I started with a big box of clothes that included knits, denim, cotton, and polyesters - many items featuring embellishments that were too cute not to include (like the little owl). I carefully cut each clothing piece into several 3 1/2" squares, fussy cutting here and there. I salvaged the clothing pieces where I could, using a sleeve for example and turning the item into a short sleeve dress/shirt. Most of the pieces were stained and/or worn and unwearable.
All of the knit fabrics were interfaced with a super lightweight fusible interfacing. Next, I turned the 3 1/2" squares into 9 1/2" Nine-Patch blocks.
I set the blocks by alternating them with a 9 1/2" white square to create a simple Irish Chain Quilt.
I used the graphic tees on the back and pieced them together with a lightweight denim chambray. The purple cat in the lower left corner was a hat, that I appliquéd onto a gray background square.
I didn't get a great picture of the quilting, but I used the serpentine stitch on my Bernina and quilted vertical lines 1" apart. I was a bit worried about the thickness in some areas and decided to use a poly thread and a number 90 needle. It quilted up without a problem!
The kids loved it and it was fun seeing them find some of the fabrics from their treasured outfits!
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Love the idea with the Irish Chain layout. It gives the fabric enough place to breathe. xo
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cute idea and a nice way to keep a part of the children's favorite cloths as memories... really like that you used only small pieces of the clothing in the quilt rather than large ones sewn together.
ReplyDeleteHow much fun it must have been for you to go through their clothes with memories of when they wore certain items! To incorporate the clothing into a quilt serves as a means to keep the conversation going (e.g. "This was my favorite t-shirt!" "I wore this when we went to the zoo!" "Remember when we bought this?"). They'll never tire of talking about it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt!! Makes a wonderful memory quilt!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great idea!
Love it! Thanks for such great inspiration!
ReplyDeleteOh my, this is wonderful - I love the scale of the blocks - and it looks like you have a few happy campers that are eager to use it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea for a memory quilt! It turned out beautifully. And the photo with the kids smiling is just priceless :)
ReplyDeleteLove your layout and am going to use it soon. I am making a quilt for my great- grand-daughter from her old clothes also. I bought a book for her called 'Grandma's in the Garbage' about a grandma who made a quilt out of old clothes and that gave me the idea. Thank you so much for sharing your idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I love that it is a two-sided quilt. Great job!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderfully clever quilt idea. It came out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun memory quilt and using the nine-patch was a great idea!
ReplyDeleteSo cute and creative! It will become even more precious as time goes by. It is a great keepsake for your darling daughters.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done. Great choice of quilting design.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful. It's like an I spy quilt finding old outfits and favorites from childhood. Very special. I should do this with all the fabrics I used to make clothes for my daughter when she was little.
ReplyDeleteThat's fantastic and you've done such an amazing job!
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome; a wonderful memory quilt to keep those special moments alive within your hearts! Great Job!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh!! This is amazing. A great way to make small pieces go a long way! Totally want to use this idea. Thanks for sharing!
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