Friday 8 February 2013

Friday Finds ~ From Jeans To Quilts

I’ve been saving my son’s outgrown jeans for a while and still don’t have quite enough to make a whole bed-sized quilt. Not that I’m willing him into a growth spurt or anything, but another pair and I think I’m there. When I first came up with the idea I was thinking of a rag quilt, until I saw this beauty at Magpie’s Laundry.

It’s a rail fence quilt and each block is made up of several strips. The strips can vary in width, as long as the finished blocks end up the same size. The blocks are then alternated, so that the strips sit at 90 degrees to each other, across each row of the quilt. I love the border detailing, quilted to match the design of the blocks. Perfect. The other bonus of this quilt design is, being made up of smaller strips/pieces means less pairs of jeans needed.

Rag quilts are usually constructed from 6” or 8” squares, which means quite a lot of denim is wasted. It does however have one advantage, the process of quilting each block as you go and then joining them all together at the end. A good way to go if, like me, you’re a bit scared of trying to get the pieced top under your machine for quilting once it’s all put together.

This jean quilt takes yet another approach. Here the legs have been torn up to the width of the narrowest point and then chopped into a variety of lengths. This would be very quick to piece and has the advantage of the seams being offset. When you join the rows you won’t be fighting to sew through so many layers of denim, for which your machine will be most grateful. You can find the finished article and a tutorial at Piece N Quilt.

Decisions, decisions! Ah well, I’ve got until my son grows again to make one.

14 comments:

Sian said...

It's a brilliant idea - make one and then he'll be able to take it with him at some point in the future

scrappyjacky said...

It's a great idea....and recycling at its most creative.

Twiglet said...

I love this denim re-cycling - I will have to give it a go - I might just start with a bag first though!! x Jo

Julia said...

That is just inspired! Wish I had saved all Alex's as she used to have ones with pretty flowers embroidered on which would have looked great :)

KraftyKaren said...

Looking forward to seeing the finished quilt. I have just been explaining to Mr P about the clothes challenge you are taking part in - he wants to know if I took part would I start darning his socks for him LOL!!

Beverly said...

I love the first one. It will be s useful keepsake for him :)

Sandra said...

Oh Fi, what a great idea and just think what amazing keepsakes to look back on

VivJM said...

Love this idea!

Alison said...

I love that first quilt!
Alison xx

Amy said...

Such a fantastic idea - I love it! Hmmm, I wish I could sew in a straight line!

Morwhenna - Creative Adventurer said...

What a great idea!!

Lisa said...

That's spooky cos I'm collecting jeans to make a quilt for my D. I keep meaning to visit local charity shops and see if they have available.

Lisa
xx

Jo said...

There are so many things that can be made from jeans, I love the idea of a quilt x

Lisa-Jane said...

These are gorgeous! I love denim being used for things other than wearing as trousers and jackets and these quilts are just yummy!