Denim pieces cut
out of jeans ready
to be turned into
quilt blocks.
8
steps to turn old jeans into new quilts
There's nothing more satisfying than taking denim
and recycling it into a beautiful quilt thereby
giving that denim a second life. Jeans are the most
common and easily accessible denim to recycle
into quilts and have history, different shades of
blue depending on their previous life.
Where can you find this denim or jeans to reuse?
Start by looking right in your own closet or your
partner’s! I bet you'll find at least two pairs that
you haven’t worn in a few years! Other places to
pick up denim are rummage sales, thrift stores, or
second hand stores.
When looking for used denim or jeans to be more
specific, look for the larger sizes, you get more
denim out of them. As well make sure they aren’t
too worn or thin or have many stains.
Once you get your denim home, begin by
washing the denim, and drying it to get rid of any
stains and take care of any shrinking issues.
Binding your denim quilt
If you like the look of binding, use a nice cotton
that corresponds with the denim. You might
also consider using denim from shirts which are
lighter fabric yet sturdier than quilting cotton to
bind a denim quilt.
Other options are, instead of binding your quilt,
consider a machine appliqued edge or rather a
pillow case method.
Those extra pieces you cut out such as pockets,
are great to use for embellishments on bags,
purses and even quilts! Kids love having a jean
pocket on a quilted backpack as it not only adds
character but provides functionality too!
Now you have your denim pieces ready to be
turned into a quilt! Start planning (or should I say
dreaming) how to use all that scrumptious denim
in a quilt.
Cut apart the fabric and discard seams as they're
too bulky, unless you're using certain components
in the quilt such as a back pocket, then save those.
Once you've cut out your large denim pieces, look
over to ensure there are no holes, thinning or
stains on the denim.
Now you can start cutting the shapes that you
need for your quilt. Remember denim does fray
so you may have to consider having larger seam
allowances to account for that if using a lot of
denim. Using a variety of pieces of denim can
provide a pleasing effect as well, especially if you
have a lot of different shades.
Often if you have a full denim quilt, you don’t need
a heavy batting, use a thin layer such as bamboo
batting or flannel will work perfectly as well.
19
Jeans with seams
and pockets cut out.
QUILTsocial
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| issue 6