Denim and the Quilters of Gee's Bend

Margaret Lozano — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:33:48 -0500

That's quite a list! You're probably familiar with the African American quilters of Gee's Bend. Many of the Gee's Bend quilters make use of denim (along with courderoy and a number of other materials). Their beautiful quilts are on display at museums all over the US, which goes to show that , with a little artistic flair, you can use any material to make a quilt!

http://www.theearthlyparadise.com/

Quilts

Simply_B — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:14:36 -0500

My mother made us all those denim quilts as kids and do they ever wear! I've made tons of them and my favorite part about them is how heavy and warm they are. I don't think I could live without my denim and flannel quilts.

Life According to B

Oh you must be able to tell

themommy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:15:09 -0500

Oh you must be able to tell that I'm totally new to sewing because I had no idea. Ok, I'm off to sit in a corner and pout sheepishly before looking online for denim needles. I live in the most extreme rural there is, so I buy everything online!

My Blog: Your Impact matters
http://www.yourimpactmatters.com

Just use a "denim" needle...

debra roby — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:35:44 -0500

themommy,

You must not fear the denim! It's only a heavy weight cotton. They make great denim or "jeans" needles for all the sewing machines. These needles have a stronger, thicker shaft than the every day needles and they are really sharp. They pierce the fabric well yet are strong.

So just pick up a pack of size 16# needles, pay attention that you don't try to sew through too many layers (planning how to sew denim is the trick) and go have fun!

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Weight for Deb

OMG they all sound awesome

themommy — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:22:24 -0500

I love refashioning, and I especially love the "idea" of using old denim. It scares the carp out of me (spelling intended) using denim on my sewing machine. I don't want to do anything that might risk harm to my blessed needle-mouthed creatrix!

My Blog: Your Impact matters
http://www.yourimpactmatters.com

Refashionistas: What To Do With Jeans

debra roby — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:57:35 -0500

It's been a while since I've done written about the refashionistas, those creative, frugal fashion crafters who take older, unworn clothes and thrift-store finds, cut, paint, sew, style, and design great new functional items from them. A gold-mine of ideas for used jeans can be found at WiseBread's post: Twenty-five Things to Do With Old Jeans by Myscha Theriault.

Let's examine some of her ideas:

2. Cool Quilts. Theriault and I are fan of these jeans quilts. Simple but heavy, these are great picnic quilts and dorm rooms quilts. You can find a discussion on making them written by Susan Druding at the equilters forum, with links to insturctions by some of the makers. There is also an inspring forum on jean's quilt photos.

4. Pocket books and backpacks. Jeans, with their already constructed pockets and installed zippers are a natural for cutting up and making purses and backpacks. CraftBits offers simple instructions for a "no sew" denim bag. My experience with gluing as she suggested, is that the purse will fall apart quickly and usually at the most inappropriate moment. Crossing a busy street, maybe?

WikiHow has great instructions for sewing a similar purse. If you're more of a needle-artist, Crochetnmore offered directions for turning a leg from jeans into a purse with a crocheted top.

5. Patches. Using denim as the base for little art patches is the brilliant idea by B. Original. I don't think I've seen this before, but I'll be playing this idea later this weekend.

6. Embellish. While Simplicity offers an article on embellishing jeans, I'll admit that I would want these fused embellishments stitched down, or at least have the edges painted over (painted fabric embellishments. Doesn't that sound too 1980s for today?) Unless you cut open the inside seams, however, you'r limited to awkward hand sewing. I like the suggestion of checking at local bead shops for classes; that should give you a more modern look!

7.. Pimp Your Jeans! The link to Thread Heads Coffee stained jeans is fabulous! After all , who doesn't love a Thread Heads video??

10. I LOVE the idea of an electronic gadget pocket from old jeans. Something to keep my phone and car key together no matter which bag or purse I'm using? The Instructable How-to by sage femme is complete, even to this warning:

Denim is strong - I broke two needles, a pair of scissors and a seam ripper making just two of these little pocket pals. That taught me some lessons I'll pass on to you: Don't force anything and Always cut through the thinnest area possible.

13. Ofcourse recycling jeans into a crazy quilt jacket has been around perhaps as long as either individual skill. The piece by Magpie Mumblings appears to include some nice embroidery, traditional piecing, and maybe a furry collar?

14. Demin Vest. Turning jeans upside down and using them for the basis of a vest? It's another old idea. But is it old enough that a whole new generation might be ready to adopt it? I can't judge! (that old, "if you wore it the first time, don't the second time around" rule keeps screaming in my ears!). You tell me.

17. Coffee cozies. An office/club small gift idea whose time has come? I like the ones by two straight lines with the little button detail, but pink milk and fairycakes published a whole tutorial on flickr.

18. My favorite idea of the bunch is this custom camera case from Evil Mad Scientist. Maybe because it was designed for my camera, so I don't have to go changing a thing?

OK. I ran through the list, adding a few links and pointing out some of my favorite ideas. Now it's your turn. Which of these ideas are you itching to get to started on? Do you have any other big ideas for used jeans? One idea I didn't see mentioned (again, it may be one whose time has come and gone) is cutting your jeans into strips, joining them together and making a braided rug from old jeans. Should I be wearing my "I survived the 60s/70s/80s crafts movements" Tshirt to even suggest that?

Let me know in the comments.

And a big ole beef-jerky hat tip to the fabulous MizFit for pointing this link out in the first place.