On this day in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burned down killing 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. Many of the victims died due to locked exterior doors, faulty elevators and fire escapes. The workers’ union organized a march on April 5 and some 80,000 people attended it. The disaster compelled the city to enact labor and fire safety reforms. The nonprofit Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition was founded in 2008 to establish a permanent memorial for the victims and promote new collaborations between communities to continue the fight for social justice for all.
This Scrap Crazy Quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted by an unknown quiltmaker. It is made of a variety of striped knit fabric, which were probably silk scraps from a hose factory around the turn of the century (late 1800’s). The quilt, made up of thirty 12” square blocks, was documented in 1993 as part of the Connecticut Quilt Search Project.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt.
Source:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/triangle-shirtwaist-fire-in-new-york-city
http://rememberthetrianglefire.org/about-2/about/
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org