A Rare Patchwork Banyan

Many 18th century men wore an at-home garment called a banyan, which was influenced by East Asian and Persian robes. 

 In the humid climate of the Southern Colonies, gentlemen wore lightweight banyans as informal street wear in summer. 

It was fashionable for men of an intellectual or philosophical bent to have their portraits painted while wearing banyans. 


Tailored to mimic Persian robes, the cut and construction of this patchwork banyan, particularly its button closure, is characteristically European. It is fully interlined for warmth.

Despite the similarity to a "bathrobe" or a "nightgown", the banyan was not worn for sleeping.

Canandaigua, NY Quilt Show to Feature War of 1812 Traveling Quilts Exhibit

The October 18-19 Fall in Love with Quilts 2013 event presented by the Heart in Hand Quilt Guild of the Finger Lakes at The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 320 South Pearl Street, Canandaigua, NY, will include the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Traveling Quilts Exhibit.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Traveling Quilts Exhibit includes 26 newly-made cot-to-coffin-sized (70 inches long by 30 inches wide) works featuring 1812-authentic patterns, fabrics, colors, and symbols. The special exhibit joins 100-some quilts made by the Heart in Hand Quilt Guild membership.

Twenty of the quilts are American-made, representing 11 states, and six are Canadian-made quilts from three provinces. Story cards with each quilt in the traveling exhibit share the factual military or personal family history represented by the quilt or the imagined tale of a family sending a loved one off to the war.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 heritage theme for traveling the 518-mile freshwater byway inspired quilters on both sides of the international border to interpret the War’s Bicentennial in many interesting and personal ways in their quilts. New Great Lakes Seaway Trail ‘Storyteller’ interpretive panels with information on ‘America’s second war for independence’ are also part of the traveling exhibit.

The exhibit has appeared at historic sites in the U.S. and Canada, and has been featured at several large venue quilts shows, including the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival in Colorado and the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in Philadelphia. The quilts exhibit will be traveling to shows, museums and historic venues in the U.S. and Canada into 2015. For details, visit www.seawaytrail.com.

Much of the War of 1812 was fought along the route now known as the Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway that parallels the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania.

The Fall in Love with Quilts 2013 show hours are Friday, October 18, 4-9pm, and Saturday, October 19, 9am-4pm. The show includes juried vendors and a lunch concession by The Good Shepherd Church. Quilt Consortium of New York State Passport holders and anyone bringing a canned food item for the local food pantry will receive 50 cents off the $4/adult, $2/student-under-16 admission show admission fee.