I have recycled clothes into quilts. I've mixed them with my cotton fabrics. The recycled clothes I used were the ones of my father in laws. He past away 4 years ago. Here's a link of the quilt in the quilting board http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t301223.html

i will use fabric from garments - but it does cause me distress to cut into a perfectly good garment.

i mainly used the backs of jeans - the fronts were worn out and chamois shirts that the elbows and collars were worn out.

I live in the Rio Grande Valley and we have "Ropas" down here....basically it's new and used clothing that you dig through and pay for by the pound....a wonderful source!

That was a lovely way to make a memory quilt from your father-in-laws shirts. I have never made a zig-zag quilt. Was it easy for you to make? I tried to let my mom keep my dads shirts after he passed, but she would not give them to me. I wanted to make a quilt from his shirts. She rather donate them for a good cause. I could never see her point here or understand why she would not let me make a quilt from them.

Sure why not...I have seen quilts or picnic Table cloths made from Sturdy Denim from Bluejeans. I like Men's Dress shirts and womens blouses and dresses... lots of Fabric there would be perfect.. for your projects... walker and wheelchair bags, Tote bags etc..

I go by the feel of a piece of fabric. There are some with quite a bit of polyester that are "slick" that I don't appreciate but, if it feels good to the hand, I use it. Think what our ancestry used in their quilts. The nice thing about using sheets is the size! There are some sheets that I would not consider for backing if they feel course or even too heavy to quilt nicely.

At Goodwill I limit myself to xl thru 3x on mens shirts and they have to be cotton and an interesting plaid. I made a quilt for our church bazaar raffle and named it "the shirt off my back".

To me it's the "hunt" for a great piece of fabric in recycled clothing.

I have made a denim rag quilt in the past that we use for outside activities. Currently working through shirts I have collected from DH shirts, thrift shop finds (XL and larger-100% cotton) and some are gifted when men retire. A friend volunteers at a thrift shop and sometimes surprises me with one. Deboning the shirts is an activity I do when watching tv.

For those of you in Canada, keep an eye on the Giant Tiger flyers. They sometimes have 100% cotton sheet sets advertised any size for $20. In a king set that's enough backing for 1 king, and 1 double/queen (from the fitted bottom sheet) plus 2 king sized pillowcases for yardage. The fabric was a decent thread count and washed well.