I just made a laptop bag this weekend out of upholstery fabric. It turned out great. A dog pillow, etc. are also great ideas.

Rose

Material is still on a bolt. Should I cut it in sections or just unroll and wash it whole. I'm guessing, but I think about 8 yards.

Also, has anybody ever seen pink denim?

Thanks

This reminds me of 2006 when we were in Charleston, SC for my breast cancer surgery. The day before we were to leave for home we had dinner downtown and were walking off dinner when I saw some fabric sample books sitting outside a wallpaper store being thrown away. I said "oh look. Fabric!!!!" DH said "no way", I said "yes way" and ended up carrying them back to the car. He was a bit peeved. Brought them home, ripped them out of the covers and stashed them away. Not sure what I'm going to do with them (fact I had totally forgotten about them till I found the box under a bunch of other fabric while cleaning the sewing room), maybe some kittie blankies, but even if they may fall apart after lots of washings, they were free except for my time. Most of them are 100% cotton so I'm not sure why they are labled Dry Clean. They are already coordinated by color and everything. Some may be a little heavy but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak. Have fun with this beautiful fabric you have. It is so pretty.
Wendy

I'm sure there is pink denim if you do a google. I have some denim in several different patterns. Off the top of my head I've got a white one with boats and a white one with colorful flowers on it. So, many denim patterns are available. I'd just use a similar weight fabric with it. Denim would be a great choice. And use a heavy needle.

I had pin denim and made a dress for my granddaughter to be a flower girl in her aunt's wedding, back in 1993. It was a Country/western wedding and there was a lot of denim on the guests.

I have not thought about it until reading this post and thinking about it, realize that I have never seen pink denim again.

Sorry wish I could help..but at least you know that there was pink at one time..
mj

There are so many different weights of fabric sold as "upholstery" fabric. There are light weight cotton that would be perfect for draperies and "light" upholstery. I would definately wash some of the fabric to see how it will hold up with laundering.
I have made quilts out of these light weights.They are usually wider and some have a stain resistant sheen. Don't be afraid to experiment with different fabrics. It fun to create something different or unexpected. I quilt because it's fun for me. :D
Ditter

I work in the garment world for about 10 years and we wash the fabric all the time. Now dark colors sometime ran and it will holds up better if you dry clean it. So I would take a small part of the fabric and put it in the wash and see how it held up. You might be surprise.

I have made several quilts entirely of apholstery fabric.

One I paired up with another cotton for a child's 9 patch quilt. I think it would have been better if I got a heavier cotton for the sashing.

I have a TON of fabric books from those designer stores. Always always always wash first. Most of mine shrank 20% or more. Some 9 patch blocks I picked one sample to cover two 4 1/2" squares...I barely got one out of them after I washed them. They fray like mad so you'll want to watch that too. I know some people think they are a real pain to work with, other's think they make good scrappy quilts. It's going to be a matter of experience and what you want to do or try versus something you would rather not do.

I like them, but I've never quilted them. I've always tie tacked them. Just easier for me to get them completed faster as many of them are for charity.

I have been busy for the last few days making shopping bags from upholstry materials, I quilt them with a thin batting and line them with some scrap that goes well with the pattern, I make pockets inside the bag because you might want to go shopping and not carry a shopping bag and a purse.I serge the edges before I put the bag together because of the possibility of fraying . I serge the handles and fold them under , stitch several times, then to finish it up I add a few glitzy crystals in a very few places .The latest fons and porter magazine has a good pattern for bags, only I use one piece of material on the upholstry bags instead of several materials because of the thickness of the upholstry,I serge the top that is folded down once instead of several times as stated in the mag. it is a good way to use up scraps too, take several materials that go well together and in one afternoon you can have a new bag.I understannd that in Calif. plastic bags are a thing of the past , they are selling bags here in Arizona too. :lol:

Sounds wonderful! How about a picture?