Quilting is a method of stitching layers of material together. The layers are most commonly divided as follows:

Quilt top: The decorative layer of the quilt. If the top is a single piece of fabric in which the design is formed primarily through the stitching, such as this example, it is often known as a 'wholecloth quilt'.

Wadding/batting: A layer of cotton, wool, polyester, silk or other material, which adds warmth and dimension to the quilt.

Reverse: The bottom layer, usually made from one piece of fabric.

Hand-quilting is done on a frame using needles called 'betweens'. The stitches are executed with one hand; the other hand is kept underneath the quilt to feel for the needle. Small, uniform stitches (usually a 'running stitch') are taken through the three layers to form a decorative design.

According to the donor's family history, this quilt was worked by an ancestor who was connected to Deal Castle in Kent. A genealogical trace suggests that it was made by or for Susanna Pierce (nee Redding) when she was still a member of the Redding household. Susanna spent her childhood in Dover and was the granddaughter of Captain Samuel Tavenor. Samuel Tavenor was a soldier in the Civil War, and in 1653 was appointed Governor of Deal Castle by Oliver Cromwell.

A small cross-stitch panel in the top right corner states that it was gifted to Susanna on the birth of her first child, James Pierce, in 1713. Gifting at this time was a key part of social and familial interaction, and the birth of a child was an important event celebrated in a special, enclosed space in which the newborn could be presented to visitors. The gifts themeselves were frequently objects that were already valued possessions. This quilt, with all its associations of warmth and comfort, may have been gifted in a domestic setting to promote familial cohesion and nurture the bond between Susanna's time as a member of the Redding household, and her new role as wife and mother in the Peirce household.