Jacob’s ladder: History and pop culture in one.
Historic references
The quilt block Jacob's Ladder features a lovely geometric pattern of half-square-triangles off set with smaller squares. You can see how half square triangles are sewn below:
Some historians date the design back to pre-revolution America and as with similar classic designs, the quilt block has many names. Some of these names include Road to California, The Stepping Stones block, The Underground Railroad and the Wagon Track's block. For today, we will look into Jacob's ladder title and the religious meaning behind it. If you are after a quilt that features religion, history or just a pretty pattern to show off your favourite fabrics, Jacob's ladder is a perfect choice for your home.
According to Marie Webster's book Quilts; Their Story and How to Make them, the Jacob's Ladder quilt block belongs to a group of quilt blocks that are designed to feature the sky in some way, very often with religious meaning. The half-square-triangles are arranged as a an ascending 'ladder' with the smaller squares usually representing angels climbing up or down it, as shown below. The referenced bible story tells the story of brothers Jacob and Esau, who quarrelled when Jacob tricked his brother out of his inheritance. With Esau angry, Jacob fled to live with his uncle. One night he dreamed of a ladder or staircase ascending into heaven, with angels going to and fro. At the top of the staircase was God, showing Jacob his intention to connect to the mortal realm and encouraging him to return to his family.
"And he dreamed and behold a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached the heavens and behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." - Genesis 28:11-22
Bible reading was a large part of early pioneer life and quilts and quilt blocks were named after religious stories. These quilts would bring comfort to a household in often very harsh environments and the Jacob's quilt design remains a favourite for decorating a home.
Pop Culture
Jacob's ladder is also a 1990 American psychological horror film, starring Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer. Jacob is a Vietnam veteran who's experiences during his service result in disturbing hallucinations that are slowly getting worse. One of the hallucinations features a ladder or staircase where Jacob can see what he thinks are demons descending the steps. Through his terrifying experiences Jacob learns that the ladder is key to finding the answers to what is haunting him and how to make it end.
The film features a grim portrayal of PTSD, drugs and military service but also offers a hopeful conclusion. The ladder in the film represents dual meaning, with a faithful portrayal of the religious story of forgiveness but also a mirrored experience of human corruption. The film was considered too dark to be popular but through the years has developed a cult following.
Use of colour
Half-Square-Triangles and smaller squares make up the Jacob’s Ladder quilt block.
The Jacob's ladder quilt block is a nine patch design, with 5 four patch blocks and 4 half-square triangles. The resulting pattern can be reminiscent of the Irish Chain pattern that we discussed in our 9 patch blog post here. The most common colour coordination is mostly the 3 colour coordination or a design featuring only two. In the example I have provided, I chose the 3 colour combination; if I had chosen only 2, the half-square-triangles would match with the diagonal lines of the 4 patches, creating a clear and unified 'ladder'.
A 3 colour design is a lovely way to showcase your favourite fabrics
The blocks themselves can be arranged in different patterns for the overall quilt. Click this link for different options.
The Jacob's Ladder quilt block has a long history of use, with some surprising pop culture references along the way. It makes a beautiful quilt design for your home and its interesting history and symbolism contributes to a fascinating heirloom you can share with your family.
