Amelia Bloomer: Advocating a Change, 2019

48" x 48"

Silk- screened and commercially available cotton fabrics. Fused, with machine appliqué and reverse appliqué, machine pieced; hand quilted. Photo credit: Jean Vong.

When I was a child, my family called girl’s underpants, “bloomers.” I can’t recall that we ever mentioned or were even aware of the origin of that name. I now know that Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-1894) became associated with the women's clothing reform style known as bloomers because of her early and strong advocacy. It was inspiring to learn that her work on behalf of women's rights and temperance led her to become the first woman to own, operate and edit a newspaper for women, The Lily, whose title was commemorated in a Washington Post online feature for women (2017-2022).

I based the triple images of my quilt on an 1851 illustration of Amelia Bloomer wearing the bloomer costume. The colors of the American suffragists were white, gold, and purple--symbolizing purity, life, and loyalty—so I colored my three Amelias accordingly. The background is a repeating dictionary definition of bloomers that I silk-screened onto a subtly printed fabric. For the figures and the border text I used a combination of appliqué and reverse appliqué by machine—using a fusible web, and then zigzag stitching around every raw edge. I hand quilted this piece, with part of the quilting design in the borders inspired by the title art of The Lily newspaper.