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Making a quilt from ds's clothes

14 replies

HairyPorter · 04/09/2013 07:51

I'm too sentimetal to chuck them, and would really like them to be made into a quilt. Anyone done this? How many items of clothing would I need typically? I'm thinking of making it into a child size quilt, haven't even thought as far as figuring out the measurements!

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missinglalaland · 04/09/2013 10:24

I think the easiest way to do this is to cut out 5" squares from the clothes.

First, you won't be able to quilt with jersey knits, just from woven clothes. Also, lightweight cotton wovens are your best bet. Heavier fabrics such as denims and cords will be too heavy.
Once you have a bunch of 5" squares you can just sew them altogether like a scrap quilt.

Or, if you want to get a bit fancier, you can separate the darker from the lighter colours. Then you cut all the squares on the diagonal. Now that you have a pile of light triangles and dark triangles you can sew one light triangle to one dark triangle, creating more complex squares. These can then be arranged playing with the differences between colour values to make interesting patterns.

Go to pinterest and search using the phrase "colour value quilt" and you will see many examples.

I hope this helps and I haven't jogged off in the wrong direction!

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tywysogesgymraeg · 04/09/2013 10:25

What a brilliant idea. I might start doing that with some of my old clothes too, that I'm too sentimental to throw out, but which are really past it.

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FairyJen · 04/09/2013 10:27

I did this!! I ignored advice though and did include jersey fabrics etc so it was tactile as well as visual. It was first time I have done anything like this but I'm very proud of end result!

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 04/09/2013 12:11

I'm doing this with my DDs dresses...I have done as Miss suggests and cut out a load of squares...and I'm going to sew them all together in strips then join the strips. After that I am getting some cotton batting and a nice printed sheet of fabric for the backing....stitching it all together and binding the edges.

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Smudge588 · 04/09/2013 13:18

I've used Jersey fabrics in a quilt and find the easiest way is to use an iron on interfacing as a stabiliser. then you can treat the Jersey just the same as the others. I've done two quilts like this and was really pleased with them both. its nice to include little details like pockets or buttons too.

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inneedofrain · 04/09/2013 13:29

Oh I´ve done this

A friend of mine died suddenly leaving two small children and her husband behind, between us (a total of 30 of us) we made memory boxes for the children, clubbed photos together, and bits from places we had visited with them and their mum, sayings she had, things she had done with them, her favourite colours, perfume, Memories of what she was like etc. We also (with her husbands permission of course) made quilts (2 intotal) and cushions from her clothes, it was very hard at the time but the children loved them and have always had them, we used all kinds of fabrics. The youngest child is going off to uni this week and is taking her quilt with her, The oldest is now a dad him self and his quilt is in pride of place in his DD room. They of course no longer smell of their beloved mum but I hope they still offer the comfort of knowing she loved them very much.

Please do it OP, you will not regret it.

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missinglalaland · 04/09/2013 14:31

inneedofrain What an amazing thing to do! I love the idea.

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HairyPorter · 04/09/2013 14:34

inneedofrain what a beautiful story! I've sorted their clothes out already!

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elQuintoConyo · 04/09/2013 14:50

I'm going to do this in 17 years' time: we have a fantastic local festival every year, ten days long, every year the posters/advertising etc is a different design and they produce t-shirts of different sizes. Last year was DS's first festival, next week this year's starts, so we'll be on two t-shirts! Eventually I'd like to cut them up and make a big patchwork quilt for him to keep him warm in his adult life.

inneedofrain what an amazing thing to do, so thoughtful, so touching, so kind. You've brought tears to my eyes Sad

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cocoplops · 04/09/2013 14:52

inneedofrain what a lovely, lovely idea... your story brought a tear to my eye!

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inneedofrain · 04/09/2013 15:57

It just seemed like the right thing to do.

It was a very strange experience some nights one of us stayed with the family and when the kids where settled we would sew. Some days we would sit around and everyone would be sewing and chatting, bits of clothes bought back certain memories, we´d chat about her and how she like this dress or colour, or how she always wore this or that, or the time she dressed up as a fairy or hated yellow and it was like she was still with us.

Everyone did a bit, even people that have never sewed in their life time did a few stiches. Buttons and pockets became embilshments, one lady did embrodery patches, someone else did appique. Everyone did something, the husbands got involed and cut pieces up, some of our young children helped pin bits together and decided which bits to put with what. It was a real "family" no one winged, or complained, people turned up out of the blue, some people stayed for start to finish we all poured our memories and love for her into those quilts.

It gave us a way to help and time to grieve we laughed (perhaps more than we should have), we cried, it become our way to remember her, she was full of laugher and love and I like to think we were able to give her children just a little bit of that to hold on to and snuggle under.

Right i´m going to stop now, as this is making me cry I can´t believe its been 16years.

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Footle · 06/09/2013 07:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Jaynebxl · 06/09/2013 07:36

That's lovely inneed.

I've started this with my kids clothes only I'm making squares which are 8 inches. I've cut various clothes up into 6 inch squares and have put an inch wide border all round in the same colour. One day I will just join them all together and finish the quilt... I hope!

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Ghostsgowoooh · 06/09/2013 22:46

I had a lump in my throat reading your post inneed. What a lovely thing to do

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