''Trapunto'', from the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for ''"to quilt"'', is a method of quilting that is also called "stuffed technique". A puffy, decorative feature, trapunto utilizes at least two layers, the underside of which is slit and padded, producing a raised surface on the quilt.

History

The style originated in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

before the 14th century.Art:Quilts and Quilters:Techniques:Trapunto
/ref>

Technique

Trapunto is often confused with the relatively similar techniques used in making traditional whole cloth

Provençal quilts The term Provençal quilting, also known as boutis, refers to the wholecloth quilts done using a stuffing technique traditionally made in the South of France from the 17th century onwards. Boutis is a Provençal word meaning 'stuffing', describin ...

that were developed from the 17th century onwards in France.

Earliest

One of the earliest surviving examples of trapunto quilting is the

Tristan Quilt The Tristan Quilt, sometimes called the Tristan and Isolde Quilt or the Guicciardini Quilt, is one of the earliest surviving quilts in the world.

in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, a linen quilt representing scenes from the story of ''

Tristan and Isolde Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic, the tale is a tragedy about ...

'' which was made in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

during the second half of the 13th century.The Tristan Quilt
in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Accessed 5-2-2010 Another piece of the Tristan Quilt, thought to be from a pair to the V. & A.'s example, is in

Palazzo Davanzati Palazzo Davanzati is a palace in Florence, Italy. It houses the Museum of the Old Florentine House. History Palazzo Davanzati was erected in the second half of the 14th century by the Davizzi family, who were wealthy members of the wool guild. In ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Modern

The technique was notably used to create the inner-tunic collars worn with

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...

uniforms in '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' and several other ''Star Trek'' films. As functional ''trapunto'' machines were rare, and the specialized needles which they employed were even rarer, the production team was able to find only a single usable needle. The fear of losing or damaging it was so great that a crew member was specifically designated to take the needle home with them at the end of every day.

References

External links

* Quilting Italian words and phrases {{textile-arts-stub