Cabin - The HISTORY Behind the design
1. Traditionally the block had a light side (happiness) and dark side (sorrow) to represent life in a home.
2. The yellow or red centre would represent a hearth in a home (red) or a candle left burning to guide a family member home at night (yellow). There has been some controversy to having a black centre. This is rumoured to represent a safe haven/comfort for escaping slaves during the Civil War.
3. In sewing the log cabin block, it is sewn from the centre out representing the building of a home, one log at a time surrounding the hearth/heart in the middle.
The Log Cabin quilt became popular in the United States by the mid-nineteenth century. The Log Cabin pattern consist of strips of fabric (logs) sewn around a square fabric centre. The centre fabric square was traditional red to signify the fire on the hearth of the cabin. By careful placement of light and dark fabrics, different patterns were formed.
The Log Cabin quilt pattern has been a long standing favourite over the years due to the simplicity of the design as well as its versatility. In many of the old quilts the centre square was red. This was to symbolize the hearth of the home. Though the quilt was a favourite for years because it was a wonderful pattern for using up scraps of fabric, quilters today for the most part plan their log cabin quilts with great care and purchase the fabric specifically for the quilt.
The overall effect of the log cabin quilt is achieved by the use of light and dark fabrics and how they are arranged. The Log Cabin quilt became popular in the United States by the mid-nineteenth century .
