Stitching the Path to Freedom

Collecting and cutting fabrics, threading sewing thread into the needles and telling stories while sewing: in North America, quilting is a medium of nonverbal communication that women have been using for a long time. With quilting, white and Afro-American women not only took a step towards emancipation, but also found in this an opportunity to express themselves creatively and communication with one other.

European colonizers and immigrants brought quilting with them to North America. Alongside its practical purpose, to produce warming blankets, quilting also strengthened the identity of white women. They used the time spent together learning to sew to talk and bond with each other. However, enslaved Afro-American women had also been learning to quilt in the households of white women from the 17^th century. They, too, used it as a creative form of expression and still tell of their history and culture with the quilts to this day (fig. 1). In doing so—in contrast to quilts in the European style—they opted for bold colors and asymmetrical seams. The latter, the asymmetrical seams, are reminiscent of another Afro-American art form, jazz. This, too, is characterized by asymmetries and so often appears “crooked.”

Fig. 1: Quilt “Into the Light,” sketch by Lynda Ryan, 2006. The quilt depicts Harriet Tubman guiding formerly enslaved people through dangerous territories to freedom in Canada during the 19th century. The geometric blocks bordering the top and bottom of the quilt recreate a visual code shared by Ozella McDaniel Williams. Her ancestors used the code, known only to African Americans, as a geographic guide to safety (photo: Courtesy of Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Photo: D. Russels, 2024).

As she sewed, the quilter’s needle traveled here and there, always maintaining a certain evenness—like the musical rhythm of off-beat, a hallmark of jazz. This sewing style did not correspond to the European method of sewing and making quilts. The sporadic and almost “crooked” patterns of Afro-American quilts differed significantly. They were composed in such a way as to ultimately tell a story. This often comprised much more than just an excerpt from one’s own family history. Many quilt blankets were thus not only a warming protection from the cold on long winter nights, but also a sewn story.

The most common patterns on Afro-American quilts from the end of the 19th century were pairs of rings, crosses, huts, wheels, bows and, stars. They appeared to be decorative patterns on colorful blankets. However, they meant much more than that, directing escaped enslaved people to safe places and roads, which led them to what were known as the free states. These were all of the states of the USA that had abolished slavery following the American Civil War. The quilts were thus a kind of signpost to freedom. As such, they were part of what was known as the Underground Railroad, which enslaved people used to escape to the north (fig. 2). The patterns on the quilts were both route descriptions and location information (fig. 3 – 5).

Fig. 2: Map of the Underground Railroad. (Map: BCDH 2024, made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com).

Fig. 3: Quilt. Underground Railroad „Colorful“. Quilted wall hanging by Sharon Tindall, n. d., 70×85“ (photo: S. Tindall, 2024).

The uninitiated, for example, saw the two rings simply as wedding rings and interpreted them as a symbol of a romantic story. Yet insiders saw them as shackles. The depiction of a crossroads indicated the route to Cleveland/Ohio, a major hub of the Underground Railroad. From there, the enslaved people escaping to freedom could travel further north by train. Once they crossed the Ohio River, they were in the free states. The star showed the fugitives where north was and the wheels meant that they could travel by train. A bow symbolized a bow tie and served as a request to wear mourning clothes as though you were going to a funeral—sometimes even to your own, as enslaved people traveled in coffins for their own safety on occasion.

The individual patches on the quilts were not only a compass but also warned all those who could interpret the symbols. Not only the patterns on the quilts but also the quilts themselves were a symbol. If they were hung up in front of a house or at a window, they indicated a safe house for fugitives, where they could rest and plan the rest of their journey. Many Afro-American quilts are thus reminiscent of stories of the horrors of slavery and one’s own self-liberation from slavery through escape.

---

Further Reading

Bohde, Stefanie, [n. d.]. The Underground Railroad Quilt Code. https://www.academia.edu/418573/THE_UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD_QUILT_CODE?email_work_card=view-paper

Brackman, Barbara, 2006. Facts & Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery: 8 Projects, 20 Blocks, First-person Accounts. La Fayette/CA: C&T Pub.

Tobin, J. L. and Dobard, R. D., 2000. Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad.

Walker, Alice, [1973] 1994. Everyday Use. In: Barbara T. Christian (ed.), Everyday Use. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press.

Campus View, 2016. New in the Gallery. Quilted mural depicts Underground Railroad. https://www.mtso.edu/about-mtso/news-publications/campus-view-archive/campus-view-october-2016/#quilt-mural-depicts-underground-railroad.