Amazingly Simple Jean Quilt

During our recent visit to my sister's home something I hadn't noticed
before caught my attention ~ the most adorable jean quilt ever.
She had it rolled up in a basket just asking to be used.  Love in a bundle.

I am not a quilter.  Never have been.
However, this looked like something I could do.
I had previously been intrigued by the jean quilt idea.

Jeans were collected and saved.  For years.

But, that quilt never got made.  It was much more involved than this one.

I must admit, I was slightly frightened by the project.  It kept getting put off.

But, the jeans were still there just waiting to be made into something.

Enter Janine's amazingly-simple-I-can-do-this jean quilt.

I took photos and measurements and came home with
renewed enthusiasm for this long ago abandoned idea.

The box of jeans was dug out of the closet.
A partially made flannel nightgown was cut apart.
And, a teeny bit of cream coloured flannel was purchased.  I was all set.

And, the quilting began.

One side is raggedy with all the seams unfinished.

The other side is finished and randomly patched together.
There's no right or wrong to this.  It was a wonderful quilt to begin with.
If you look closely, you will see some of my mistakes.
But, that makes it all the more endearing.  At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

My sister had hearts on her quilt.  I copied.  Cute, don't you think?

Want to know how to make one yourself?  Easy peasy.
Here's how you do it.  Gather together all your jeans with holes in the knees.
Or, do like my sister did, and buy a few pairs from the thrift store.
I just happened to have a big ol' collection in the closet.  So, I was prepared!

I didn't have any quilting supplies.  But, I must say, a rotary blade, cutting mat,
and clear quilting ruler came in mighty handy.  I borrowed the ruler from
my sister and bought the cutting mat and rotary blade as a set.
It was the most economical way to go.

First, I cut off the seams and pockets of the jeans.
Then, the remaining material was cut into 5 inch squares.
I needed 144 squares for each side of my quilt.
My plan was for the finished product to be 12 squares by 12 squares.
The jean side and the flannel side require the same number of squares.

So...144 squares of jean material and 144 squares of flannel were cut.
This is by far the least fun part of making this quilt.
But, what's gotta be done must be done.

If you want hearts...cut those out and randomly
stitch them to a few of your squares.

Once you have all your jean and flannel squares cut out, this is how you begin.
Take one of your jean squares and lay it on the table right side down.
Lay a flannel piece right side up on top of that jean piece.
These two pieces should match up exactly and be right sides out.
Take another piece of flannel and lay it right sides together on top of the last flannel piece.
Then, take a piece of jean material and lay it right side up.

You should have a stack of four squares in the following order:
Jean ~ right side down; Flannel ~ right side up; Flannel ~ right side down;
Jean ~ right side up.  Now, sew a straight line down one side connecting all
four squares together.  Make sure your seams are a consistent measurement.
They all need to be the same in order for the quilt pieces to fit together nicely.

I used just shy of 1/2 inch seam allowance.
You could go as narrow as 1/4 inch if you want less fray.

On a side note ~ It's advisable to use a jean needle for this project.
I broke at least four while putting this quilt together.  I thought it was only
fair to warn you.  Just buy a package of needles and you'll be fine.  :)

Once you have sewn one side...open up to expose the flannel as shown above.
Now, take another square of flannel and place it right side down
directly on top of the square on the far right (the one to the left doesn't get added to).
Place a square of jean directly on top of that flannel right side up.
Stitch together at the far right with another straight seam.  Open up and repeat.

Keep adding to your quilt in this manner until you have
12 squares sewn together in a single row.

One side will be jean with raw edges exposed as shown above.

And, the other side will be flannel with finished seams as shown above.

 Iron your raw edges flat for each row of quilting as you complete it.

Once you have two rows of 12 quilt patches made, sew one of the long edges together.

Press flat and make another row to add to these two.  

Continue until you have 12 rows all sewn together.

Sew the full length of the quilted row on one edge only.
Remember to piece your quilt together with jean/raw edges on one side
and flannel/finished edges on the other as shown below.

Iron the quilt flat between each new addition.

Once your quilt is all pieced together, sew a straight seam
along the outer edges to finish it off.  The outer edges will fray just like the jean side.
It will get cosier with each wash.  According to my sister, you will
need to trim the threads after the first few washes due to all the fraying.
But, that's the charm of it...don't you think?

And, that's it.  It's as simple as that!

My quilt was made up of pieces of jeans collected from
each of the children through the years.  Some were even mine.
I embellished the finished quilt with a label from inside a pair of Austin's jeans.

The pocket from a pair of Emma's jeans made up one of the squares.
Memories are all tied up in this quilt.  It's a treasure.
Get creative with your quilt and customize it to make it extra special.
And, most of all...have fun!

Here it is ~ all rolled up and ready to be put to use.

Any questions?  Clear as mud?
Start collecting those jeans.  Happy quilting!

With Love, Camille