Dating Fabrics by Eileen Trestain (1998, Hardcover, Illustrated)

I Recommend this Book to Anyone who has an interest in Sewing, Quilting, or any Activity involving Fabrics and Pieces of Fabrics. This is a Very Informative Book, that takes the novice down the road in History beyond the Civil War to learn how to see for yourself when a fabric or piece of cloth may have been made. Learn how to save money and most importantly how to spot those quilts or items that are much newer than advertised. In no time at all you will be absorbed in reading this book and ready to hit the streets - yard sales, goodwill, auctions and flea markets armed with enough information to hopefully help you choose the right bargain you had in mind. There is power in knowledge and this book will certainly give you that edge that can lead you to your buying and selling success, or maybe help you spot a very special gift of a piece of history for that special someone for a Holiday Gift. Its all inside the cover of "Dating Fabrics" ! Get the Book and Get Reading !!

This is one of those books that I turn to over and over again. It has helped me in dating fabrics both to sell on eBay, and as a help in choosing reproduction fabrics to make historically accurate quilts.

I found this to be a very useful, informative & EASY TO USE guide to early fabrics. I use it a lot in reference to quilt fabrics, tablecloths, early clothing & even feedsacks.
The pictures are crisp, the descriptions concise, & it is nicely categorized in order of years. Even if you don't know the year of your fabric, it is very easy to thumb through & find your fabric by pattern.

I liked this book because it gave a simple exercise of the history of fabric making. The writer shared infomation otherwise not found anywhere else. (at least not that I have found. Many picture and visuals of what to look for in older fabrics and how to identify. The history of how dyes have been produced and developed improved over thhe years is described in great but understanding detail. Overall worth buying.

Oh, where do I start. Of course I sell vintage quilt fabrics on eBay (and related items) so I use this book a LOT to identify the era of the fabrics I collect and sell. (If you read my My eBay page, you will know where I got my fabrics!)

I like the smaller physical size of this book - and that the hardcover opens flat, and the guts of the book are SPIRAL bound, inside. That really makes it easy to use.

There are 6 time periods in the book, beginning with fabrics pre-1830 (wow, I'd like some of those pieces!) and ending with 1930-1960 - good organization. Each chapter has a written narrative describing the characteristics of fabric from the era which is very informative. This author really seems to know her stuff (I've taken classes from Barbara Brackman, Helen Kelly and others too, so I do have some perspective and views of other noted experts in this field).

I like and use this book a lot. It is more geared toward the earlier years though, so if you need more emphasis on the 20th century, you might want to look at the next volume that focuses on fabrics from 1950-2000.