My son and daughter will be sharing a room for who knows how long. Right now the walls are purple and green striped. Not exactly unisex. So I have a big plan that I will only tell you about in pieces because that’s about how it’s going to get done! The first piece being bedding.
I really geek out over vintage sheets. Or just old, soft, sheets that may or may not be vintage. And I also geek out over mixing patterns. I made my first “quilt” from sheets about three years ago and I absolutely love it. It’s soft and breathable and seems to be just warm enough in the summer and a good addition to our comforter in the winter.
In no way do I claim to be a quilter, and in not very many ways does this “quilt” resemble it’s name. But I would like to show you this quick, easy, and inexpensive way to make a quilt from sheets!
Here’s what you will need for a standard (60 x 84) twin quilt:
2 flat sheets (stain and rip free)
batting
thread of various colors
3 packages of quilt binding
1. Giving yourself about 4 extra inches in the length and width, cut your sheets and batting to fit. It may be necessary to pick out the stitch where the sheets cuff is to gain the extra fabric. If possible, cut the selvage off the vertical sides of the sheets. They are usually slightly shrunken and will cause a length discrepancy and puckering.
2. About batting, I have only used natural material batting, like cotton or bamboo, because it is much more breathable and washes better. Batting made from synthetic materials may be cheaper, but it will FEEL cheaper.
3. Spread one sheet on the floor, right side down, and smooth completely. A yardstick is a helpful smoothing tool.
4. Laying the batting down on the sheet without wrinkling the sheet underneath is tricky, especially if you are doing it alone
because your husband is busy working a second job to help pay for, um, twins. The best way I see to do this alone is to roll the batting, place it in the right position at the top or bottom of your quilt, and unroll slowly.
5. Use the same rolling method to place the second sheet, rightside up, on top.
6. PIN ALL SIDES generously and pin the middle at about every 10 inches.
7. Determine how many colors of thread you want to use, and how close you want the stripes to be. I used four colors and stitched them vertically about every 3 inches. (You could sew vertically, horizontally, both, in circles…use your imagination!) It’s very important to mark where the first color of stripes will go. I tried to eyeball the first quilt and the lines where like a drunk-lady-sewing kind of wonky. Use either a fabric pencil or a specific pin (I used safety pins) to distinguish where your lines are being marked versus all the other pins all over the place. I marked a line every 12 inches.
8. You will only need to mark one of the colors to get your bearings. Once you have sewn all of the first lines, it will be really easy to use them as a guide for the rest of your colors.
9. Inevitably, there will be puckering when you sew. No matter how much I pin, it seems I can’t prevent the sheets from sliding here and there and creating puckers, but here are a few tricks that can reduce the amount of puckering.
A. Alternate sewing top to bottom, then bottom to top, instead of sewing every line the same direction. The fabric should then get pulled up and down evenly.
B. Fold or roll the extra width and hold on to them like the handles of a scroll as you sew. This will make the area you are sewing more taut and less prone to sliding around.
C. Get over it. I kind of like the puckering. It makes the blanket feel more “quilted”.
10. After you have sewn all of your lines in all the colors of your choice, cut the extra sheets and batting to the exact measurement that you desire.
11. Sew the ends of your binding together, right sides together, to make one long piece of binding.
12. Pin the binding to the quilt. This is the worst part of all. I hate it. It takes me like 30 minutes and makes my fingers hurt and no matter how carefully I pin, and sew, I will still miss parts on the other side. That said…pin carefully and generously. Make sure, with every pin, that you catch the binding on the other side as well. When you get all the way around the blanket, cut the extra binding and fold the raw ends under to hide.
13. Slowly, and as straight as possible, sew the binding. But like I said, you will still probably miss a little on the other side.
14. Inspect the underside for missed stitches and go back and stitch them up.
Now you have a soft and very washable quilt that hopefully wasn’t too hard to make!
Here’s my price breakdown for one quilt:
Two Sheets: $4
Batting: $16
Binding: $7
Thread: $3
Total: $30
site
designed by
[...] [...]
Wow, this is fantastic! I just clicked over from Craft Gossip. I would love to link to this if you didn’t mind.
I want to pay you to make me some. Because I really don’t have the patience or the detail-oriented-ness to do that!! Unless you were right there speaking in my ear the whole time.
Awesome! I’ve been thinking about using some sheets like this for a while…. Gotta love the yardage of fabric for just a couple dollars!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lisa, Cindy Carlson. Cindy Carlson said: Easy reuse of sheets into quilts: http://thedidenizen.com/2010/05/sheet-quilt/. [...]
This is a darling idea! I wish I could sew well!
This is so great! I love how much fabric you get when you use sheets.
Congratulations on your quilt. I have been collecting vintage sheets and ripping them into fat quarters to make into a quilt someday, and to make fat quarter bundles to give as gifts to my quilting friends. I love the vintage sheets, and I love thrifting. If you decide to make another one, think about this while you are shopping the thrift stores (Oh, I shouldn’t tell you, because if I do, I’ll probably never find another one again….oh…ok!). Heavy mattress pads that look the same (usually a little heavier) as your cotton quilt batting can be found at thrift stores too. Just cut off the elastic at the corners, cut to size, and wha-la! Quilt batting. Throw it in the washing machine first, just like your vintage sheets. The Goodwill stores around here charge $2.38 for sheets and mattress pads. Your project just got cheaper…and cheap is me! (Oh, I mean thrifty!)
:) Michelle
That’s a really great tip! Thanks for sharing with everyone!
These look great. I have made a quilt in the same manner using the flat sheets that came in a sheet set- we are a duvet family who are “active” sleepers and don’t abide the flat sheet twists. I like to use a contrasting thread and use meandering stitches back and forth across the width. But if I had some vintage sheets…