In early American days clipper ships brought cargoes of Indian and Persian cotton prints into western Atlantic ports and these fabrics became very popular. When quilt designers were casting afield for pattern ideas, the Tree of Life design from the Orient was conventionalized and used as a quilt motif.

The appeal of this ancient design is liked not alone for its intrinsic beauty but also for its quality of faith and belief in eternal life. The design rapidly became a favored one among the religiously inclined settlers of the New World and their descendants.

Many variations of this design are found among antique quilts but the distinguishing feature of all the Tree of Life patterns is the patchwork of the tree foliage and the trunk which is appliqued on.

The favored material for these old quilts was a figured calico in green tones with a darker green or a brown fabric for the tree trunk. While the foliage was always figured material to imitate the play of light and shadow in the leaves, the trunk was invariably of plain fabric.

Materials Needed:

• 9 yards of white background material.
• 6 yards of plain or figured green material.
• 1 yard of brown for the tree trunks (optional).

Units in Each Block:
Unit No. 1 … 40 plain or figured green material.
Unit No. 2 … 40 white material.
Unit No. 3 … 1 dark green or brown.

Sewing Instructions:
Cut twenty white background blocks 14 inches square. Fold each block lengthwise through the center and press in crease with a warm iron. Cut the green and white triangles that form the tree and sew them together. Next, cut the trunk of the tree, turn in the edges and baste in place. After the triangles in the tree are pieced together , turn in all outside edges as the tree must be appliqued to the block. Place it on the block (the center crease will guide you), baste to the background and add trunk to the lower half. Applique with small hemming stitches.

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