I love to recycle, so turning old jeans into quilts has been a long time project of mine. It is a never ending job since the men keep wearing out their jeans!

I have a big box full of patches in all sizes. I used to cut patches from 3-8 inches. Now I pretty much just cut 6 inch patches and throw the rest away since I always have plenty of jeans.

I first cut a 6″ square out of cardboard. Then I lay it on the jeans and trace the patch as many times as I can. When I have done several pairs of pants, I will save them until the evening when I have my work all done. Then with my feet propped up, I will cut out the patches. I find it a very enjoyable activity for a winter’s evening.

An even better idea is to have your children trace the patches when they need something to do. They might even enjoy helping you cut them out.

If I am making a quilt with a theme then I may need to buy a few pieces of clothes. For instance, when I made the Winnie pooh quilt I needed to buy a few boy’s jeans with Pooh on them. I just purchased them at a thrift store on half price for a few dollars. Try to find outfits with several pictures on each of them.

When I have lots of patches then I will sew 4 patches together. Usually I choose one patch with a pocket or picture and put it with three plain patches. Make sure the plain patches are different shades.

For the John Deere quilt I bought fabric of tractors and zig zagged them on top of the Jean patches.

A girls quilt is fun to make since you can pick up girl’s jeans with pretty flowers on them. Also white and pink jean look very pretty mixed in.

A throw size or a twin is just perfect size. If you make a double size it will be very heavy and you probably won’t be able to wash it in your washer.

After you have the patches sewn together, find a fleece that matches your theme or a solid color.

Cut your fleece two inches larger then your quilt. Lay the fleece on the floor upside down and lay a very thin batting next. Then lay your Jean quilt on top. Pin it together and then take yarn and on the corner of your patches stitch down and then back up. Leave two inch tails and then knot them together.

When it is knotted on all the corners, you can sew the edges. Bring the fleece around to the front and turn the edge under. Sew on the very edge all the way around and then your quilt will be done.

My mother in law made a Jean throw for each of her 10 children one year for Christmas. She also made a twin size for her daughter that was going to Mexico to serve in a orphanage. She put lots of pockets on that one and put a note of encouragement in each pocket.

So if you have old jeans to recycle try your hand at making lots of warm quilts. They are my children’s favorite winter quilts. Maybe they can be yours too.