Browsing by Author "Rantanen, Satu"

The aim of the study was to describe and interpret how the Amish patchwork, especially patchwork quilts, appear on the social media channel YouTube. The study dealt with the methods of qualitative research on how a specific craft tradition comes to the fore in thematic videos and tutorial videos, which have been made by people outside the Amish communities. The study also compared the messages of the videos to the legalities of Amish patchwork quilts which came up in the theoretical basis. The quilting tradition is old and Amish patchwork quilts are a big part of their culture where modern technology is not allowed. YouTube is one of the most popular search engines in the world and is also widely used among crafters. The modern way of bringing out a traditional craft may help to preserve the skill and give people outside the Amish communities an opportunity to learn how to make beautiful patchwork quilts with background knowledge and symbolism. Not much previous research has been done, at least from the point of view of YouTubers, but there are other studies regarding amish patchwork quilting available. The research material was first selected with certain restrictions and then mainly as random samples. The study is a qualitative media study in which five thematic videos and five tutorial videos were analyzed using two different types of analyses. From the five thematic videos, an attempt was made to bring out the tradition of Amish patchwork quilts on a general level with the help of representational analysis. The videos were opened and interpreted both together and one video at a time. The tutorial videos were studied with the help of theory-based content analysis by comparing the information on the videos to the theoretical basis of the study. The specific interest was on what kind of traditional features of Amish patchwork quilts can be found in these tutorials. Based on the research, the traditions of the Amish patchwork quilts came out well in YouTube videos at a general level. The content of the videos varied a lot in some cases, but in terms of actual significant contradictions in these ten videos selected for the study, did not appear. The points brought out in the selected videos were consistent, although some videos were quite narrow in content and in other videos the topic was brought out comprehensively. YouTube can be said to be, at least in this case, one possible channel for finding information and doctrine, as well as a means of preserving tradition.