Editing Patchwork (section)

===The United States===
Patchwork enjoyed a widespread revival during the [[Great Depression]] as a way to recycle worn clothing into warm quilts. Even very small and worn pieces of material are suitable for use in patchwork, although crafters today more often use new 100% [[cotton]] fabrics as the basis for their designs. In the US, patchwork declined after [[World War II]] but was again revived during the [[United States|American]] bicentennial. In the past, hand quilting was often done in a group around a frame. Instead of quilting, the layers are sometimes tied together at regular intervals with pieces of yarn, a practice known as tying or knotting, and which produces a "comforter".<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/quilting.htm| title = Hand quilting}}</ref>

==== Popularity ====
The 2003 Quilting in America survey estimated that the total value of the American quilting industry was $2.7 billion.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.quiltersvillage.com/QIA2003.pdf| title = Quilting in America 2003 edition}}</ref> International quilting exhibitions attract thousands of visitors, while countless smaller exhibitions are held every weekend in local regions. Active cyber-quilting communities abound on the web; books and magazines on the subject are published in the hundreds every year; and there are many active local quilting guilds and shops in different countries. "Quilt Art" is established as a legitimate artistic medium, with quilted works of art selling for thousands of dollars to corporate buyers and [[art gallery|galleries]]. Quilt historians and quilt appraisers are re-evaluating the heritage of traditional quilting and antique quilts, while superb examples of antique quilts are purchased for large sums by [[Collecting|collectors]] and [[museum]]s. The American Quilt Study Group is active in promotion of research on the [[history of quilting]].