This is a tried and true technique. I made several of these when I first started quilting and money was tight. The newspaper mostly just dissolves away. If the paper is two weeks old the ink will not run. It smears because it is not dry yet when new. If you are concerned run a hot iron over the paper and it is set. My DMIL said the paper added extra warmth, tongue in cheek wisdom from a wise lady. You can tie or machine quilt the top with no worries. Are we so dainty now we can't even use newspaper with out turning up our noses. Newspaper is mostly wood fiber and comes from trees...what animal does polyester come from? The ink is mostly from vegetable products. If you really need blank paper you can by partial rolls of newsprint from the local newspaper available for one or two dollars. You will get many yards of blank newsprint. If you don't believe me that the newsprint disappears then take a piece of newspaper and sit it in the sun for a bit....it just degrades right away to fragile and brittle.

oh no...not paper!
 

I know it seems "green" and frugal to repurpose newspaper, but I just chuck it in the recycle bin. With that said, I DO love this method of using up scraps. What I do is wait until I can get a 50% off price at Joann's and then I buy a whole bolt of thin cheap muslin. I cut 6.5 inch squares and use them instead of the newspaper. I use up my scraps and then have a huge pile of these sturdy and lovely squares. I have made tons of "give-away" quilts by just using sashing to finish the quilt top, added batting and backing, and then quilt in the ditch to finish.

Very old quilts used newspaper for batting, BUT think about this, newsprint is acid based paper and it will eventually cause the fabric to deteriorate. For the same reason, that is why all matting paper used for framing prints is now acid free.

While I havent had to resort to using newspaper, I have been looking for ways to continue my hobby less expensively... I would hope that if someone is using these techniques, that they are not made to feel horrible because of some of the comments posted here. It is understandable that some would need to find cheaper ways to create... please remember that while some of us may have all the money we could ever need to enjoy our hobbys, some are doing without other items so that they can work on their hobbies. Remember that unemployment is still near 9% over this great nation! Everyone have a GREAT and HAPPY NEW YEAR! and a warm, loving and fruitful one as well!!!

Just a note for future reference, I have fouund that second hand stores have inexpensive ways to replace batting... curtains, table cloths, etc. usually from 25 cents to a couple of bucks. Much cheaper than batting.

Here is a win win situation for 2012. Recycle older fabric. Shop for flannel sheets, drapery panels etc at your thrift stores, salvation army or goodwill, you will benefit yourself as well as help some others less fortunate.:)

I am going to watch this post and see what everyone thinks. It seems to me the ink would bleed. Don't know, I guess it would be quite an experiment. Very interesting!

i have always been fascinated with this topic...years ago during ww1 and ww2 this type of quilting was in fact done due to the scarcity of cotton. the newspapers of today are pretty much the same as those of that time. what you want to do is wet the papers to remove some of the excess ink and then dry and press the paper.. the paper was used in place of batting and in fact is just as warm as batting. it will soften as the quilt ages and is washed...of course back in the day even a modern washing machine of the time was far less powerful than what we have today. during the days of old and up to depression era, it was not uncommon to layer newspapers on the walls of homes, and between sheets and blankets to cut drafts and help keep the home and body warm. check out some of the homeless people at night and you will find that they (yes, even today) collect newspapers and use them for more than reading.

I'd guess by the quilting! The paper in your pockets is not secured into a shape in any way and can fly about at will. Paper inside a top, a bottom and enclosed by quilting on all sides, can "melt" into any state it wants, and when it dries it will be back to its original location, shape and state.

Again, that's pretty much how paper making works so I'm guessing it would have to be the same.

We've owned two very old houses and have found newspaper in the walls of both of them. It's pretty neat, actually, because you can date the wall by the newspapers in it.

I'm with you guys on this, why? Even if I'm making a quilt to be donated, I take the same amount of time and effort and supplies as if I was making it for myself or a gift.

Good thought!!!!!!!!!!

The Newspaper is for a paper piecing foundation and usually melts away with the first wash. A regular batting is used in the quilt. The acid is then gone and not a problem. Back then when I first did this technique cotton batting was not available, Polyester was expensive, I used old blankets as batting or what ever I could find that would work. The quilts did not rot, but rather were used up over the years...some worn out quilts received new tops and backs and were used up yet again. The wringer washer did more harm than the newspaper....

I saw a program a few years ago,(might have been w/Alex Anderson, but don't quote me on that!) that discussed some historic quilts that were found in Montana, perhaps in Helena. They were made way before the depression era, using homespun wool, I believe. Don't remember much, but realized that the wool was the warmth, not the paper batting, and was never washed or dried in a machine, so the paper survived. If I remember correctly, they were called paper quilts.

My grandparents all homesteaded in Montana, so the program caught my eye and reminded me how the old wool quilts were apt to become batting when they were worn out. Again, they were not washed by machine and were hung on the line to dry. Usually the outside was made of flour sacks. My grandmother also told me that quilts and blankets were rarely washed. They were hung out to "air". The tops were carefully covered when you folded the top sheet over them to keep them clean as well. I have a piece of crazy quilt she had made in the 1890's. A loose muslin was used as the base of it. Not sure what the quilt backing was -- only a small piece of cotton was left on the outside seam.

I don't think she is using it as batting.....I think it is used as stabilizer.

If you checked the link in the first post, it clearly shows that the newspaper is not just as a stabilizer and was being left in as batting

I have several med sized blocks dated in Dec of 1936. The reason I know the date is bc they were back with newspaper. I would not use newspaper for batting, how would you wash the quilt? Many, many years ago the quilts were not washed just aired.

I don't know that the intentions of the pioneer quilters were to wash those quilts. They were made for insulation (especially for the soldiers).The quilts were probably given a good shaking and perhaps hung in the sun and wind to air out. Times have changed. We are a generation obscessed with cleanliness. In those days, priorities were different.

Re: a previous post in this thread,
I remember something from Alex Anderson's show where they showed how the quilters used a whole sheet of newsspaper, started in the middle, and crazy patched it until the whole sheet was covered.

can you try this and report back on this thread and let us know the results? im so curious to know how the quilt fares.

They used to use newspaper as the 'foundation' for string quilts and like the one she is demonstrating. Sometimes the tops would be left witht he paper still attatched, not yet quilted. The point is that she saved the fabric for the foundation. They would have pulled the newspaper off before quilting.

I've had more than one vintage quilt that used newspaper as a foundation. So naturally I tried it, removing the paper after the string quilt was pieced. Those little bits of newsprint kept turning up everywhere, even in my clothes. After that I use cheap muslin or even poly fabric for the foundation.

And I just have to say it. The antique quilts we find were stored and never washed and used rarely. Jane Stickley's quilt would have disintegrated if she had used it.

Hi! I'm the person who wrote that post about he Chronicle quilts. In this technique you are really just using the newspaper as a piecing foundation because newsprint ink DOES dissolve in water (it's soy based) and the paper disintegrates. For these, I then use fleece or flannel for the back and add no extra batting. It's a great technique to use up scraps. I hope this answers your question. If you need any specific advice, let me know! -Jenny of CraftTestDummies.com