Kassaundra

That is a great spin on machine cathedral windows.

justflyingin

I've just finished a top that used a variety of textures. It isn't easy, but it's doable.

The smaller your square, the tougher it is to have thick and thin.

This is from my dad's shirts. I'm trying to use the last of these up in memory quilt tops.

Don't use rayon. It's a weak fiber. Poly isn't weak, particularly. I'm using whatever these shirts were made from. There is a lot of poly/cotton and even acrylic. I'm not enjoying this process and can't wait to finish these up.

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Yooper32

quiltedsunshine, thanks for a great idea. I have made jeans quilts with the denim in a circle, but never thought to use a square, and what a neat pattern it makes.

illinois

Justflyingin, I love your sashing! What a neat idea!!!

I find rayon difficult to work with since it slips and slides around worse than other fabrics. As to poly/cotton--why do we frown so about that blend? I love the sheen and it's quite durable without extra weight. Plus we seem to like the strength of thread from that blend. The poly makes it easier to pull when having to remove?!<label for="rb_iconid_14"></label><label for="rb_iconid_11"></label>

quilterpurpledog

When I think about mixing fabrics in quilts I think about the crazy quilts that women so lovingly made. Fabrics within them sometimes degraded because of the fiber content (wool and silk) or because of chemical additives (again silk). We know that rayon does not wear well and its purpose is to add drape to garments. There are fabrics that abrade easily such as velvet or velveteen. I think you can use a mixture of fiber and weave to make a beautiful memory quilt. Just avoid those you know before hand will be difficult. Mixing woven fabrics with knitted fabrics works quite well if you sew carefully. Try to work with the grain of the fabric whenever possible. Personally, I would be cautious about using any fabric requiring an iron on interfacing as many degrade with washing and drying. Have fun, and remember that you really won/t care if it doesn't last forever.

trolleystation

Love the look of this quilt. Going to steal this idea.

mac

Quiltedsunshine, that is a great quilt. How did you do the denim square? Is it 8-sided? Is there a pattern for this? Thanks, Mary Ann.

sprice

I check the labels and use only 100% cotton shirts for quilts. Note that it is more work to cut from pieces of the shirt than to use yardage. I have made a few quilts from cut up clothing but think I will not do much of that anymore. Yardage is just easier on my old hands.

quiltedsunshine

Thanks, Ladies. The pattern is called "Denim Stars," and is made with octagons. https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/pat...pattern/131738 You can do the same thing with squares and rectangles, too.

StrayCat

Great input, thanks all! People give me scraps, and I sometimes have trouble identifying the content, but I'm getting better at looking at a thread and knowing it's NOT 100% cotton because of the way tiny fibers at the end behave. Manmade fibers appear to frizz out stiffly like the ends of nylon broom bristles, but natural fibers have some curl and random bends. I do have scads (a lot) of jeans denim that I'm using for rag quilts, SUV cargo cover and car seat covers, never thought to use additional fabric in a cathedral window type, or in a denim rag piece. Also, that bandana and brown sashing is pretty cool, adds nice background to the scrappy blocks, so i'll be borrowing that idea, too. Thanks again, all, for your input.