I inherited yards and yards of double knit from my mother. I ended up donating all of it to different groups who made quilts for charitable organizations. I understand they made large patchwork squares and no batting. One group sends them to India; they're used for tents, etc.

when my grandmother passed away, I cut up some of the double knit pants and things she had and made some 4-6" squares then sewn them together to make quilts. They are really warm and it is like she has her arm around you and she is keeping you warm.

I worked in a nursing home for over 25yrs..they would love it..and yes no batting...

My aunt made rugs out of double knit by sewing strips to a canvas backing. Those things wore like iron. Great idea to use the knit as batting in light quilts. You would never have to worry about batting shifting and wouldn't have to quilt too closely.

Pat

Double knit quilts make great picnic quilts too! They last forever and hold up to being in the great outdoors.

I want to thank every one of you for your ideas. I don't feel so bad now about having all of this, and am sure I will make use of it. I am printing out the entire thread so that I will always have all of your suggestions. Thanks a million. MargieLou Hall

I have to say that people's ideas here were wonderful. I'm going to keep that one about the drawstring sack as well. I can that as an extremely useful thing for people/college kids, etc. What great ideas!

This is not an actual answer to your question, but just something that I was reminded of. My grandmother used to make braided rugs from worn out clothes. When double knits went out of style, my cousin and I gave Grams several boxes of dresses. She gave them back to us, told us to wear them some more, she couldn't bear to cut up good stuff. We finally convinced her that these things would never wear out. She finally relented and I have rugs that she made over 30 years ago.

Several years ago when double knit was popular, I made soft balls out of it. . You start with a pentagon (5 sided) shape which makes a round ball. They were great for the kids = stuffed with polyfill they were washable

Double knit
 

My sister and i make quilts for the homeless using several layers of batting for warmth. They are very durable. I have also made lap robes for the nursing home with them. They actually can make some beautiful quilts depending on colors and design. I now have a box full of 3" squares of like turquoise and salmon to make a 9 patch. I hope I have enough white to use as sashing between the blocks. I am sure nursing homes would be very happy to have lap robes made from Double knits.
Reta

My sister has one grandma made her for college (she graduated in 1979!) and it still looks good. They wear like iron.

what to do with poly knits?
 

when my own mom died i made these quilts out of her pants suits. they had to be tied because they were so thick i couldn't stitch through all the layers. the thread kept popping all along every seam even though i tried every thread and every needle on the market. i used the wrap-around method of binding because the edges were so think i couldn't bind any other way and not have it look like a long lump.

i had divided the colors into families, brown being my least favorite and therefore my experiments. it was so terrible that i never moved on to the better colors (although i do have a blue flying geese all cut out since that time LOL!)

they weigh a ton, especially the king. when you go to sleep, make sure you don't have to get up to go to the bathroom. you may not make it. those babies really hold you down. the smaller ones are doubles. they will last forever. and ever. and ever.

edit to add: i find them not so good for pets because their claws get caught in the knit and causes pulls. on the pro side they are terrific for babies and nursing homes because they can be bleached without any loss of color.

After reading all this, I wish I had saved all my knits from the 60's and 70's!

I know from working in a nursing home that those double knits lap quilts last and hold there color for a long time. If there are different textures to them or you have different fabrics, then make booklets of fabric. These they use for tactile (feel) stimulation. Bound each page with zig zag or serge stitches. You can have any amount of pages in them. They can be sewn down one side if a few or button holes in one corner and looped into a binder ring. I have also donated them to a group to make into rugs for over seas mission work.

I had a huge pile of double knits when my sweet MIL passed away..

I made stacks of lap robes for the rehab facility she was in for a long time.. They love the quilts and they stand up to their constant washing and drying.. Those things never wear out!

I made a large, tied, double knit quilt for each one of the cars.. the quilt lives in the trunk and is perfect for a spontainous picnic, or should some one have a flat tire, or worse, it can be spread on the ground without worry to protect good clothes.. You know, those break downs never happen when you're dressed for crawling under the car! Both of our cars have one, and each of the kids cars have one.

I cut some yardage into strips and made braided rugs... They work up wonderfully and you don't have to worry about the raw edges fraying.. so they stay nice.. and can be tossed into the washer and dryer..

I made a bunch of simple mats for our animal shelter. Those poor animals have nothing but concrete or wire to rest on if someone doesn't make washable mats.. The animals don't care if your stitching isn't perfect or if the knit is an ugly one.. They are more comfortable and I'm more comfortable thinking they are resting easier.

I've made a stack of simple totes to take grocery shopping with me.. I also use those for hauling all sorts of stuff, like library books, or flower pots.. things that are heavy or dirty and I need to carry a bunch of them at a time.

I made a firewood carrier to help bring the wood into the house.. I can load as many pieces as I can carry and the fabric is stronger than I am.. and when it's dirty, into the washer it goes.

I made a teepee for one of the grand kids...

We have set up a small tent city in the back yard during the summer.. I didn't do anything for that but bring out the fabic.. you can't hurt it.. once the city came down, I washed the stuff up and it went back to the sewing room no worse for the fun.

My personal favorite is the rugs.. I love those rugs..

I don't wear it anymore.. but I love it for a simple quilt made of lots of colors.. The one I have has smaller squares on one side and large squares on the other.. no batting. . tied with black yarn.. It's warm and will probably wear forever.

Whatever you do don't throw it away just because you don't wear it anymore.. and with the price of cotton fabric going so high, who knows, polyester may make a comeback!! It's cheaper to keep it and use it a bit at a time, than to toss it and wish you had it back!

So many ideas for the double knit. I had a hard time finding anyone who wanted 11 large boxes of it from my mother's home. I just didn't have the time or imagination to use it. Finally a lady took it to crochet rugs and will give the rest to the DAV for their quilting.

Several years ago I had some double knit. I made fabric balls out of some of it. I believe the shape of the pieces are "pentagon" I would have to search to make sure. They were great for kids as they are washable. Easy to construct even with a lot of y seams. Also good for groups who have members who don't sew and quilt. They can stuff and hand stitch them closed.

I have two quiltsmade with double knit. One is over30 years old and just like new. They are so warm and last forever.