1930s / 1940s Double Wedding Ring Quilt

Quilts from the 1930s are some of the most sought after by quilt collectors. The beautiful quilts from that era have certain trademark characteristics quilters still use when quilting today.

What can be more romantic than a Double Wedding Ring Quilt? Although this pattern is often thought of as a twentieth century quilt it appears to have evolved from a very old design. The motif of two interlocking rings goes as far back as the fourth century when it was used to decorate Roman cups. These cups were made of glass decorated with connecting mental rings.

Another early example of interlocking rings is found in the gimmal ring. These rings were popular in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. They consisted of rings that could be interlocked. During the engagement one was worn by the man and the other by the women. When they married the two rings were fitted together to be worn by the wife.

It is thought this style of ring came to America through Germanic people who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. This pattern of interlocking rings was seen on coverlets, ceramics and other decorative objects in early America.

Of Romantic and Mythical Stories
The Double Wedding Ring pattern was first published by Capper's Weekly in 1928. This Topeka, Kansas publication added a bit of mythical romance to go with the pattern by writing, "When some good but unknown man conceived the idea of a double wedding ring ceremony it gave his wife an equally good idea. She worked two circles into a double wedding ring quilt."

Another delightful myth was published in a 1932 brochure which connected the Double Wedding Ring quilt to the Civil War. The publication offered this story of how the pattern came to be named. It seemed a grandmotherly woman had made a great many quilts. One was particularly special and she was saving it for her niece's wedding. Sadly the wedding had been delayed because the potential groom had been wounded in the war and spent several years away in the hospital. He finally came home and a wedding was planned but he had no rings for the wedding. When the bride to be told her beloved aunt that the rings would have to wait, the older woman said, "My child, I'll furnish the rings. You shall have my favorite quilt and we will call it the Double Wedding Ring." 

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