quilt

Padded bed cover or the method used to make padded covers or clothing. The padded effect is achieved by sewing a layer of down, cotton, wool, or other stuffing between two outer pieces of material; patterned sewing is used (often incorporating diamond shapes or floral motifs).

Quilts have been made in the home for centuries throughout Europe, the East, and the USA. They are sometimes decorated with patchwork or embroidery.

In the USA, group or family efforts resulted in quilting bees, where several people sewed and visited on certain days to finish the project (in time for a wedding or baby, for example) and to have company in a vast, relatively unpopulated colonial farming region.