In "Trifles," Mrs. Hale notices that, while most of Mrs. Wright’s sewing is very neat, her most recent stitching is “all over the place.” Why...

Mrs. Hale takes the stitches out of the quilt because their hasty stitching shows Mrs. Wright was preoccupied and possibly indicates her guilt.

To the women, the quilt provides insight into Mrs. Wright’s mind. The men would not notice this, but women would. To the men, all the little domestic indicators are meaningless trifles. The women realize their true meaning. They understand Mrs. Wright was miserable.

When Mrs. Hale sees the quilt Mrs. Wright was working on, she...

Mrs. Hale takes the stitches out of the quilt because their hasty stitching shows Mrs. Wright was preoccupied and possibly indicates her guilt.

To the women, the quilt provides insight into Mrs. Wright’s mind. The men would not notice this, but women would. To the men, all the little domestic indicators are meaningless trifles. The women realize their true meaning. They understand Mrs. Wright was miserable.

When Mrs. Hale sees the quilt Mrs. Wright was working on, she notices the stitching is off.

MRS HALE: (examining another block) Mrs Peters, look at this one. Here, this is the one she was working on, and look at the sewing! All the rest of it has been so nice and even. And look at this! It's all over the place! Why, it looks as if she didn't know what she was about!

Again, the men would not notice this at first. Upon closer examination, however, it would be evidence showing Mrs. Wright’s state of mind. Her husband was dead and her stitches were crazy. Even a man could figure out this meant Mrs. Wright was not entirely well and likely killed her husband.

Mrs. Hale feels sorry for Mrs. Wright. The whole situation is becoming apparent to her, from how Mr. Wright treated his wife to the circumstances of his death. She pulls out the stitches.

MRS PETERS: Oh, what are you doing, Mrs. Hale?

MRS HALE: (mildly) Just pulling out a stitch or two that's not sewed very good. (threading a needle) Bad sewing always made me fidgety.

No one noticed Minnie Wright withdraw from society and stop being her sunny self after she married. The women realize they didn't see the signs and intervene. There is a certain sense of guilt there, but also some womanly camaraderie in their instinct to protect Mrs. Wright by hiding evidence.