Monday, January 4, 2010

Jean Quilt Makeover


It doesn't look like much, but this denim blaket has been through a makeover. I originally made this quilt for my son-in-law about ten years ago, on a sewing machine I hated. I fought with every stitch and seam, and the fact that the denim was so heavy added to the difficulty. I was just beginning my quilting journey, so I decided to simply knot it and used a plain cotton on the back.

Last year when I asked him what he would like for his birthday, my son-in-law asked if I could repair his blanket. He loved this blanket!  In fact he loved it so much that the backing was raggy and falling apart. Hmmm....what was to be done?

When I determined that it was worth the effort to repair it, I decided to remove all the old backing and replaced it with a striped flannel. The original blanket had quilt batting, so after the flannel was pinned to the top, it was a candidate for machine quilting.


I left the original knotting in place and simply machine quilted around the yarn. If you attempt machine quilting on denim, I highly suggest using special denim needles like "Schmetz Denim Needles" available at stores like JoAnn Fabrics.


I am very pleased with how it turned out!
 Better than I imagined!

3 comments:

  1. I found this quilt on pinterest and would love to replicate it with my stack of old jeans. What size of squares did you use? I can tell there are 13 across the top, but can't tell how many down. Love this!

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  2. I believe this denim blanket was made by using 3 1/2 inch squares. If you choose larger size squares you will not need to sew together as many pieces. The name of the pattern is called "Trip Around the World" and it starts with a block in the center and alternates light and dark fabrics to make the pattern stand out. There are 13 rows across and 19 rows down. If you decide to make one of your own I'd love to see it and will post it for others to see.

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  3. Love it and definitely have plenty of the fabric! Thank you for the idea :))

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