Quilt with Old Clothes

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★★★☆
When clothes have gotten too worn or stained for hand-me-downs, there are nearly always small good areas of fabric left in them. Making a blanket from them "recycles" the fabric and reduces landfill.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆
A nice quilted blanket can be quite expensive! These are nearly free (except for your time).

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★★★☆

While it takes quite awhile to make one of these (mostly to do the hand-stitching), much of the work can be done while listening (to music, kids, spouse, a movie, etc.) and the work can be spread out over months or years. The resulting quilts become family heirlooms as well as practical bed-warmers!

What We're Doing

Shannon is working on her fourth quilt I think it is now (for our bed). She saves our old clothes that aren't worth handing-down or donating, and cuts them into several sizes of quilt squares. The squares are sewn together on the sewing machine, and then hand-stitched with a quilting hoop into a blanket. It's fun to see the resulting blankets and remember the various items of clothing that we used to wear that now make up the blankets. Several of my "ex" favorite shirts are in those quilts now. I know the girls will appreciate the blanket made for each of them for a long time, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

A Little Humor

Wedding advice: In marriage, one good turn gets most of the blankets.