I am just wondering whether any of you have ever done any quilting with corduroy. At the thrift store the other day, I passed up several yards of blue, brown and red cord fabric because I didn't know what I would do with it. This was small wale I think it is called.

I think it will add wonderful texture to a quilt.

it's wonderful for a utility quilt or a car quilt.

I have only used it for texture quilts, and bedding for my fur babies. But it worked very well for those, just be sure to wash it first, mine really shrunk in the dryer.

that would make a nice arm quilt for college kids but i'd use at leat 1/2 seams. Or even a donation quilt. if the price is good, try it. you may start a new trend

You need to use fairly large pieces and it's a lot easier if all of the corduroy is the same wale width. The UFO one I need to get back to is several different wale widths, which means different degrees of stretch on the crosswise grain, which can create problems if you aren't careful...hence mine currently in UFO status. Also I had tried to do it with 1/4" seams and narrow strips for part of it...NOT recommended!

Random large squares, big squares for a D9P, Around the World...all would be great...log cabin NOT a good plan!

I saw a patchwork quilt on Design On A Dime one year. It was all corderoy & it was just really large patches going in opposite directions. Like one patch the corderoy was going up & down & the next patch it was going sideways. It was tans & browns & it looked really pretty. She didn't quilt it but I think she tied it. Could be quilted though.

I have wanted to try it on a rag quilt and see how it does. Just haven't tried it yet. I don't see why it wouldn't work for either type of quilt. Some types are much heavier than others, so I would stay away from the heavier weights I think.

I made a quilt using 7" inch corduroy squares. I serged the seams and it made a nice quilt for the trailer.

I use all kinds of fabrics, and I love corduroy! The texture is awesome! I have mixed it with squares of old jeans, and it makes a wonderful warm quilt!

I've made a couple of quilts out of corduroy, but I didn't quilt them, I tied them. I think it would be very hard to machine or hand quilt corduroy.

I've made quilts using corduroy and mixed it with denim, heavier cottons or upholstery material. It does shrink so washing before you start is necessary. Make your seams a little wider and just use simple patterns. I machine quilted mine as I find ties eventually pull out with heavy use. Sometimes I use fleece on the back with no batting as the quilt is heavy enough. I also had some old pillow ticking that I used on the back of another. These make good camping quilts or quilts to take to a hockey game to sit on the cold bleachers (there's no heat in our arena!). I also use corduroy in the touch and feel fidgit quilts I make for the Alzheimer's patients at our local nursing homes.

A lot of good suggestions! I am going to have to try this with corduroy scraps left from making my DDs' clothes.

Question about corduroy: I had some corduroy that I bought a really long time ago that had no "wale" at all...in other words, it was just smooth, almost like a velvety texture on top. Does anybody know what that material was called? I backed a quilt with it, and it was just great. It was almost like a real heavy flannel. The fabric was 60" wide, and I would love to get some more, if they still make such a thing.

i am working on a Phesant quilt for my sister (for her boyfriend) and she sent corduroy with the fabrics to use, she has the center stained glass phesant done and a border around it with 1/2 square triangle blocks with corduroy and flannel; that is as far as she got, then it has set for something like 3 years...she finally decided she will never get it done and brought it to me to finish.
i made a raggy quilt a few years ago that the back was 7" corduroy squares, the front flannels...boy is it ever a heavy quilt! very masculine, warm and has washed up very well.

you can find a wonderful selection of 100% cotton corduroy fabrics from fabric.com; they have everything from pin-wale (like the smooth corduroy you used) up to heavy wale(12) the great things about using corduroy is i have not had any color run issues or shrinkage. it washes up well and is made to last!

[quote=ckcowl]you can find a wonderful selection of 100% cotton corduroy fabrics from fabric.com; they have everything from pin-wale (like the smooth corduroy you used) up to heavy wale(12) the great things about using corduroy is i have not had any color run issues or shrinkage. it washes up well and is made to last!


Thanks! I am looking at fabric.com.....They have something called "uncut corduroy". I wonder if this is it, because it sure looks like it. Thank you for the suggestion!

[quote=quiltbugs]I made clothes with that a loooong time ago, and I think it was called brushed corduroy. It made cute jumpers for my girls when they were little.

You almost had the name .. its called unwaled corduroy. It is still made and sold in alot of fabric stores.

Cotton velveteen - I loved that fabric - and it did wash up well.

[quote=King's Daughter]YES! Way back when, I also made a jumper out of it. (this was probably back in about the 1970's). And I think I bought the fabric at JC Penneys, believe it or not, when ALL the stores sold fabric...probably paid about 99 cents a yard for it.

:-D

I made clothes with that a loooong time ago, and I think it was called brushed corduroy. It made cute jumpers for my girls when they were little.[/quote]

YES! Way back when, I also made a jumper out of it. (this was probably back in about the 1970's). And I think I bought the fabric at JC Penneys, believe it or not, when ALL the stores sold fabric...probably paid about 99 cents a yard for it.

:-D[/quote]

Yep, that's about when I was sewing for my girls! And all the department stores did have a fabric section. Those were the days...

Years ago when we lived in a drafty old farm house without central heat---just coal and then later oil stoves, Mom would use old corduroy pants and denim ones too. She'd cut them into simple squares, rather large, and sew them together. She never tried to quilt them, just tied them. They're very warm, very heavy but if you live where it gets really cold there's just nothing much nicer. Also, in a "cabin" style home they look great on the back of a couch, on a chair or folded on the foot of the bed. If you don't want it to be quite so heavy, don't use batting. You can back them with flannel or muslin, and use a lightweight sheet blanket for batting for a medium warmth.
And if you alternate the way the wale is running it will give it a great almost woven look.

Corduroy is just like velvet in the fact that they both have nap.
They are both considered a one-way design fabric.
When you brush your hand down the fabric, you can feel that it is going with the way you rub, or against it.
One direction will look darker than the other, so if it matters to you, have the direction all going the same way.
Our group in Midland sends quilts all over the world so there is a lot of donated fabric.
There were several boxes of already cut squares done by a gentleman in the group.
Some had tried to sew them together, but after trying to stitch them on a regular machine, gave up.
I brought the boxes home and stitched them together on my serger. You just hold both ends together as you serge.
These turned out very nice and was shipped out to some very happy teens that needed them for warmth.

A couple of years ago coned my friend Amanda who has quilted for years into helping me make a rag quilt for our annual basset hound rescue Pawction. I had been given precut flannel squares with hounds and I had collected mini wale corduroy in red and black-some with beautiful embroidered roses. Plus this brushed corduroy fabric for the border with fabulous embroidery and sequined flowers. We had flannel for the back. She said it couldn't be done-I made a sample square. Here is a picture of the result before the border and seam clipping if I can load the picture. Learned alot-I'm more fearless than know what I'm doing so you may not want to try this at home.

watch it it walks--i used my walking foot +tacking--also tied it not quilting it --i also used 1/2 inch seams --i did love the look + the feel of it sorry no pics

blondeslave, that is cute! How did it 'rag up'? Did the corduroy work as well as the flannel? I have a lot of the no-wale corduroy scraps, and flannel squares from a swap that would go together well for a kids quilt. Looks like you have a great idea there. :thumbup:

corduroy 'rag's up just fine as long as it is 100% cotton and you clip fairly close, it is a tighter weave than plain or flannel cottons. i used 1/2" seams instead of 1/4" and clipped about every 1/4" ... i don't measure at all, i just clip, clip clip

Be sure to wash before you cut or sew...had some old material of my Mom's...I wash anything I don't buy new...and it shredded apart in the washing machine...so glad I had not wasted time on it.

I made a corduroy quilt for my Sister for Christmas. She loves it.
Used corduroy on the top with half squared triangles and used denim in a coordinating color for the backing.
It is very warm and is great for the winter months.
Just be sure to sew in the ditch so your seams don't fray.
Laura
I am just wondering whether any of you have ever done any quilting with corduroy. At the thrift store the other day, I passed up several yards of blue, brown and red cord fabric because I didn't know what I would do with it. This was small wale I think it is called.

It makes wonderful quilts and lap robes for our troops.
They really appreciate them.

KansasBarb

I saw several cool log cabin quilts done in with corduroy when I was in Norway this summer. I imagine that they are warmer than some might be - which is fitting for that climate.

Cheers, K

Interesting! I have seen a lot of really cute prints made out of this material and my first thought was "I wish this was cotton". Hmm, maybe it doesn't have to be! :) Food for thought!

I use corduroy for backings. Then don't use batting.

I turned down a donation of corduroy just the other day...now I think I'll try and get it back...three colors, small wale, very pretty. Seems I made a rash decision.

Could what you have be 'clipped corduroy'? I haven't seen any for years but it looked somewhat like velvet but is corduroy? I am guessing that is what you have. Sue

My daughter used cord on a rag quilt. One side was flannel & the other side was cord. It was beautiful & frayed nicely. Her only problem was getting her little machine to sew through the layers. I sewed it on my Bernina just fine.

Corduroy cut into squares and sewn to a flannel backing makes a great car quilt for teens.

i did the card trick king size quilt i love it it is heavy and you will have a lot of lint but just clean up machine afterwards i love mine made of corduroy

You can do anything and try anything that you want. Be creative. Right now I'm working on a wall hanging that has cottons, upholstery fabric and leathers in it. Very unconventional, but it's beautiful! Go for it!!