Sunday, July 18, 2010

Denim quilt

I've been saving old jeans for quite a few years, I just throw them in a box downstairs.... Lately I ran across the box & thought I should do something with them. And after reading "Scraps & Shirttails" by Bonnie Hunter, I thought her pattern for a denim quilt would be perfect project to use some of them up. I still have enough jeans to make another, but I think I'll wait a little while to start on the next one.
It went together really fast, I think the cutting part took longer than the piecing. The red square in the middle of each 9-patch is a yard-sale shirt. Her version in the book used all blue jeans, but I think I like the little bit of color that the red squares add.



Roelof's store had an awesome 50% off sale on their already-marked-down fabric, and so I found a great piece of flannel for the backing at $2/yard. Gotta love that! So, the whole quilt will cost about $8. It measures 63 x 82- I think that will work on a twin bed. Not sure exactly what it's final destination will be, but I'm sure it will be more useable than a box of old jeans with holes in the knees.

I think I will do some simple quilting, and try to avoid all those thick seams where the blocks meet. More pics to come after it's quilted......

4 comments:

Peggi said...

I really like that!!! I started a denim quilt a few years ago - cut old jeans into 5" squares and SERGED them together. That was before I became a "real" quilter, lol. Someday I'll fix the seams and do something with it...

I agree with you - I love the touch of red!

Betsy said...

Kristin excellent idea. The quilt looks great!

Silverthimble said...

I am like you.....I have been saving old jeans for years and years. I have 9 large Rubbermaid totes of jeans in the garage. I am interested in what you used for a seam allowance - 1/4 inch? And did you press your seams to one side as in traditional quilting? Or did you press them open? I find when working with blue jeans in a quilt, the seams can pose a challenge. I love your quilt! The red is perfect!

Kristin said...

I did use a 1/4" seam allowance, and pressed to the side. The seams are a bit bulky, but if you nest them, it helps. When you come to an intersection, make one seam allowance go up, and the other down, and that will help to distribute the bulk somewhat.
If you have 9 totes of jeans, you'll be able to make quite a few quilts! Have fun!