Can someone please help me? I need clear and simple to follow directions on making utility quilts out of old clothes i.e. twill pants, blazers, etc...I am totally clueless! I am aware of the fact that you don't sew cordoroy to a piece of wool but beyond that I am clueless as stated earlier! Help!
And thank you.
Bill's Girl

When I do a utility quilt, I try to follow only a couple of guidelines. 1-make sure all the fabrics have the same washing directions. 2-make sure the fabrics are about the same weight. I would stay away from sections that already show a lot of wear, and from fabrics that have a great tendency to fray. Other than that, I have been known to use almost anything. Have fun with it. :)

if they're heavy , tie them off.

I agree with Cathy.on mixing fabrics and weights...PLUS....have fun with it!
Ditter

What is a utility quilt?

A utility quilt is a quilt like they used to make in the old days out of used clothing. It was constructed with one thing in mind, warmth! They weren't usually pretty, just something to ward off the cold. If you look up utility quilts on the internet you will find all kinds of quilt history. I just don't know how to go about it! I have all kinds of used clothing that I would like to put to use.

Bill's Girl

OK ladies. That was very sweet of you to reply, but I'm still clueless! Do I make a top, lets say of twill for instance the regular way I would if it were new fabric and then take an old blanket and tie them together? Then bind it? I feel like I am missing something here. I told you I was clueless!!!

Bill's Girl

Just make it like you would a regular quilt using new fabrics. I wouldn't get too fancy with the design since it's a utility quilt, but otherwise it's the same process.

Thanks. I thought it was to put on the ground to lay on for the guys to work on cars.

:oops:

Whew! Them are fightin' words! LOL! Sounds just like something they would do!
Bill's Girl

Thanks, Tiffany! I guess I am just making it too complicated. I tend to do that. I remember sleeping under so many thick wool quilts at my grandmas house when I was little that I literally could hardly turn over for the weight of them! There was only a wood stove for that large old farm house in the back woods of Maine. If you had a glass of water on the nightstand it would have a thin layer of ice on it in the morning! What I wouldn't give to go back there though!I can almost smell her donuts now. LOL!

Bill's Girl

great ideas.

Use big blocks.

If the fabric is heavy, I would use a wider seam allowance. You can use large blocks and butt them together, or you could make 4-path (or 9patch) of one material and use a different material as an alternating block. (That is one of my favorite quilts). If you are going green, you can use an old blanket (like an army blanket for batting and back it with something rustic. If it is really heavy, skip the batting and use the blanket as the backing. I would use a broad grosgrain binding. I'm a stitch in the ditch girl, and I think it would help hold it together well.

Hope that helps.

I'd cut them apart for usable fabric, then using simple patterns (4 or 9 patch, for example)cut relatively large pieces. Keep in mind to use like fabric weights - lighter cottons might not work well with heavier twills.

We always use Bradenton as a reference point when we tell people where our condo is, on Anna Maria Island. Glad to see it's warmed up for you!

Wow, I didn't think anyone slept in a room colder than mine! I live in a 150 year old farmhouse and the upstairs is unheated. It is often 45 degrees when I go to bed, but it has never been cold enough to freeze water! We also keep so many quilts on the bed that it is hard to roll over.

We had an unbelievable cold snap (for here) last week but today I opened all my windows and it was actually a little too warm! Anna Maria Island is just a few miles away. I am from Maine but moved here in 1970. I am familiar with your weather. I sooo love the snow! It is spellbinding! Thank you for the ideas.
Bill's Girl

This was in 1955, Nancy! Portage Lake, Maine! Old cast iron beds and no curtains on the windows! Ughh! Grandpa didn't allow such frivialities! lol! I remember that grandma had a big oak cabinet that had all kinds of neat things in it. She never used them though. One of her sisters was a prolific quilter. I wonder what ever happened to all those quilts. Ahhh, memories!
Bill's Girl

Thank you, Mad Quilter! Excellent advice! I am starting to get excited about the whole project now! Everyone has been so helpful. Wish I had discovered you wonderful ladies sooner!
Bill's Girl

Well, hello billsgirl. we spent last winter in cortez. froze our hiny's off. sure enjoyed the area. and the super flea market.

Matching the weights is probably the most important and I agree with "Mad" a bigger seam. I am in the process of creating a doona cover with quilted elements (continental quilt) and I am using a heap of "found" fabric...some of it offcuts from a curtain store (not backed). I always prewash to see how any unusual or non-traditional fabrics come up. Saves drama later. Look forward to seeing your work...and keep in mind, it's supposed to be fun and be bold, you can step outside the square (something I have to keep reminding myself!).

The only thing different that I would recommend, is to use a 1/2" seam allowance on all of the fabric that isn't 100% cotton, or even then if it is a looser weave.

The other thing I've done while using clothing for blocks is iron on a stabiliser on the back.... like a very lightweight iron-on interfacing. It stops the square shifting and becoming a rhombus! :-)

Iron it on before cutting the squares out.

I like the idea of ironing on stabilizer. I made a diamond Christmas table runner and all the sides were not on grain. I had a few stretch a little too much to ease properly. When I make my grandaughters their birthday quilts, I will think about doing that, especially on the fabrics that are showing signs of ravelling. Thanks for the great hint :)

When I make a utility quilt, I get down to real basics. I cut large squares, usually 6 or 8 inches, using a square ruler to measure.
I use old clothes that are the same weight, but never too heavy. I found out from my grandkids that used jeans are REALLY heavy, especially if you use an old blanket for batting.
I sew half inch seams and try to press them open whenever possible. I do not worry about matching colors, or fabrics, here again only the weight rule applies. I straight stitch every seam, no fancy stuff at all. I make the quilt as large or as small as is needed by adding or subtracting squares. When everything is all stitched together, I tie the quilt, sometimes I use buttons in the tying for a little something special. The backing is usually a sheet, the size that fits the bed, with some overhang. Then I bring that sheet overhang to the front and bind the quilt with it. No muss, no fuss. I can do one of these in a few days. They are great when the winter is miserable like this year. They're also great later for floor sleeping, pet beds, beach blankets, or giving to relatives who don't make quilts. Everyone knows they're getting what granny used to make back in the day, and they all love them. The idea is, use them, don't expect a great deal of beauty. Except somehow these quilts always seem to have their own kind of beauty. That's what I love about them.

http://quiltville.com
Bonnie Hunter
Scraps and Shirtails
Great book!

Otherwise, keep it basic.
Use 1/2" seam allowance.
I still put a thin cotton batting in mine.
Just cut up clothes and pretend it's pieces of fabric you bought and make like normal.

[quote=cumberlandquiltchick]http://quiltville.com
Bonnie Hunter
Scraps and Shirtails
Great book!

I'm curious about the book you mention. But when I went to the site, I couldn't find a review or any information on it other than how to order it.
I don't like to buy a book before I know I'm really going to be able to use it, so could you tell me a little more about it?
Thanks.

All the utility quilts I've ever seen didn't have blocks. They were just strips or squares or a mix of the two sewn together.

When a youngster in Indiana, we made the utility quilts for warmth in an old unheated, well barely heated, farm house. We cut 8 to 10 inch blocks, sewed them together and used an old worn blanket [sometimes 2] for batting.
We cut the blanket in half and sewed the outside sides together so the worn part was on the outer edges of the finished quilt. We used flannel for the backing.
Because most of the fabrics were dark, we then tied them with red yarn.
They were the warmest and I yearn for their warmth.

[quote=Bev]If you click around on her site and look at her various works, you'll see she pretty much ONLY uses jeans, flannel shirts,goodwill finds or "UGLY"sale fabrics nobody wants,etc. It's a very frugal method of quilting and she has made some beautiful quilts. The book in the front has her formula for cutting as you go basic size blocks and making your stash. Kind of like how to rip apart stuff and get certain size blocks stockpiled and create your stash and then there's patterns of course and showing what her quilts.
I only suggest it because as far as I've found it's the only book out there like this. I have absolutely no connection to her, I just felt that it fit the question.

It shows you how to make utilitarian quilts like in the old days step by step, but also in an organized way if you're really into doing it. Sort of cut up as you go and then you can go right to your cut pieces and work from those.

She's going to be at Jacksonville Quiltfest teaching this year. It's the whole "GOING GREEN" thing.
You can probably get it at your library.
Also on her site are MANY FREE patterns using her method.

http://quiltville.com
Bonnie Hunter
Scraps and Shirtails
Great book!

Thank you. It sounds like a book I'd like to have. Also, I'll be going to Quiltfest so I'll look for her booth.
BH

I don't think she will have a booth, that I know of. She is one of the teachers this year. You can look up JaxQuiltfest online and see. They always have special teachers and have classes in a classroom outside the showroom area. She doesn't do booths or push to sell anything.
She's a teacher.

Amazon has several of Bonnie Hunter's book for sale under $20 and the reviews are good...
I took my daughter to the Island one year for spring break. She was maybe 10 yrs old and her name is Anna Maria. We had great fun taking pictures of signs with her name on them... Do you rent out the Condo?

Our church women are making "comfort quilts" They're all new material, cost under $10 each for fabric, batting, and backing (fleece or flannel), and are lap blanket size...40X60 inches...so they won't get hung up in wheel chairs. Many quilters have scraps a plenty, so these can be made for next to nothing out of pocket. We tie them so they can be made in just 8-10 hours each (for simple designs). They're going to 2 local nursing homes.