Hope you guys don't mind me asking some questions. :D

I am new to quilting but have been sewing here and there for the last few years.

My father recently passed away and I would like to make a memory quilt with some of his clothes. I have denim, flannel and cotton (think sleeping pants material). Do you think it would be possible to mix and match those 3 types of material and make a rag quilt? I would like to use his clothes for the front but will probably buy a solid color fabric for the back. I have a good bit of his clothes but plan on making a throw my mother and a smaller piece for myself and each of my siblings.

Any other insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I want to say how sorry I am for the loss of your father. :( I have made lots of rag quilts and have used flannel and cotton but not in the same quilt. My guess would be that since the clothes have been washed many times before, that it would not shrink anymore. I think it will be beautiful and a wonderful reminder of your father.

I have seen many people use flannel and cotton together in a quilt, but the jeans material may be to heavy. Just a thought, why not use the jeans for the backing?

Sheila

Absolutely, you can. I'm sorry you've lost your father, I'm glad you have his clothes and are going to do something with the, give you something to cling to when you need that comfort.

I use cotton and flannel together all the time for rag quilts. I've never used jeans.

I was a little concerned about the differences in weight. I don't think I have enough jeans to back all of the flannel and cotton. I wish there was a way to offset the difference in weight.

can you use the denim around the outside blocks or just some in the center?

I was also toying with the idea to not using batting on the denim. Just denim and cotton on the back. And for the cotton pieces use batting or flannel in the middle and cotton on the back. That may "even" out the fabric weights some. I am just brainstorming.

Sorry about the loss of your father. I know how hard that is. I have used flannel and cotton together on a top, but I don't usually follow rules. Maybe you could use the denim for the binding. That would compensate for the heavier material.

Sorry about your father. How I wished I was into quilting in 1992 when I lost my father. I would have loved to turn his clothing into a quilt!!! I did keep some of his t-shits to sleep in.

What about some of the denim from the jeans on the back, with other store bought denim added? You would only need 2 thicknesses of fabric this way.

That was going to be my suggestion ~ or even 1 block of denim in each row distributing evenly for the weight issue.

I have a memory quilt to make for my friend's little girl in memory of her dad. I have a mish mash of fabrics to use as well... This is what I plan on doing...

http://www.straw.com/equilters/libra...gallbaros.html

I just made a denim/flannel rag quilt. I don't have the photos here at work (lunch hour :-) ) , but I used all denim on the front (raggy side) and all different flannel on the back side. I used a very thin piece of flannel for the batting. All blocks were cut in 6" blocks, which when sewed with a generous seam turned into 4" blocks. I think the next time I'd increase the size of the blocks to 8". I just made a lap quilt 48 x 60. There was a lot of cutting involved, several needles, and it generated a ton of lint, but it turned out very well. I gave it to a friend for Christmas and she loved it.