Quilting has been around for centuries. Although the exact origins are not yet confirmed, historians know that quilting, piecing, and appliqué were used for clothing and furnishings all over the world. It is assumed that quilting originated in China and Egypt simultaneously. The earliest recorded quilted garment was found on a carved ivory figure of a pharaoh from the first dynasty and is dated to be from 3400 BC.

In the 11th century the Crusaders brought a form of quilting to Europe from the middle east. Knights used quilted garments under their armor for added comfort, warmth and protection.

Quilted bedding was introduced to Europe by the Romans who used a "culcita" or "stuffed sack", as their mattress. This idea was taken by medieval England and the "stuffed sack" was transformed into "cowlte" or a combined mattress and coverlet.

In the 15th century, due to harsh winters, which froze the rivers Rhine, Rhone, and Thames, Europeans developed the quilt making technique out of necessity.

The very first quilts were layers of cloth sewn together with a few strong running stitches.  These primitive quilts resembled the thick and cumbersome pallet, which were slept upon. Due to the difficulty in stitching the many layers together the quilting frame was invented. Europeans could now stitch finer, more decorative designs, giving rise to the quilting art form.  Seamstresses in France brought forward the appliqué, the Spanish were the first quilters to be asked to make ecclesiastical vestments, and in Italy Trapunto was born.

Meanwhile the Japanese were busy perfecting their own forms of quilting. A kind of crazy piecing known as "Yosegire", was used to decorate clothing, hangings and screens. It is thought this technique may have been the inspiration for crazy quilting in America and Europe. Japanese women created magnificent robes for warlords and dignitaries using pieces of imported Chinese silk brocade, sewn together in strips. In 1639 the Japanese military imposed a total import ban, which forbade the merchant classes from wearing luxury fabrics. As a result the frustrated merchants developed an extraordinary mastery of indigo dyeing and printing. Sashiko (intricate webs of white stitching on cotton and linen) was also developed in Japan, and became a part of the samurai warrior’s garb.