Explore an aspect of Mennonite culture such as quiltin

[Quilting among the Mennonites] [Course] [Professor] [Date] The process of sewing together two or more layers of material to come up with a thicker padded fabric is known as quilting. A needle and thread is used to join two or more layers of fabric. In a typical quilting process, three layers: the top fabric also known as the quilt top that is sewn on top, the backing material that is sewn at the back and the batting or insulating material that is sewn in between the top and the back fabrics. The joining of the three material involves the use of a thread that is passed through them by the use of either the hand or a sewing machine. Commonly used is a straight or running stitch and the material are sewn together in all places a quilt is required (Silk Zantine, Wikipedia.org 2013). The stitch design used are usually either purely functional or elaborate and decorative. The purpose of the whole quilting activity is to come up with products that would be used as art quilt wall hangings, bed spreads, clothing and a variety of other textile products.[Silk, Zantine. "Quilting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilting (accessed July 9, 2013)] The English word ‘quilt` came from the French word cuilte which itself comes from the Latin word culcita that means a large stuffed sack. The specific origin of the art is not well known but evidence of its existence has been found in various ancient world cultures. An ivory carving of one of the first dynasty Egyptian pharaohs shows evidence of a quilted garment (Zantine, 2013). A quilted floor covering was also discovered by archeologists in Mongolia in 1924. Quilted clothing began to be used generally in the 14th century in the form of quilted doublets in Germany, France and England and as quilted tunics in Italy.[Silk, Zantine. "Quilting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilting (accessed July 9, 2013)] The practice of quilting is widely practiced in among Mennonite women. Mennonite women create handmade quilts with which they cover beds during the day. They decorate the beds with especially elaborate quilts. This paper explores quilting as an aspect in the wider Mennonite culture, its history among the Mennonites, characteristics and how it impacts their lives, especially the women who participate in the process of sewing of quilts. This paper also examines the importance of quilt making in the Mennonite culture. The process of quilting The basic process of quilting involves selection of fabrics, patterns and batting. Batting is the synthetic fiber, cotton or wool that is used as filling for quilts. It is placed in between the top and bottom fabrics of the quilt. The second stage involves measuring and cutting of fabrics according to the sizes of the patterns so as to make blocks. The blocks are sewn together to ...