I Can Check This Off My Bucket List

I have always been curious about making quilts from jeans.  Periodically I have saved our old jeans, but I have never made a jean quilt.

That all changed when I got a commissioned job to make a memory quilt from jeans.  I knew it would be very different from a regular quilt so I did a bit of research and made a plan.  The client wanted it to be super simple and that helped.

6 pairs of jeans + 2 pairs of denim shorts

I was nervous about the weight since she wanted batting, but for the size (twin) the final weight was not too overwhelming.  It was a bear to cut and sew though.

The client is super happy.  I am pleased with myself for having stepped out of my comfort zone.  I also know that I don't really need a jean quilt for myself, but I could do it again if asked.

It looks puckery, but it is not.  Just needs some loving to get it smoothed out.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes.

Jean Quilt Progress

This commissioned project is moving right along.  Thankfully I have spurts of time, because the heavy duty aspect of dealing with the jeans makes it tiring and perfect for little spurts.

Deconstructing and cutting took over 30 minutes per pair of jeans.  Kind of surprising.  Glad I had the stopwatch going.  I got 16 8" squares from each pair of jeans and 4 8" squares from each pair of shorts. After I took out the squares that were stained or had a hole per the client's wishes, I had 96 squares to work with.

An 8 x 12 layout.  Just a tad under what I had hoped for.

I knew I would have a good chunk of time on Sunday afternoon, so I made sure to be ready to lay it all out and web it together.  It was surprising how many of the denims were so close in color.  But I think I got the colors and pockets "randomized" pretty well.  It is very heavy as I suspected it would be.

The client wants batting, but it will be very thin.  She also recently saw a denim that is lightweight that she would like for backing instead of the solid blue cotton that had been her first choice. She says it isn't chambray, but looks like denim.  I think I'm going to have to go to the fabric store and ask a lot of questions.

Does anyone know anything about a lightweight denim???

Check out Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.