Ask one of the elder family members to let you take their old shirts or dresses. Cut them up into strips or squares and make a quilt for the persons child or grandchild. It doesn't have to be fancy. What a treasure this was for my stepdaughter to get a quilt made out of her daddy's old shirts.
This is a quilt I made using denim jeans and some flannel flat sheets.
Here is my quilt top that I made using old clothes and fabric remnants. I am not going to put a backing on this one, it works great as a throw. I was inspired not to put a backing on it when I read about a woman who made a quilt top and left it that way.
This is a page about making a quilt from old sweatshirts. A fun project that can be a reminder of many memories is a bed covering made of recycled sweatshirts.
This is a page about making a quilt from old sweaters. Quilts have long been a handicraft that was a perfect way to recycle old clothing and linens into a new useful item.
My mother had a few dresses she wore a lot. After she passed away, I got the idea to make a quilt top using the clothes, but I wanted to keep the pieces large. I was thinking of maybe cutting a dress long ways down a seam so you could see the buttons. Maybe put her apron in. The problem is I have never quilted, so I don't know if a quilt of this type is possible.
By JoAnn
It is possible, and what a lovely way to keep your mum's memory alive! You can use her blouses or perhaps a lovely bodice (top part of a dress) to make a coordinated pillow (or first project to learn quilting without the daunting prospect of a entire bed quilt).
See the following link for a great quilting site with numerous beginner quilter pages, and a fantastic forum to ask for special help:
I hope when your project is finished you will post a picture.
Wonderful idea!!! A local quilting shop or the Quilt Guild can help you along with this!! Great idea, don't get discouraged, and you can accomplish this project!!!
This is a page about blue jeans quilt ideas. Recycling blue jeans into craft projects is a great way to reuse this sturdy fabric.
I have made a quilt out of my son's favorite graphic T-shirts. I just kept saving the shirts. When we had a few dozen, I cut huge squares with the designs, and the plain sides the same size.
This is a page about making a t-shirt quilt. Making a t-shirt quilt is a great way to preserve memories. Those old concert shirts or other neat shirt you no longer wear can be turned into a cozy quilt.
I have been second-hand shopping for several years. I got a beautiful ski coat with real fox fur on the hood for $5. I have also bought shoes that were just like new.
How do I make a quilt out of old clothes? What size are the squares suppose to be? After I sew them together what is my next step? My mother just passed away and I really want to make a quilt out of her clothes.
By connie from Canton, GA
Great minds run the same channels . . . hee, hee! I've been thinking of doing the same thing with some old family clothes, myself. :) Unfortunately, I've not yet educated myself well enough to offer sound advice.
Do a Goggle (or Bing, or whatever you use) internet search on "fat quarters" (a quilting term.) It might not be exactly what you are looking for but it's a starting point.
Check at your local library to see if there are any quilting groups in your area, and ask at any fabric store if they know of a quilting group or offer quilting classes.
I was fortunate to learn the basics of "piecing" and "hand quilt stitching" from my grandmother but that was many years ago. There are so many more options available today for someone who wants to make a quilt. For example, some folks enjoy the "piecing" and will do so for a fee while others enjoy the actual "quilting" and have fancy machines (again for a fee) that can quilt an item in mere hours. If you get really lucky you just might find a group or individual that offers inexpensive classes, too.
Good luck, and post an essay here if you get it figured out! :)
Kansas Cindy is right - between the library and Google you should be able to get the basics for your quilt. The only thing you might want to consider is if you have wildly varying fabrics they may need to be treated differently. Some may need stabilizers (if they are stretch) for example. I am going to make one of all my "travel" t-shirts that I have sooo many of that I would need to live to 100 to be able to wear out!
You can make the squares any size that you want. Myself being I'm not real patient, I make them as large as I can. lol Usually I make about a nine inch square. One thing you don't want to do is mix wovens and knits together. Also real light weight fabrics don't endure real long in a quilt. My Mother made my disabled daughter a quilt out of old clothes one time and the squares that were made out of lighter weight fabrics combined with the fact that they were slightly worn, didn't last as long as the ones made out of heavier cotton type fabrics and the new ones.
I have a lot of my late mother's clothes and would love to make a beginners quilt out of them. Does anyone have directions to share?
