Crazy quilting

This article is about the textile art. For other uses, see Crazy quilt (disambiguation).
Crazy quilt by Granny Irwin, Museum of Appalachia, Norris, Tennessee
Closeup showing floral embroidery

The term "crazy quilting" is often used to refer to the textile art of crazy patchwork and is sometimes used interchangeably with that term. Crazy quilting does not actually refer to a specific kind of quilting (the needlework which binds two or more layers of fabric together), but a specific kind of patchwork lacking repeating motifs and with the seams and patches heavily embellished. A crazy quilt rarely has the internal layer of batting that is part of what defines quilting as a textile technique.

Rebecca Palmer. Crazy Quilt, 1884. Silk, velvet. Brooklyn Museum
Tamar Horton Harris North. “Quilt (or decorative throw), Crazy pattern”. ~1877. 54 1⁄2 × 55 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art.