Ask Penny Halgren :: Make a Quilt Using Blue Jeans

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Make a Quilt Using Blue Jeans

Blue jeans make a fun type of quilt, but frankly, the only blue jean quilt I knew of was a rag quilt.

That was until Quilter Mandy sent a pattern in from Doreen in Bismarck, North Dakota.

To make this quilt, you sew circles of blue jean fabric and squares of shirt, apron, skirt, or other cotton (or maybe even flannel) fabric.

This can be a scrap quilt, or you could lay out the shirt fabric in a special design - it's up to you.

This is an easy-to-make quilt that you can finish completely on your sewing machine - without machine quilting.

There are a couple of tools that will make this easier to create - Bohin mechanical chalk, an Omni-arc rotary cutter (for cutting circles), your rotary cutter and a small square ruler.

Here are some easy step-by-step instructions:

	I used the Omni-arc ruler to cut the circles in my blue jean material. If you don't have one, use a plastic lid from something about 4 inches in diameter. Or, whatever size you like. These blue jeans came to me already cut into small squares.
After I folded the blue jean material in quarters, I used Bohin mechanical chalk to mark the arc in my blue jeans material.
	Using the chalk line, cut a quarter circle, and then unfold the blue jean material. You should have a complete circle.
It happened that the 4 inch square template I had fit inside the circle. You can cut a piece of cardboard or something else to use to mark a square inside the circle.
	I used a black pencil to mark the square. The white chalk was too faint.
Using a straight stitch, sew two circles together along the line you marked. You can chain stitch these together.
	Take them out of your sewing machine and pair them up, matching the right sides of two circles and the seams. Open the seams so they are out of your way, and then stitch along the marked line. Do not sew through the open seam - just along the side of it.
Once you have that seam sewn, take the "block" out of your machine, and open it up. Place the unit so the right side is down on your table.
	Cut squares of fabric that are the same size as the square outline you marked in the circle of blue jean material.
Place the squares of fabric inside the circles. You may need to trim the squares so they lay flat inside the sewn circles. Fold the blue jean material down on top of the fabric, forming an arc on top of the fabric.
	Zig zag stitch on top of the arcs to secure the fabric square in the center of the circle.
Add as many of these circles as you like to create your quilt. Finish by folding the arcs down around the outside of the quilt. Or you can trim them so they are even, and add binding.