Freedom Quilts were used in the days of the Underground Railroad to communicate to slaves and map their journeys. Each pattern in a freedom quilt communicated a specific message to the fugitive slaves, such as when they should pack, where food could be located, the direction they should travel or to warn of a dangerous situation. Since quilts were so common across America at that time, the quilts could be hung on porches or fences without attracting attention.
Several children’s books have been written around Freedom Quilts that teachers and parents can use to inspire children to create a quilt their own. For example, "The Secret to Freedom" by Marcia K. Vaughan, is a story of a brother and sister who use quilts to help runaway slaves. "Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt" by Deborah Hopkinson tells the story of a young seamstress who designs a map quilt to escape to freedom. "Under the Quilt of Night" by Deborah Hopkinson further describes the runaway slaves’ nighttime travels along the Underground Railroad.
Classroom freedom quilt projects can be used to teach children even more than just history. Historic Freedom Quilt designs can also teach geometry lessons. For example, a child can learn to create patterns and shapes by creating his own freedom quilt blocks. Since quilt blocks are made of shapes such as squares and triangles, children can learn to measure angles and lengths to create shapes for their own quilt blocks. As a class project, each child can create a freedom quilt block to contribute to the class Freedom Quilt.
A variation on the historic use of Freedom Quilts can be used to teach children how to communicate in ways other than writing or speaking, as did the slaves traveling the Underground Railroad. For example, each student may be asked to create a quilt block that represents a freedom important to him. Depending on the age of the students, these could be made from fabric or paper. The class can assemble the blocks to create their own quilt of freedoms, communicating ideas without using words.