A few years ago, I bought a whole bunch of denim squares, old jeans, etc. $1 a gallon zip loc bag. There's more that enough to make a comforter/quilt. So I finally sewed them together. Now what do I do? I know I have to get batting, and I have some denim looking material upstairs. Will this be a comforter or a quilt?:~} Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I also got a bunch of small quilt pieces. So if I sew them all together along with others I have, do whatever I need to with, will that be a crazy quilt? Is there such a thing as an ugly quilt, or do they all have a certain charm? Thanks.

-- Cindy (SE In) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), February 01, 2001

Answers

I made a denim quilt a few years ago using old jeans and work shirts. It was very large and heavy so I did not use any batting. I used a red cotton cord bedspread that my mom gave me for the backing and tied it with red yarn. Looks nice.

-- connie in NM (karrelandconie@juno.com), February 01, 2001.

I have a denim quilt for each kid and I happened to use batting. You have to take larger stitches if you tack it though or it will pull through. If I had it all to do over again, I don't think it needs any batting! If you put a back on, it usually is good to get the equal weight material. If you put something flimsy on the back it gets weird when you wash it. I used heavy outing flannel. The quilts are so heavy that the kids will not possibly get cold. You can also sew it directly to a piece of material on the machine. Use a denim needle for your machine though. I broke a ton of them when I made the boys quilts. I used red yarn and sewed around the edge to keep it from rolling. The back is red and white striped flannel. They have been on boy's beds for about 9 years. Not a bit of wear to be seen. How is that for sturdy!!! Denim is great!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 01, 2001.

Nan they dont wear out unless you wash them. ah ho the devils after me again. lol.Bob in se.ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@hit.net), February 01, 2001.

Make a comforter...with yarn ties at judicious spaces. All that heavy material will make neat stitching a real pain. I vote for a flannel backing, and batting (polyester...cotton would be too heavy for most washers to handle comfortably). Preshrink your backing, first! Sounds nice and warm!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), February 01, 2001.

I don't put a backing on the denim ones, I don't even bind the edges. When it gets washed the edges fray a little and it has a nice fringe along the edge. I would not even consider quilting through denim!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 01, 2001.

Did you see the cute one in Country Woman years ago? It was just pieced together neatly and not anything else! It was really cute!!!! It had fringed edges on each block. and you are right....quilting denim takes a strong arm and sometimes a pair of pliers to pull the yarn through!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 01, 2001.

My daughter Lisa told of of a great looking quilt made out of denim. You put the squares together wrong side together to sew. The exposed seam allowance frays and looks attractive. I don't know about batting...I wouldn't use it if the back were also denim as it would be very heavy.Hope this helps. God bless!

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), February 01, 2001.

Hey, I bet that is the one that I saw in the mag.! It would certainly wash better! And Bob, I have an extra heavy duty washing machine........hang em on the line and they will last a looooonnnnnggg time.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 01, 2001.

I have never made a quilt but my ex-mother-in-law made one out of blue jean pockets for my daughter. It is really cute. She sewed the pockets on a block of some other material and then joined the blocks. There is no batting in it and it sure is warm.

-- JoAnn (jonehls@excite.com), February 03, 2001.

That reminded me of the one that I made for a friend's baby. They go camping a lot and she needed something to put the baby on that was a little heavier. I sewed the squares together and made sure that some of them contained pockets. I also sewed on belt loops and fastened those teething rings and plastic keys on the loops. The pockets made a great place for smaller toys to be tucked into. She loved it.

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), February 04, 2001.

Hi Cindy,,,I see you are keeping busy...I think denim makes an interesting quilt. Kind of hard to work with, but it last forever.*** Crazy quilts are my specialty. I remember the first one I had was a gift from my grandmother.***I love doing them. I made my kids quilts and made them interesting for them. They each got one at about 2 years old. I found material (from old clothes or thrift stores) with pictures on them, like horses and cowboys, cats, dogs, flowers, etc. I would sew them in between the solid colors. I also sewed pockets on them and other interesting things. Then I like to find a nice solid color material for a border. It all looks really cheerful when done. It was a lot of fun doing them. The kids loved them and my 18 year old son still has his.(put away now),,,My older daughter made herself a quilt at age 15. A school project. Did a good job too. I also crocheted a small baby quilt for each baby to come home in. I still have one of them. I have been contemplating making another queen size quilt. I want to make one made out of velvet squares. I haven't made one for ages...but really need one. Can't afford the prices asked for them in stores. I will get started one of these days. However,,I get caught up in my painting (art) and so haven't started a quilt yet.***Have fun making your quilt,,let us know how you progress.***Patsy

-- Patsy (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), March 02, 2001.