Denim Quilt

This is the second and final denim quilt that came from Ethel's stash. There were already five columns pieced, each 2 blocks wide and 12 blocks long. Fortunately, there were no missing squares and I did not have to add any new blocks from my denim scraps. I played around with the layout a bit before sewing all the columns together. The blocks are a colorful mix of denim in white, light blues, and dark blues. Some pieces had the shadow of a pocket that had been removed.

Laying out the five columns

The sewing was done on my Bernina 717. It's a flatbed in a table and this gave me a bit more space to maneuver the heavier fabric. 

No issues with the sewing

I measured a few of the previously completed seams and decided to use a 3/8 in" seam to finish the top. Clearly, Ethel had taken her time to press all of her seams open, so I continued in that fashion. 

Seams pressed open

 For the backing, I used another piece from Ethel's collection. After washing it, I cut it in half and put a seam up the middle. That made it large enough to cover the back.

It was a very long piece before washing and cutting

70's colors, I think

Help sewing the center back seam

Early one morning in June, before the heat of the day kicked in, I basted the quilt on the back patio. There is shade back there until about 7 am so I started at about 6 am and finished just as the sun was starting to come over the tree tops.

Backing

For the batting, I searched online for alternatives to cotton or poly batting. The denim top itself is a bit heavy and will be warm, so I was looking for something lighter weight and thinner. One blog writer suggested using a flannel sheet for the middle layer. I didn't have any flannel sheets, but thankfully, mom did.

Flannel sheet instead of batting

Pieced top

Not a bad view while I was pinning

Completed just as sunlight starts to come through the trees

I didn't have a sewing machine with enough harp space to accommodate all this fabric while I was quilting so I watched a tutorial online and tied my first quilt. I used two colors of button and carpet thread and tied each square once on each of its four sides and once in its center. 

Needles and thread for tying quilt

Blue thread on the sides and tan in the block centers

 Good napping quilt even with safety pins in it

Very sharp needle needed to push through the seams

Knots were tied and the ends trimmed short

For the binding on this quilt I used some leftover blue windowpane fabric that a co-worker Martha shared with me this summer. There was just enough to cut 1.5 inch strips for the binding.

Binding sewn on to quilt

After trimming off the extra batting and backing, I finished the binding by hand. 

Binding at the corner

I found out that I cannot use these quilts for Project Linus because they are made from recycled denim, but they will get a good home eventually. For now, I think one or both of the denim quilts will hang in my classroom.

Back side