BED SPREADS

Old Trunks wonders what sort of bedspreads were available for working families. She wonders if they even used bedspreads. Old pictures show hand tied quilts. Rich museums show beautiful hand crafted covers. I am thinking my family was more of a hand tied quilt family.

Mother was big on satin and taffeta. The first bedspread I remember was a white cotton one with piping long the full skirt and the top was quilted with roses. Drapes to match. The spread was to be turned down each night.

Greg's was a cotton corded spread, after all, he was a boy.

My parent's room had mocho chocolate satin spreads, they too, were turned down each night. The top was flat and the edges gathered. Now mother could make a bed like no other soul I have ever known. Satin, as you may have remembered, shows every flaw, but not after she finished with them.

I had what was called a 3/4 bed, bigger than a twin but smaller than a double. I suppose the sleeping surface was about 46 or so inches. Based on 39" for a twin, and 54 inches for a double. That meant every factory bedspread with piping, had to be fixed. That was something grandma did. She was great on remodeling things. If grandma didn't remodel it, it didn't hang right on the bed because the piping did not sit right on the edge.

All the time I lived with my parents, I never had a chenille bedspread. My grand parents did and lots of friends did. I did, however, have a Queen Victoria spread which had a medallion in the center. It was very bright white and I never turned it down at night because it acted like an extra cover.

Ten years ago, it was all comforters and dust ruffles or quilts and dust ruffles. You had to have the ruffle or the bed wasn't 'finished'.

Old Trunks has thought about the hand crochet bedspread my grandmother made for their bed and how she made a rolled pillow and backed it with gold material. Under the bedspread, there gold material also. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. To my dismay, Grandma cut it in half and used it on the back of the sofa before I could ask for it. Darn shame, it was beautiful workmanship.

We have the comforter sort of set up with many pillows. In the spare room we have a quilt with many MORE pillows, and at the lake, a quilt. All three places have dust ruffles.

Will bedspreads swing back to piped edges? Will dust ruffles be discontinued only to be rediscovered? Can one buy a queen bedspread that comes to the floor? Or do I have to have a new one custom made?

Let me see, what goes well with peanut butter colored walls?

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