Make a Recycled Denim Quilt

It's easy - I'll show you how!!

If you have a collection of old jeans, why not make a recycled denim quilt using the materials. With this method, you quilt as you go, so no quilting at the end, and no binding! When you finish sewing the blocks together and clip it, that’s it, it’s finished! No Muss, No Fuss, REALLY SIMPLE!!!

If you don’t have enough jeans of your own, you may need to take a trip to a thrift shop to purchase a few more. I found some great denim things there – a ladies jumper, jumbo sized jeans, and more. It is okay if they are different weights of denim, although I would avoid using denim that is very lightweight because it will not wear as well as the heavier weight of denim.

Get your jeans ready for cutting blocks! Cut along the inside seam,

and up the front of the jeans, along the zipper

Open the jeans out flat,

and and then cut up the center back, along the seam.

Figure out where you wish to cut the square. If the jeans are large, you may be able to cut some of your squares
(I cut 10” squares) without having to use a seamed piece.

I used some seamed pieces cut from smaller sized jeans as well as some unseamed pieces from larger jeans. A mixture of these adds interest!








Square up your block.

For each denim square, you need TWO flannel squares cut the same size (in my case, 10” square).

Layer the denim square with the two flannel squares. The bottom flannel square will become the BACKING of your quilt.

Draw two diagonal lines on the right side of your denim square. Keeping the edges even, sew along the diagonal lines, through ALL THREE layers. When all the blocks are sewn, place the blocks on your design wall or the floor to arrange them in a pleasing manner. Now flip them over and make sure you are happy with the back too.


Ok, ready to sew the rows together? With flannel sides together, sew a ½” seam. In quilting, we usually sew a ¼” seam, but for this method, we require a ½” seam!

This is how the denim side will look when you have sewn the seam. Continue to sew your blocks together into rows, press seams open, then sew the rows together.





Here is the sewn denim quilt. But wait, you are not finished yet!




Now you need to clip each and every seam at about ½” intervals. This makes a big mess, so if you can do it out on the deck or in the back yard, that would be a great idea.


The final step is to throw this quilt into the washer and then the dryer so that the seams fluff up like chenille. Now you're done and it looks great!

Here is Max showing you the back of his Recycled Denim Quilt, and on the right is the front of the quilt.

Finished with Denim Quilt? Go Home