How to Make a Quilt From Old Clothes

Making a quilt from scraps of old clothes is a great way to recycle fabric and create something warm to use around the house. A quilt of old clothes also can be an opportunity to preserve memories. You can make a quilt from your growing child's baby clothes, grandpa's work shirts or your son's collection of college T-shirts. Read on to learn how to make a quilt from old clothes.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Think about hues or patterns rather than types of clothing or fabrics. Start collecting items by theme. Organize your collection by theme, too. For example, if you want to make a blue quilt, start gathering different blue tones from various shirts, pants and other fabric items.

2. Check the items over carefully. Don't use anything that's really worn and thin. Never use anything that's fraying or ripped or pulling. Watch for stains, and cut around them.

3. Cut away all seams. Also, rip out darting, pleating and hemming. Be sure you cut off buttons and save them for your button collection to use on other projects. Avoid using the knees of pants, especially jeans, which tend to be the most worn-out part of the leg and the fabric won't last as long.

4. Wash all the items before you use them. Iron them to create flat pieces you can work with easily.

5. Find patterns online. You can work with squares or strips of fabric, or create a more mosaic look with scraps.

6. Stitch the pieces together to make a quilt top and finish the quilt according to the instructions you chose.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a charm quilt. A charm quilt is made from 1,000 pieces of fabric that all come from different places. Believers in charm quilts think that anything you dream while snuggled beneath its warmth will come true.

Resources

• Simple Directions for a Quilt
• Links to Various Patterns

[germancrafts]

on 11/2/2008 What can you do when the fabric streches a lot, even though it's cotton. Would it help to starch it before you iron and cut it? I've made a quilt from baby clothes before and almost went crazy because the fabrics stretched a lot especially when I sewed it together. Thanks!

[Susanh]

on 4/14/2008 If you have fabrics that seem thin or flimsy, fuse the fabric piece to fusible interfacing to give it some stability, and then cut your pieces to size.