Ask Penny Halgren

When many quilters clean out their closets, they usually  don’t see old clothes. Instead, they see fabric that could have been used in a  quilt. One of the frequently asked questions by quilters is whether they can  recycle their old blue jeans into quilts. The answer is absolutely!

When working with denim, you must remember to keep the other  fabrics in your quilt similar in weight. A quilt made from broad cloth and  thick work denim would be skewed over time because the weight of the fabrics  are not similar.

This blue jean quilt looks like a     Cathedral Windows pattern and     uses shirt fabric for the center.

There are many ways you can use the fabric from your blue  jeans in a quilt pattern. Use the legs and cut the patches you need. You can  open them at the seams, but if they have been worn several years, you might not  like the results that the fabric from the seam offers. It probably won’t match  the rest of the denim.

Denim makes great rag quilts because it frays so well. Make  your blocks of denim and alternate them with blocks of another heavy cotton.  Sew the seams to the outside and snip them to allow the ragging to occur. Once  you wash and dry the quilt, the seams should fluff up nicely.

Denim also makes great accents on appliqué quilts. Use a  snippet of denim to create the center of a flower on a casual quilt. Use it for  the dress on a Sunbonnet Sue quilt appliqué or for the overalls on Sam or the  Fishing Boy quilt block pattern.

If you want the denim to have a frayed look on  your appliqués, use a straight stitch to sew it in place instead of turning the  fabric under and using an appliqué stitch.   The more the quilt is washed and dried, the more the denim appliqué will  fray.

It is also fun to incorporate part of your old jeans into  your quilts. For example, take the belt loops off several pairs of jeans and  stitch them onto your border. Remove an old pocket and sew it onto the quilt in  a corner for a storage pocket. This can be a lot of fun for children’s quilts,  too.

Just think --  you can send your child to daycare with his own quilt and tuck a small toy in the pocket to  surprise him.

Old jeans also recycle nicely into throw pillows pieced as  nine patch designs. Use various shades of denim for the front. If you have a  piece big enough for the back, that would be great. Otherwise, use another  fabric for the pillow’s back.

You can create a rag pillow, using the same  technique as rag quilting, or create a “crazy quilt” pillow, using scraps of  your jeans and other clothing. Since they’ll be foundation pieced like a crazy  quilt, you won’t have to worry about the weight of the fabrics or the integrity  of their fabric grain.

While it may not exactly be a quilting project, you can also  use your old jeans to make leg warmers. Use various techniques from your  quilting skills to dress them up.

To make a pair of leg warmers, cut  the jeans up 6 to 10 inches from the bottom  of each leg. Use an over lock or zigzag seam to serge the cut end. Decorate by  adding strips of patchwork, appliquéing small designs like flowers or ladybugs,  etc.

You can also use your machine to “quilt” designs onto each leg section.  Slide the finished leg warmers over your leggings for a cute look. They stand  up very well in snow and add extra warmth to your legs, too.