In answer to the question, what are quilting fabrics; we need to look back at the history of quilting fabrics.

During the American civil war the ladies in the South would raise funds for their soldiers by sewing and selling quilts. Well, the war went on a lot longer than anyone had anticipated and the ladies quilting changed from fundraising to bedding. In fact, it got so bad that there ended up being a shortage of quilting fabrics. Near the end of the war, people were tearing apart old mattresses and carpets in a desperate search for any kind of fiber that could be used as quilting fabric.

Back in Victorian times quilting was a pastime for the rich and pampered as they were the only ones who could afford the fancy materials being used in their quilts. One popular craze was something called crazy quilts. These quilts would sport many kinds of contrasting materials, colors and designs. So the Victorian quilters were always looking for eye-catching and outrageous quilting fabrics. It was not unusual to find velvet, silk and brocade doing duty as quilting fabrics. Years later the Victorian quilters also began introducing flannels, denims and other cottons into their crazy quilts' list of acceptable quilting fabrics.

Many of the Victorian crazy quilts are still around today and can be viewed in museums and other quilting displays. Many of them still look wonderful. The wild variety of quilting fabrics as eye catching today as they were centuries ago. Unfortunately, the one quilting fabric that did not age well was silk. If you see a crazy quilt that sports pieces of silk you will quickly notice that those pieces of quilting fabric have deteriorated quickly.

So now you know a little of the history of quilting fabrics.

Sources: www.womenfolk.com/quilting-history/civilwar.htm www.womenfolk.com/quilting-history/crazy.htm