I make knock-around, carry-in-your-trunk quilts from old and discarded denim jeans. It's a great way to make use of old clothing that would otherwise end up in the landfill. I like to find unusual pockets, trims, labels, waistbands and even fly fronts to add to these quilts. Every quilt is completely different.
I cut the pieces of denim into strips 6-8" wide and whatever length I want up to about 12". Then I sew the strips into strips the length of the quilt. I used to plan these out carefully before starting to sew, but I find I save time and the result is about the same to just sew the pieces randomly. Most quilts are about lap-sized averaging 40" wide by 50-55" long.
I layer the completed top with poly batting, often using strips of batting left over from other quilt projects, and backing. A yard and a half of backing fabric is enough. Sometimes when I find a nice piece of decorator fabric for backing I make a wider quilt. I use crochet cotton thread doubled to tie the layers together at the intersection of all seams, adding more ties if seams are more than 8" apart. I leave the ties about 1" long on the top of the quilt. Then I fold the backing over the edges and topstitch on the sewing machine.
