Most Hawaii visitors favor its beaches. Handwork fanciers, however, find the islands’ traditional quilts far more fascinating.
According to quilting experts, Hawaiian quilting began when King Kahamehameha, his two wives, the Queen Dowager Kalakua, and her sister were invited aboard the brig Thaddeus, which carried the first missionaries to the islands.
The Hawaiian ladies were so fascinated by the hand-sewn quilts of the "long neck" ladies that they took quilting lessons from them. However, the royals devised an entirely new quilting style in which snowflake-fashion designs were appliquéd on a large piece of cloth and attached to the backing with tiny stitches in a wave-like pattern echoing the design.
Quilt Displays
Today, you can see both antique and contemporary Hawaiian quilts throughout the islands. The quilt collection at Honolulu Academy of Arts is considered one of the finest in the country. The Kauai Museum contains several heirloom quilts in its collection, occasionally augmenting them with private collection exhibits. At the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island, more than two dozen quilts are displayed in the fifth and sixth floor galleries.
Each of the islands holds an annual county fair where quilts figure prominently in the home arts sections (The Maui fair's quilting exhibit is especially fine). In June, Honolulu’s Mission Houses Museum features an outstanding quilt exhibit as part of the annual Fancy Fair. There's also a one-day annual quilt show at the library in the tiny town of Waianae on Oahu, when quilts gathered from all parts of the islands are displayed. Incidentally, the library has Hawaii's largest collection of quilt patterns -- more than 300 -- which anyone is allowed to copy.
Early-Day Colors
The earliest quilts were usually in red and white, because those two colors were often the only ones available. As other colors became obtainable, such combinations as lime green and orange, pink and maroon, and red and yellow -- the royal colors -- also became popular. Through the years, more than two colors occasionally have been used in a quilt, but the two-color coverlet remains the most common.
Pattern Possession
While early quilters gave their original patterns to selected friends and relatives, it’s said they hung their quilts out to air with patterns folded inside to deter copying. Whenever one quilter did steal another's design, the story continues, a song would be written and sung publicly to tell everyone about the theft.
Designs based on historical themes related to the lives of royalty as well as historical events. One design, "The Palace Chandelier," celebrates the installation of gaslights in Iolani Palace. They were also inspired by new items or accessories, such as combs, pendants, and fans, in the queens' wardrobes.
Traditional Designs
Most popular historical motif is the Hawaiian flag. During the early 1800s when Hawaii came under British influence and in 1893 when the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, people feared they would never again see their flag. This prompted quilt makers to stitch two-design quilts; one side featuring an innocent motif, the other a flag-themed design which could be displayed when trusted people were present and turned toward the bed at other times. Flag quilts usually were made from red, white, blue, and gold cloth. The botanical designs most commonly were derived from flower blossoms, with tuberose, plumeria, hibiscus, pikake, ginger, bird of paradise, and anthurium among the favorites.
Lessons and Demonstrations
Free quilt-making lessons are offered at Honolulu’s Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and other island shopping malls, and to guests at many resorts, such as Grand Hyatt Kauai and Moana Surfrider.
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