To make them lighter, I have made some with no batting. I even made a rag quilt only one layer. One side looks raggy and the other side looks like strips. Cool.

Yep summer quilt!

My great Aunt made summer quilts that way. I have kept the tradition going in my scrap quilts. They are great for cold summer night. I personally like a light soft flannel for the backing.

i,ve learned something new today thank you ladies

I remember quilts without any lining in them....guess in Hawaii, it's warm enough without having to add any batting or lining.

Both my Great Grandmother and my Grandmother made quilts with no batting, and that was in Michigan where the winters were cold! It wasn't unusual for them to pile 10 or more quilts on us when we slept upstairs in the old farmhouse, because there was no central heating and not much insulation in the walls, and it got pretty cold upstairs. But the heat was trapped in all those layers of quilts. Grandma would also iron the sheets just before we hopped in, and leave us with hot water bottles.

You have to consider that they didn't have commercial quilting batting back then, and had to use whatever they had. Money was tight, so buying fabric for batting was out of the question, especially when the quilt was made from old clothes, burlap bags, salt bags, feed bags, and the like. I can remember my Great Grandmother using a worn out quilt for batting when she made a new quilt. It worked rather well. I can also remember Great Grandma using burlap bags that were unfit for quilting as batting. They were from the Great Depression. They used everything up for something. Nothing was wasted.

Now they are called "Summer Quilts". My husband wants one to use as a bedspread. He doesn't like the weight of quilts, especially in the summer in Nevada. I was thinking of using (believe it or not) the cloth they use to make diapers. My sister in England uses it all the time, and loves it. I finally found a domestic source for it. (Any savings from using her UK site were quickly eaten up by the extra shipping as you might imagine!) Anyway, the site is:

http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/hou...ent/diaper.htm

There are several diaper fabrics on this site. There's a very thin diaper fabric, which is nice, I've used it before. It's somewhat thin and narrow, so I've usually sewn two layers together. What I plan to use this time is: White Cotton Pique Fabric.
Details:
Material: 100% Cotton
Width: 57/58"
White Cotton Pique has a unique, fine, honeycomb-like weave that is ideal for many projects. Pique is a classic spring and summer fabric, popular for generations. White Cotton Pique is comfortable and cool. It is delightful for summer dresses and jackets, and many other lightweight projects. It is often used to make diapers. White Cotton Pique is easy to sew, so it is recommended for those with beginning sewing skills as well as experts.

It comes in colors and prints too.

It does need to be pre-washed as it will shrink significantly.

This product can be ordered as a 4" x 4" sample for $1.00, click the "Order Sample" button to order 1 sample.

All sample orders ship free via USPS and cannot be tracked.

Just another thought in the "Summer weight" category!

Cheers!

I've recently inherited some quilts which were done with the old double knit...............

I've never heard of a summer quilt before. May have to try making one.

I do this ( nno batting) for this time of year to. Sometimes when watching tv I just need a little something to cover my legs. I will use flannel for backing and no batting. Keeps the chill off.

also used in place of a bedspread