The Sewing Place
The Emporia => Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside => Topic started by: Sandra on December 05, 2020, 09:15:21 AM
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I have a box full of denim scraps, 'just in case', and I'm sick of seeing them.
It goes with the job that I keep useful sized fabric scraps because I never know when they might come in useful...and to be fair, they often do.
But enough is enough with these. I do have a clear-out from time to time.
(https://i.imgur.com/qWgTUFzl.jpg)
Mooching around on Pinterest the other night, I came across the most beautiful quilt :loveit: all done in denim scraps. ( A Russian maker I think.) It looked beautifully done and I loved the colours.
Clicked on it for a better look and followed other links to much, much (much!) simpler ones. 0_0
Anyway, I really liked the look of the simple squares, joined with the seams all frayed and fluffly on the quilt top.
I've cut 7 inch squares and I'll join them using a half-inch seam. The finished size will be 60 inch square.
(https://i.imgur.com/rWHhyW8l.jpg)
So far I've got 77 squares. I have some more denim on the way. (I need 100 in total.)
It weighs a ton :S compared to quilting cottons.
(https://i.imgur.com/XR0zES5l.jpg)
Once it's all pieced, you're supposed to encourage fraying by clipping along all the seams at quarter inch intervals >< :\ :S before bunging it in the washing machine and tumble drying.
It will improve at each wash.
Daughter has expressed an interest to help with the seam clipping. Don't expect she'll last long though.
I think I'm going to back it with some fleece? I'll need to attach it somehow. I'll probably tie it.
Can't make a start until I have all of my squares cut because I need to make sure I mix all the different colours up properly. :)
Sandra.
xxx
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Oo what a fun sounding project. Can't wait to see it come together. :D
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Fabulous!!!
Ive seen those before, in fact I tried to make a rag quilt from corduroy (https://photos.app.goo.gl/tpkoJhQ4sU8GPqWDA) once but couldnt bear the finish on a sample piece so made it properly in the end ... its lovely and warm
But I have heard the clipping of the seams nearly kills people!!! Good Luck hon x
Ive also seen a huge Storm at Sea quilt made from Denim, it was called Tsunami !!!
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I’ve only made one for a doll’s pram in cotton but it looked lovely though the seam clipping does take time.
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:meditation: What an interesting idea! I'll look forward to seeing it as it progresses. @Sandra how big do you plan to make it?
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@Sara-S It should end up at 60 inch square.
I'm keen to make a start but can't without my other bits of denim which should arrive in the next few days. :)
Sandra.
xxx
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Well done@Sandra
I've had pairs of jeans donated to me in the past but mostly I struggle to know what to do with them, too many seams, pockets and gubbins and not enough denim :rolleyes:
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I'm keen to make a start but can't without my other bits of denim which should arrive in the next few days. :)
??? Where are they coming from ???
Surely all you need to do is hit the charity shops and buy the largest sized jeans they have???
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I'm keen to make a start but can't without my other bits of denim which should arrive in the next few days. :)
??? Where are they coming from ???
I've ordered a pair off ebay for £5 inc. postage. They're a really large size. 40 waist I think. It says they're a long length too.
If I went into town I'd have to pay £2.90 return to get there. Daughter would probably come with me, so double that.
We've got a fabulous charity shop in town though and I think jeans might sell for £2 or £3 a pair. :)
Weather was vile on Friday but better yesterday, but I had work I needed to get done yesterday after the menswear shop had been.
While in town with my daughter, she'd need to visit Greggs. She'd also need to visit Poundland. She'd then suddenly remember she'd run out of shampoo/conditioner/feminine hygiene products or whatever.
I took the easiest option. 0_0
Sandra.
xxx
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This is the one I did for my grandson using all our old denim jeans including his fathers. I even left a couple of the pockets attached for him to put his toy cars in when he was little! Mine measured the same as yours is going to be Sandra...it is the heaviest quilt I have ever done as I used ordinary batting in the middle and denim on both sides. It weighs a ton and is very warm and cosy. It gets dragged around everywhere from floor to couch to bed to toy box...has been washed in an ordinary washing machine a gazillion times and is as good as new to this day!
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That's lovely @rubywishes :) I'll be very happy if mine looks even a little bit like that one.
It must have been hard to sew together and haul around under the machine. :S
Yes. I like the idea of it being tough and hard wearing. :)
You've got a little bit of 'order' on yours with a lighter coloured diagonal going across. I like that.
I'll have to see what sort of layout I feel happiest with when I have all of my colours cut out. I don't think I want it to be completely random.
Sandra.
xxx
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As I understand a rag quilt, you dont need to add wadding or backing as the reverse will have finished seams and the front would be the unfinished side if you can understand what I mean???
But I agree its gonna be really heavy.
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The jeans arrived in the post yesterday. :)
They were a large size and very long. I think they were 34 inch inside leg. :S
They were lovely and clean and in very good condition. I managed to cut 24 x 7 inch squares from them. I didn't expect to get as many as that...so that's all my pieces I needed with one spare. :thumbsup:
(https://i.imgur.com/wBxgcekl.jpg)
I spent a little bit of time on the layout making sure I was happy with how I'd mixed the fabrics up, but I can't be bothered to worry too much about it.
Pinned them all together making sure I kept them in order....and then stitched them. It's a good job you won't be able to see just how off my seams are. :o
(https://i.imgur.com/y3rMQPUl.jpg)
I'm happy with the layout and like denim blue shades. :)
This afternoon I've started to clip into the seams. :scream: I think I've clipped 50 squares now and I'd love to keep going but I'm worried I'll end up with a painful wrist/thumb/fingers if I do any more today.
I've left it half folded up on the settee with the scissors resting on it, hoping that someone/anyone will want to do a bit for me while I'm not looking.
No takers yet.
Sandra.
xxx
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That is looking Fabulous @Sandra ... remind me again who's it for ????
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I'm making it for me. Just because I can. :)
Sandra.
xxx
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Looks great @Sandra
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You did all that in one day? Wow, you're fast. And I guess it's due to your job but the cutting around the zipper is so so neat. :thumbsup:
How many squares are there in all?
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You deserve it, well done.
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I'm making it for me. Just because I can. :)
Sandra.
xxx
Good for you :thumbsup:
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Looks great. I hope your arms and shoulders don’t ache too much from wrangling it through the machine.
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That's going to look great and the remains of the jeans will make a novel thong (with pockets) :)
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You did all that in one day? Wow, you're fast. And I guess it's due to your job but the cutting around the zipper is so so neat. :thumbsup:
How many squares are there in all?
There are 100 squares in total.
I stitched 7 rows together, and joined them, last night (70 squares) and did the final three rows this morning before starting on my jobs.
...and the remains of the jeans will make a novel thong (with pockets) :)
Eww! :S :o 0_0
Sandra.
xxx
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Its making me want to do one now. It's going to look fantastic. Will you put batting in the middle or just stick a backing on it.
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Its making me want to do one now. It's going to look fantastic. Will you put batting in the middle or just stick a backing on it.
With the rag quilts you sandwich top, bottom and batting squares all in one go ...make sandwiches and then simply sew diagonally both ways through the 3 pieces. Then each of the sandwiches are sewn together to make your strips/rows of quilt. That's where the bulk really comes into it as when you join the squares to each other you are sewing through 6 layers of fabric! A good tip is to cut your batting squares slightly smaller than your fabric squares so as long as you have sewn your diagonals to keep the batting in place, there is no need to have it sewn in the outside seams as well. That way you can reduce the number of layers you are sewing through to 4 when you are joining your sandwiches. It is a really quick way to get the quilt done and very gratifying to do as accuracy of seam width is not a real issue. I use one of my old vintage singers to sew them as they are real workhorses and chug through the thicknesses quite happily. It is also a huge help if you use "ragging snips/shears" to do all the little cuts through the seam allowances.
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Oh, go on @CraftyIrish Have a go. This is pretty easy. The worse bit it definitely the clipping part. I don't care that my seams are a bit off. It doesn't matter. :)
I think I might put a fleece back on mine and just attach it by an X or something in the centre of each block. -<
I want this to be easily washable and I'm a bit worried about how heavy and bulky it's going to be when it's done.
I have no intention of using any wadding/batting on mine.
Clipping is all done now. I found I had a small pair of scissors I've hardly ever used and they were less uncomfortable than the other pair I was using earlier.
Next job is to machine stitch about half an inch in, all around the sides...then clip some more up to the stitch line.
Then I can wash it.
And tumble dry. :)
And hopefully find I have a fluffly quilt.
Sandra.
xxx
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I think I will start collecting up left overs from my jean bags and make one.
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Sandra that is stunning, who would have thought that old jeans and of course such a mixture of colours/shades could produce something so beautiful - well done.
Now a few years ago my sister in Canada collected jeans and made herself a jacket, it was very random i.e. not in even blocks, and then she hand embroidered I believe a cottage on the back and a bit of a landscape. She then knitted some chunky sleeves and lined the whole thing and it was certainly different, the different shades of denim blue, white etc, and the odd shapes and sizes of the different pieces made it really stand out from the normal type of denim jacket.
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Well, I've got to be honest. I've really enjoyed doing this. :)
This shows the state of it after all the snipping. :S
(https://i.imgur.com/EOMEsnil.jpg)
I washed it on a 60 degree wash. OMG! The mess it left inside the machine. Little snippy bits all stuck inside the drum and the rubber seal. I stepped outdoors to give it a shake (= even more mess :S ) before putting it in the tumble dryer.
Checked on it every 15 mins or so to remove all the lint that was collecting in the door.
(https://i.imgur.com/dZOvVAtl.jpg)
There are bits all over the place. Stuck to the carpet, (and to me), bits on the kitchen floor...
It's messy to make but I'm really pleased with this. It's still a little bit 'snippy' but it'll lose that look after a few more washes.
Daughter's just come downstairs and she likes it too! :thumbsup:
I'm not sure if I'm going to go ahead with the fleece backing idea or not. :thinking: I love that it's so sturdy and will wash so easily as it is.
If I ever do another one, I think I might try backing each denim square with brushed cotton in a red check. That would be cosy. I wonder how much heavier that would make it?
There'd be a little bit of red peeping out on the quilt top between all the denim blue.
Sandra.
xxx
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It looks really good....
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Glorious!
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Lovely, looks very snuggly.
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Superb :toast:
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It's turned out beautiful. I'm sure all the linty mess was worth it :) :toast:
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That was quick, Sandra. Looks great! :thumbsup:
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@Sandra .......so you made the top on its own? Not sandwiching the layers as you go? I'd be interested to know how you go sewing and quilting the backing on...I didn't think this was possible because of the bulky ragged seams you have to then sew through to attach the backing and then quilt? Well, you learn something every day :thinking:
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@Sandra .......so you made the top on its own?
Yes. This is just a single layer. :)
I looked at so much stuff on Pinterest the other night, and I don't know if I imagined it, but I'm sure I saw that it was an option to add a fleece back afterwards. -< Or maybe it was a thought that popped into my own head.
But no...I'll go nowhere near the bulky seams. :S I wouldn't be able stitch through them.
Sandra.
xxx
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It looks good as it is.
Denim plus fleece will be really heavy - I have one regular quilt backed with fleece instead of wadding and a cotton backing and it's much heavier than the others. The idea of red flannel stiched in as you go would be nice though.
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That is beautiful @Sandra and something so different, I might be a bit tempted to do something like that if my washing machine was not so old that it might give up.
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I've made a cushion cover. :)
Wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I was a bit worried about how the zip would go in. The zip (a regular nylon one) is pretty well concealed amongst the fraying on the side, and it all seems to be holding together ok. :thumbsup:
(https://i.imgur.com/st60GdNl.jpg)
I've ditched the idea of a fleece backing on the throw. I need it to be easily washed and dried and I don't think fleece fabric can be tumbled...can it?
Anyway, it'd be really bulky too in the washing machine.
It's fine as it is. Maybe next time I'll use brushed cotton on the backs of the denim and try that version.
Sandra.
xxx
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Heavenly!!!! :loveit:
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I decided to put a backing on it after all, so bought some brushed cotton.
All I did was attach it flat on the back - turning in the raw edges and just leaving the selvedge as it is and stitching all the way around the sides.
I then machine stitched around the edges of alternate blocks. I added some heart applique to just seven of the blocks for a bit of interest. Daughter says I've ruined it with the hearts. I don't know why she dislikes them so much.
The hearts will fray a little with washing.
(https://i.imgur.com/jlY9FNTl.jpg)
It feels a little bit snugglier yet is still washable without being too heavyweight. :thumbsup:
(https://i.imgur.com/I5SkKF9l.jpg)
Sandra.
xxx
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Well I loe the hearts - and the rest of it! That backing is perfect.