A Stitch in Time: Chatham Hall's History with Textiles

On April 18, 1915, Lucy Chaplin Lee wrote to her mother from the American Church Mission in Anqing, China, that she had begun a “small industrial work” for some of the mothers of the mission’s day school children who were “almost starving.” The work was cross stitch, a traditional needlework craft Lee reported was an adaptation of using “coarse Chinese cloth and Chinese thread for curtains” as well as other items. Initially, the project was only to be “make-shift” while she tried to find something of “real economic value to teach.”

Ultimately, it was the cross stitch that became the important industry. Her Cross Stitch Society eventually employed 140 women, built a suitable building for its operation, and provided health care, education, day care, and nursery care as well as the best wages in Anqing for the women and their families. The company was run as a cooperative with an elected Workers’ Council making decisions.

Unfortunately, the flourishing industry was closed by the Kuomintang Revolution of 1927 and Lee and her husband Edmund were forced to leave China. Fortunately for Chatham Hall, the Lees arrived in 1928 having been invited to try to revive the small, struggling girls’ boarding school that, ironically, was located just outside of Danville — the home of textile giant Dan River Inc. The Lees remained at Chatham Hall until 1949.

Fast forward to almost a century later, and textile arts are still going strong at Chatham Hall with Mrs.

Sheppard “Shep” Morrison leading the way. Originally hired in 2001 with duties that included sewing costumes for the Theatre Department, Morrison began a formalized quilting program at the School just after 2010.

“When the iQuest program was developed, I thought that this was great for quilting, so I designed an iQuest program for four students,” she explained. “They had to apply for it, and I taught the history and methodology of quilting. That included art and design, color work, form, rhythm, and more. We learned about the history of quilting through modern quilting. I remember the day I taught about protest quilting, quilting to move people, and one student was really on fire about that. She realized that she could express a lot through the fabric. That was a great program.”

As part of the iQuest, the School bought the initial equipment that would be needed for quilting and other textile arts, and a room was dedicated in Dabney Hall. Morrison and longtime Chatham Hall teacher and honorary alumna Mrs. Alice Cromer Van Lennep both donated from their own fabric stashes to keep the program supplied. Students began to use the Quilt Room each weekend when Morrison ran an open studio. Students familiar with the machine would come to the room to sew and mend, and it became very popular at Halloween and in the run up to Formal. Lily Fulop ’14, who went on to publish Wear, Repair, Repurpose with Countryman Press/W.W. Norton & Company, often used the room independently.

“Then we started doing outreach for charitable or community quilting,” Morrison said. “We would join a group in South Boston to sew with them for an afternoon. We made Quilts of Valor for injured soldiers returning from service. It was wonderful to see our girls connect with these women. Unfortunately, COVID shut that down, as well as the open studio times.”

Throughout this time Morrison also recruited other teachers for a quilting club, Quilt Pro Quo. When Chatham Hall launched a January Term program in 2022, Morrison saw it as a natural opportunity to reintroduce quilting to the community. In January 2023, Quilt! had room for six students and all available spaces went to seniors.

“The students love quilting. They love working with colors, they love being intentional in design, they like having something physical at the end of the process. They also like that it allows them to spend time with their friends doing something joyful. I am amazed at all that they get from quilting,” said Morrison.

In addition to designing quilt patterns that rely on geometry, quilting also requires problem solving, the fundamentals of color theory and sewing machine usage, perseverance, and project management. In Morrison’s class, cooperation and collaboration are also required to create a group quilt as well as individual pieces.

For the students themselves, learning to quilt is as much about tapping into a cultural resurgence in textile arts and crafting as it is about spending time with friends, designing personal projects, and learning useful skills.

The explosion of “Stitch ‘n Bitch” groups following the publication of Debbie Stoller’s 1999 book of the same name has brought what was once viewed as domestic work back to the fore. Current students have become interested in techniques like embroidery as a means of increasing sustainability, with an Embroidery and Sustainability workshop offered as part of this year’s G.I.R.L.S. Day. Virtual platforms like Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon Handmade have allowed textile artists and crafters to sell their works like never before and Chatham Hall’s own social entrepreneurship program has evolved into a resource for students interested in creating their own businesses, much as Lee did a century ago.

“Quilting is cool,” said Lily Shaheen ’23. “It’s definitely trendy right now. I took the January Term class and learned a new activity that I can take with me. I love that I can hang out with my friends while making something that I can sell and use to make money, or just give as a gift to friends.”

For Sunny Xu ’23, gifting her quilt was a main goal of enrolling in the Quilt! class. “I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I finish a quilt and can actually use it. I’m going to give my quilt to my parents. Since I’m studying abroad, I know they miss me and having my quilt will be a comfort. And it’s a stereotype that quilting isn’t for teenagers. Everyone can do what they want to do!”

Thank you to Chatham Hall Historian Dr. Bill Black for providing the information relating to Lucy Lee’s entrepreneurship.