Denim Fray-Edge Quilts

Materials and Tools:

denim blue jeans
cotton or flannel fabric for backing and contrast
Fiskars spring-loaded handle scissors
6-1/2 inch square paper template or a plastic template pattern
quilting notions

Steps:

1. Cut denim seams apart and lay out flat. Tip: Stretch denim is not recommended for this technique because it will not fray in the desired style.

2. Cut 6-1/2 inch squares from the denim and cotton backing. Cut around any imperfections such as spots, stains or holes in the denim jeans.

3. Place a denim square and a cotton square together, wrong sides together, and repeat for a total of four fabric layers. Make sure that a denim square is placed on both the top and bottom of each square. Right sides will be positioned together to construct the backing.

4. Stitch a 1/2-inch seam allowance along one edge for each square with a stretch stitch (sewing machine stitch of two stitches forward and one stitch back) or backstitch at the beginning and end of each edge. Stitching the four layers together along one edge creates two blocks simultaneously. Unfold the blocks and position the seam on top. The seam will be frayed in step #11.

5. Chain stitch squares together.

6. Assemble 12 squares together to complete a row. This quilt has 15 rows of 12 squares in each row.

7. Sew the rows together positioning the seams in opposite directions — butting together.

8. After sewing all the rows together, sew a 1/2-inch seam allowance around the outside edge.

9. Clip all the raw edge seams 3/8 to 1/2 inch apart.

10. Shake the denim quilt outdoors to remove excess threads.

11. Wash and dry the quilt to fray the edges. Repeated washing and drying frays the denim seams. Tip: Clean the lint filter frequently while drying to avoid excessive lint build-up.

Instructions provided courtesy of guest Bonnie Snider.