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  • Has anyone made quilts with fabric other than cotton?

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    Old 09-25-2010, 03:50 PM
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    I have inherited a trunk load of fabric scraps. The lady who gave them to me use to work in a textile mill and the workers took home scraps. She has saved them over 30 years! There is some cotton scraps, but several poly and double knit. What to do? Some of the pieces are large enough to make shopping bags. Really, how many of those does one need... Suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 04:29 PM
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    Just cut some 5-8" squares, sew your tops, various sizes, and use for
    car robes in winter, lap robes watching TV, or as you mentioned, throw pillow
    covers. If knit or poly, I would just TIE at corners of your squares and not
    attempt quilting.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 04:32 PM
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    i have a few poly quilts that are nice and warm.. They are not quilted but tied instead.

    think outside the box.. Not everything has to be made out of cotton..
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    Old 09-25-2010, 04:34 PM
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    You can make a quilt with the polyester. Maybe a flannel backing or a reversible poly back. Wouldn't have to use batting as that would make it heavy if the poly is heavy to begin with.

    I have some Mama pieced using 6 inch squares and then instead of quilting, just tie at corners of squares.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 05:35 PM
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    My grandmother made them with everything -polyester, cotton and sheets - so why not...
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    Old 09-25-2010, 05:48 PM
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    I've done quite a few tops for an initiative here - originated as a church outreach - basically, they run a "new to you" shop where people bring in their clothes to be resold (person gets a percentage of the sale). However, anything that is not in perfect sellable condition (has a button missing, seams coming apart, etc) is NOT sold. People are advised of this so they know what is happening.

    Anyhew, clothes that can't be sold, can be used in many ways. Some are packaged up and shipped to needy areas, some are cut up into 6" or 8" squares, and made into quilts. These are then put together and tied; these quilts are given to missions (for the homeless) or women's shelters, etc.

    The quilts are a complete mixture of types of fabric - denim, cotton, wool, double-knit. Can be a beast to put together, with some stretchy and some stiff as a board! But they work amazingly well together and are just so charming!

    The designs they put together are all simple squares, just making nice diagonal or boxy designs from light to dark fabrics.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 05:53 PM
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    Check out this double knit beauty: http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot....uble-knit.html

    Just goes to show you quilters can be very resourceful and creative! Have fun with your treasures. I can't wait to see what you make.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 06:00 PM
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    Originally Posted by buttonhead
    I have inherited a trunk load of fabric scraps. The lady who gave them to me use to work in a textile mill and the workers took home scraps. She has saved them over 30 years! There is some cotton scraps, but several poly and double knit. What to do? Some of the pieces are large enough to make shopping bags. Really, how many of those does one need... Suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.
    My Mother made a beautiful lap quilt out poly double knits. She made
    a crazy quilt & then hand embroidered lovely colorful stitches between
    each block. I keep it in the car to use for picnics, or whatever. It is very special to me because of the hand embroidering. Wish I could show you a close-up picture of it, but no camera. Sorry.
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    Old 09-25-2010, 06:13 PM
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    I have made quilts using dress weight polyester fabrics, wash and wear and it works great. Was hand quilting and very easy to quilt. I have a bunch of that kind of fabrics that I plan on making quilts out of and I will put polyester batting and machine quilt them. It holds up very well and doesn't fade as cotton does.
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    Old 09-26-2010, 12:21 AM
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    Suree you can. I'd just maybe reccommend using all of one kind of fabric in a quilt, but even that is not a hard and fast rule.
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