Saturday, April 10, 2010

Green...and Purple, too! My Recycled Quilt

repurposed recycled denim flannel quilt
I've been going through my UFOs and trying to work on something a little bit each day. One of the projects I recently came across was a stack of green and purple flannel and a huge bag of old jeans.  I had started cutting out 3 1/2", 4 1/2", and 6 1/2" squares from jeans my kids, husband, and I had worn holes through.

I had already started pairing one denim square and one flannel square (no batting in between), and stitching big Xs through the middle of them with a denim needle. I remembered getting stuck with the layout and trying to figure out how many more I needed of each fabric.

repurposed recycled denim flannel quilt
Surprisingly enough, the break had cleared my head for this problem. I even found a sketch I had done to show the layout. Now it was just a matter of cutting, "quilting" and stitching it together ala those shaggy raggy quilts we were enamored with not so long ago.  I love all the different shades of denim.
repurposed recycled denim flannel quilt
I saved two large squares with pockets from my husband's jeans. I figured they'd be great for stashing keys or ticket stubs in. Then I made some 9-Patch blocks (with the 4 1/2" squares), some 4-Patch blocks (with the 3 1/2" squares), and some bigger 4-Patch blocks (with three 6 1/2" squares and one smaller 4-Patch in each).

Let me tell you, this thing is HEAVY when you get to putting the last chunks together. I'm so glad I didn't try to do rows. Instead, I did three by three 12" blocks, two by two 12" blocks, and two sections that were two by three 12" blocks. Then I put all four sections together. It was only the last three seams that felt like I was wrestling it through the machine.

Then I stitched all the way around the edges and threw it out on the green grass in the sunshine for a picnic.  It is about 60" x 60" finished.  I love it!
repurposed recycled denim flannel quilt

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful spring weekend!

5 comments:

  1. Nice. You'll get your exercise lugging that around to your picnics.

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  2. first, good job on finishing a project! YAY!

    WOW! I can't believe you made a quilt from denim! I made a man-bag for step dad for Christmas out of jeans (see: http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/2010/01/gift-post-7-denim-bag/) and I had a heck of a time getting through the layers in some places. Yes, I also used a denim needle.

    Keep up the good work!

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  3. Great quilt and great instructions, thank you for sharing this with a fellow stash buster! Regards Karen in Ballarat Australia!

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  4. I love the denim squares and flannel quilts are so soft and nice. It is a great quilt and inspires me to keep cutting up all my family's old jeans! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on finishing a UFO.
    Paula in NE OH

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  5. Hey; I'm piecing a denim quilt right now, too!

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Thanks for joining the conversation!

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