I bought a double knit quilt from a lady that made 3 or 4 every year and then she would sell them in the spring. When I found out, I ran right down that spring and bought one! One ugly quilt, it said" junk yard" on the red material, so my friend said "that is the uglist quilt I ever seen and called it a"junk yard dog" quilt, then she quickly turned to me and said" where can I get one?"

I might add, my married son still has junk yard dog!

I've made quite a few double knit quilts. You'll be happier if you do not mix with cotton fabrics or thinner polyester knits as the thinner knits stretch a lot more. I use a light batt or a flannel sheet for batting so you don't feel the seams and then a sheet for the backing. I always tie them. I don't worry about using special needles or thread, just the usual kinds and never had a problem. The double knits are very forgiving and you can fudge a little if you need to in order to make the blocks fit. They are great for camping and beach use as they never wear out, wash very nicely and wear like iron. My kids like them on their beds in cold weather too. The colors are always bright and clear and never fade unless you leave them out in the sun for a very long time. If you piece them in a nice pattern you will have plenty of people admiring them.

I have quilted (longarm) several double knit quilts for people. A close, overall quilting like meandering or wandering loops seems to work best.

I also prefer cotton but these quilts are warm and do seem to serve their purpose.

My MIL made quilts for each of my 3 kids that were double knit. She actually took apart old leisure suits for the fabric. Boy, are they ugly! But I must admit they were great for watching soccer games. You wrap one of those around you and there's no way the wind is going through it. I keep one in the trunk of my car in the winter for emergencies.

I quilted a knit/cotton quilt for a friend of mine grandmother I didn't want to do it for I thought the knit would stretch, but it didn't and it came out nicely. She was proud of it. I have a quilt machine on a 14' frame so I had to pin it in and advance the rollers, but worked fine.
My buddy uses knit to make rag rugs, they will never wear out. I think her daughter has a tute on how to make a rag rug.

The charity group that I belong to that makes the polyester quilts, we cut the backing a few inches longer than the top then we fold it over the top to make the bound edge and then top stitch it. Then we tie it rather than quilt it.

I WANT IT!!!! :mrgreen:

This all sounds good to me as I have kept a lot of my Mom's double-knit blouses she wore. She has passed away and now I know I can make some small easy quilts for her 3 grandchildren using her blouses. I will be saving this thread in case I have questions when I make it (probably in the fall). I will pick 3 different colors for the backing (if I read this right---using flannel or a sheet for the backing and don't need batting-correct?).
YOU QUILTERS ARE AWESOME:)

I have some but haven't used it yet. I have quilted some on my quilting machine for other people. It really puckers and pleats. I also broke several needles where the seams joined together. I think they are very pretty and will probably last forever but I won't quilt another one on my machine.

My mom made quilts out of double knit material in the 1970's. They were very pretty quilts that were easily washed and dried beautifully.She would find a pattern, usually squares; not 1/2 squares [simple patterns] like 'Log Cabin, Trip Around The World, Rail Fence' [ that one was mine] and back them with a sheet.Poly batting and tied with a co-ordinating yarn.These quilts lasted longer than the backing. Were very warm. Sorry that I no longer have that old Christmas gift.