For hundreds of years, while wars were being fought around the world, women on the home front were tasked with the unpaid production of sewing and knitting to clothe, warm and care for soldiers, prisoners of war, civilians, and refugees affected by war. Women also raised funds for the war effort and for textile production supplies through auctioning or raffling quilts.

This website explores the voluntary textile production of civilian Canadian women on the home front in both WW1 and WW2, with particular attention to the production of quilts. Because a number of quilts from both world wars survive, these rare artifacts provide us with a window into the broader textile production and other unpaid labour by women in wartime. Two scholars, Joanna Dermenjian and Heather Smith, share their research and projects to bring attention to this subject, gather extant records and primary sources, record surviving quilts and inspire further research and exhibitions.

WW2 Victory autograph quilt, made by The Ladies Guild of St. David’s Church, London, Ontario, c.1942. Found near Oxford, England in 2022 and repatriated to Canada. Private Collection.