dsch

I am making a quilt for my 3 yr old grand. The 3 rows of 12" blocks are all stars with John Deere fabric in the centers and regular cotton fabric. However, I also needed some extra length so I used my husband's old blue jeans for the background of the stars & made 2 rows of two 18" blocks using the JD fabric centers and some of hubby's work shirts for the star points. My question is this: will the quilt be too heavy at the header and footer using the denim and too hard to quilt the different types of fabrics? I will be using regular batting and regular cotton fabric on the back.
I have not yet sewn the denim stars yet, so I could possibly trade out for fabric, but I really like the idea of using the jeans & work shirts for the top & bottom rows of stars.

Also, if I add a drop onto the quilt top, should it also be quilted since its function is basically like a bed skirt?

Thanks so much for your help and suggestions.

Rff1010

I'm no expert - but I think the denim will be too heavy to quilt normally.

And yes the drop in the quilt should be quilted like the rest. It's basically borders and some say it's even more important because that's where you grab and.pull for making the bed. It gets more tugging than the center.

Tartan

Denim is harder to work with as it makes bulky seam allowances. Will it be harder to quilt through, probably as I would stick to straight stitch quilting that area. You will also need to heavily quilt the non denim sections to add weight and structure to support the denim parts.

Barb in Louisiana

I love your idea, but..... can a 3 year old even move a quilt that is going to be that heavy? If you are going to have problems quilting this because it is too thick and heavy, do you really want all that weight on your grand? I'd save the jeans blocks for the teenage years or do a wall hanging with them, or even curtains.

QuiltE

While I like the idea Grandpa's jeans and shirts mixed into the quilt, I have the same questions about using the denim. It would make such a great John Deere Farmer's quilt!!! Not saying it can't be done, but that you would need to think of the realities. I think you already were ... or you would not have started this thread.

If you are going to be quilting the denim, there are Jeans Needles that might do the trick.

As an option to keep the same jeans sense, there are some regular quilting cottons that look like denim.

juliasb

I would take out the denim too. Denim also stretches and shrinks in strange ways if now sewn to other denims. You are better off using all 100% cotton. The denim might be a bit rough for a little guy.

Jordan

I like your idea but the denim will be very heavy for your grandson to be able to move it around. I made a denim and flannel rag quilt for each of my 5 grandchildren and the quilts are very heavy but warm. Your quilt will be a treasure to your grandson because it has his grandpa's clothing in it. I just did straight stitching and used a denim needle in my machine