Finished Denim Rag Quilt

 

Last year I shared a post about salvaging jeans to make a quilt. (Read it HERE)  

I am pleased to announce that I have completed my Denim Rag Quilt!

Here it is all finished:

And the back:

I used denim and fleece, primary, for the backing.

Most fleece pieces were scavenged from a bunch of pajamas that were being given away by someone at church. 

I took some of the denim pieces from the cuff portions of jeans. I took all the stitches out and unrolled the hems. Looking back, I think I had taken saving fabric to an extreme! :)

The block above is special to me.  ^ It came from an apron I had had for many years. The apron was so tattered and stained that this is the only block that I could save from it for a quilt.

Here is a quick explanation of how I made my rag quilt:

I cut 6 1/2 inch squares. I tried to have half of the blocks from jean and the other half from prettier material that was kind of heavy. (And, Boy! Is this quilt heavy!)

I layered a block of jean on the back of the pretty blocks.

Then I sewed a X through both blocks to keep them from shifting 

Once I had all the blocks ready, I started attaching them to one another in rows. 

Then I sewed the rows together. I did two adjoining rows and then the next two rows in sequence and then sewed both of those sections together to create a section of four rows. 

I'll explain it like this:

If the rows were all numbered;

 I sew row #1 to row #2. Then I sew row #3 to row #4. Then I sew section #1-2 to #3-4. This way, (as opposed to sewing #1 to #2 to #3 to #4 to #5.........to#13) makes managing the quilt much easier. Working with smaller sections at a time allows you to have less bulk to maneuver around your sewing machine.

 The last seam was sewing the two halves together.

Never mind the shoe in the corner. :)

I suggest having extra needles for your sewing machine on hand when you sew a quilt like this. There is a lot of bulk to stitch through. I had a couple needles snap while I was working on this project.

The last step is to clip all the seams about every 1/2 inch.

I still have not finished clipping all the seams. It is a big job! I may never get around to it. :)

The raggy edges are not my favorite look, but this technique makes for a quick and easy quilt. I hope this quilt lasts a long time. I think this quilt will be nice for watching 4th of July fireworks. I am not sure if I will ever want to make another rag quilt, but I am glad that have at least made one. :)