I have made several denim/flannel rag quilts and I would hate to hand wash them. I do think they are too heavy and would take a while to air dry. I also have made rag quilts with just cotton and a light batting. I think a lighter fabric might be better. I have a rag quilt made out of polyester squares that I think will definitely last longer than me.

I hadn't thought about polyester, since we usually use cotton in quilts, but I bet they would hold up longer. I bet if I put the request on FreeCycle I could get some polyester.

Bev,
I have a little polyester. If you will send me your address, I'll send it to you. I need to start downsizing and this would be for a great cause!!
csackett2@windstream.net

I think the denim would be too heavy - I have made these and they take forever to dry even with high heat. I would opt for just about anything else to send to them. Polyester would dry much quicker, but can be quite heavy also.
Sue

I guess I'm going to be odd 'man' out. I do not use a modern washer, so my laundry is not 'spun' to near dryness but hung quite wet by today's standards. I hang all my clothing, winter and summer. An un-batting blue jean quilt does not take any longer to dry than pairs of blue jeans and they dry within a few hours in the sun.....something Africa has plenty of, btw. These may not be used for cover, but would make just excellent bedding for throwing down on a bed pallet. They are durable past all belief, and long past thin quilts of polyester or cotton. I can see a use for them in tropical countries. Not as bed-covers but to lay down to nap upon. Denim is a luxury in other parts of the world, and jeans are very popular. My extended family loves to pick their jeans up when they visit America because of how much cheaper they are here than even Europe. I suspect younger kids would really prize such an item.

Perhaps you may want to make some lighter quilts for use as cover and throw a few denim ones into the mix for other uses.

My family loves raggedy demin quilts and they last forever!

I'm sure they will find a use for them!!!

csackett, thanks! an email is on the way. Now I wish I hadn't given away all my polyester when we moved seven years ago.

callipoe, you're right, they do put then down on top of their pallets. I can get the size of their pallets and make some of the demin just to fit that and the polyester and any cotton we do larger so they can wrap that around themselves.

Last year we mailed the quilts and it cost a fortune. At least this year they will be hand carried back.

Thanks for all you advice!

I would think that the seams in a denim quilt would not be very comfortable to lay on.

Maybe do fewer seams, like using long strips of jeans leg pieces instead of 6" squares? And use batting and backing to make it a soft pad? Of course, batting and backing gets back to it being heavy to wash and slow to dry.

I made a denim (used old Levi jeans) and pillow ticking quilt for DH many years ago, he still loves it. But, it just about killed my sewing machine, very heavy Levi jeans denim. It's a good thing I used a very simple block, anything with lots of seams would have been impossible.

Just reading through all the messages made me think of one of my sewing friends who made denim quilts for her grandchildren. She used a sheet as a foundation and laid the denim pieces on it crazy-quilt style - so the edges butt up against each other, and zig-zagged the edges together with colorful thread. So there were no bulk denim seams, and the quilts were just above the weight of jeans with the sheet added, but the sheet made a clean finish for the backing.
Karlene

Karlene, sounds like a good idea and easier on the machine too. Thanks.

Great plan!

How did she do the edges? A roll-over for binding?

I've been trying to remember how I made the only one I did.....it's been about 30 years ago. I do remember I used those big red bandana handkerchiefs for a backing and made them section by section sewing the jeans not quite to the edges of the bandana, crazy quilt like, then sewed the edges of the bandanas together and over-lapping the jeans to cover the bandana seams. I don't remember exactly, but might have rolled the red bandana over the edges as binding. My but that's been ages ago. I gave it to my niece (she is now 46) and she took it with her to North Dakota when she did her pharmacy internship on an Indian reservation in the winter time! I think I might have even used some filler as it was really heavy, but don't remember what it was.

My mom has made a lot like this: