How to Make a Denim Quilt Using Old Jeans (An Ultra Simple Sewing Project!)
by Robin
How have I not shared this recycled jeans denim quilt with you yet?!?
It’s one of my absolute favourites. It combines so much of what I love:
- making something beautiful and useful for very little money,
- using things that otherwise would be wasted.
This craft is the essence of my eco-chic, frugal, creative, crafty ways.
I made my first of these quilts many years ago – it was shortly after we added the enormous porch (and second storey addition) to our generational family home.
My dad lovingly made us a porch swing – and I found a second-hand couch with cushions that I recovered in outdoor fabric. It’s my favourite place. Especially in rainstorms.
And when it’s too cold to lounge on the porch – I needed a heavy blanket. Enter this perfect porch quilt made of my favourite fabric.
I adore denim. Maybe you’ve seen our daughter’s IKEA window seat? Together we made a DIY window seat cushion in a patchwork of recycled denim. I love it’s deep and varied colour and rugged yet soft quality.
The quilt I’m sharing today was my first quilt and my first recycled denim project.
It’s perfect for cool evenings – and it makes a wonderful picnic blanket. It’s thick and only gets more beautiful with many washings.
If you are new to sewing – this is a fabulous project. It’s affordable – just old jeans! And it’s easy – straight lines that don’t need to be perfect. If you look closely at my photos – you’ll see some pretty subpar seams – it’s totally doesn’t matter – in fact, it adds to the casual quality of this blanket.
Here’s how it’s made…
How to Make a Denim Quilt Using Old Jeans
Denim Quilt Materials:
- Upholstery weight thread (for my first quilt I used black, for this one I’m using white)
- Old jeans – washed and cut into squares – mine are 8″ by 8″
- OR if you have an MCC thrift store near you – many of them carry precut squares of jeans – with a guaranteed number of pockets! I found mine for $20.
- OR you can often find denim squares pre-cut from sellers on Etsy.
- Heavy duty sewing scissors (I’m ordering these to replace my good scissors that the kids ruined opening freezies 😠 Keep your good scissors under lock and key!!!!)
- Sewing machine
Tips for buying jeans for Denim Quilts:
- When thrifting for jeans – start in the largest sizes and work your way down – plus sizes usually cost the same – and will give you lots more squares.
- Be sure to get a mixture of light and dark coloured jeans. Jean trends have been leaning towards dark lately – so light are harder to find – but essential.
- Decide if you want other colours of jeans in your quilt. I decided to only use blue – I had a few black squares that looked too stark for me in the quilt so I didn’t use them.
- Too much stretch in a jean will make a wonky shape in your quilt. Old school jeans with little to no give will keep their shape better.
Denim Quilt How-to:
1. Cut your jean squares
When cutting your pocket squares – be sure to centre the pocket really well. Some of my pocket squares had the top of the pocket so close to the edge that I had to sew the pocket shut. That just felt sad and wrong.
2. Plan your quilt – sort the squares.
My quilt is 8 by 11 squares.
Sorting also helps to ensure your colours of jeans are random. I know, sorting for randomness sounds silly, but it matters. It will irk you to no end if squares from the same jeans are lined up next to each other – or at least it does me!
3. Sew your squares together.
Can you tell I made this mistake a few times? So frustrating!
I made a 5/8″ seam for all parts of this project.
Again – put WRONG sides together (stressed that enough?)
This is the only slightly tricky part. You will want to pin your seams so that they are as flat as possible. (This is the only part where you need to pin this project at all!)
4. Prep and fray your edges.
(I’ve shown this photo on my older finished quilt – you can see – without this row of stitches it could fray into a hot mess.)
With the sturdiest scissors you have – cut all your seams. DON’T cut past your stitches – or it will fray too much and could fall apart.
Also, make sure you don’t use pinking shears – you WANT this to fray!
I cut mine at about 1/2″ intervals.
(I maybe should have added Band-aids to the materials list – I got a couple blisters after all this dense cutting!)
The very best way: Hang your quilt on the clothesline on a few windy days. I made a new one in 2020 and learned that this was THE BEST way. I hung it out on a few windy and rainy days and it frayed beautifully!
Wash your quilt lots of times.
Try putting it in the dryer with tennis balls and running shoes – this will help the seams to relax and fray.
You may want to pick at it a bunch too. The more you beat it up the better!
And my favourite way to use old jeans!
I hope you love your denim quilt as much as I love mine! If you have any questions about making yours, let me know, I’d be happy to help.
Are you looking for another easy blanket to make? I’ve got a super Basketweave Knit Throw Blanket tutorial too! You can find that easy knit blanket pattern for beginners here!
We share so many simple and affordable Crafts and DIY projects here – you can see them all here. Including our collection of 20+ Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Jeans | Recycle & Upcycle Your Denim
If you’re looking for Easy Sewing Projects – I’ve got you covered here. Have fun!
Robin and Ed are a DIY-loving couple with over 25 years of design and build experience. Also, Robin is a Nutritionist and former Registered Dietitian and Ed is an award-winning Business Educator. We share strategies for living a rich life on a DIY budget: creative money-savvy ideas for a stylish home, healthy meals and family fun. Our work has been published in the pages of Do It Yourself, Farmhouse Style and Better Homes & Gardens magazines.
Is the quilt soft without a backing?
It’s not super soft, Susan. It’s more of a rugged quilt – it feels like a pair of jeans. 🙂
I followed the instructions, after it washed and hung to dry I have a lot of long strings and fray. Should this be trimmed up so they will all be even?
Hi Cathy! If I understand right the long strips are threads of denim that run parallel to your seams? If this is correct you just need to trim these and let the perpendicular threads stay and fray! 🙂
I’ve been making jean quilts for years now – many high school graduation gifts and baby gifts (backed with flannel) for all my grandchildren. They are so functional. The last one made was for my own bed, frayed seams, no backing. The one thing I did for the first time and will do again on future quilts is that I added a strip of jean waistbands sewn together to the outside edge. Gives the quilt a little more finished look. The waistbands did not include the metal button (I use those for pillow projects) but kept the button hole.
Great ideas, Nancy! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much for the awesome idea! My hubby wears bib overalls almost exclusively; I’ll be making a quilt from his old bibs for each of the 8 grands (and me, of course) 🙂
That’s a wonderful idea, Cheryl! Happy crafting!
Thank you so very much for an easy and understandable tutorial. I couldn’t afford buying all squares, so I cut them myself with scissors. Can’t wait to get finished so I can use it ❤️
Glad you like it! I cut them all myself too, Kristin – it’s such a great way to reuse old jeans!
Don’t back it! It seems awful, but trust me AND @frugalfamilytimes.com it is awesome! My parents have one that we used throughout my childhood, and it’s as durable as ever. I made one when I first got married, and it goes everywhere with us. I’m now making as send off gifts to my kids when they get married!
We toss it down on the ground for picnics, beach blankets to get out of the sand (gone with a shake!!), bleacher seats, parades, etc.! The denim is indestructible 🚜
I agree – they are totally indestructible and don’t need backing, Andrea. I LOVE your idea of making a denim quilt for your married kids! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I saw this style of denim quilt and am going to do this for a friend! Her husband (my boss) passed away due to heart disease and she packed up some of his jeans/work pants and wanted me to sell them in rummage sale because it’s too difficult for her. I
decided to use his jeans to make her a memory quilt! That way she can always have him with her❤️
Oh I love this, Debra! What a thoughtful friend you are. This will get a treasured gift. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
@Debra,
That is such a great thing to do for her. Wonderful memories to wrap around her when she is feeling down.
Hi. Thank you. This is helpful. May I please confirm… the “back of the blanket”… you didn’t put anything correct? I made one blanket and used fleece patches on the back. Its kind of messy. Yours looks crisp.. wondering. Thank You! Jennifer B. JenniferBriel@yahoo.com
Hi, Jennifer! I used no material other than the denim – it’s simple and easy! 🙂
I just made this blanket in 2 days following your directions. I have wanted one for about 20 years! I was inspired by seeing a stack of 110 denim 8” by 8” squares for $12 at MCC Thrift Store. Thanks for posting this!
That’s AWESOME, Corrine! I’m so glad you’re happy with this! 🙂
Could you line the denim quilt to make it warmer?
If so how would you do that and what fabric?
You can, Joan! I’ve seen it done with flannel. You could double up the squares with denim and flannel and then sew them together. Prewash for sure! 🙂
If the denim is heavy how large should I make this blanket. I have lots of jeans so I need to use them up.
You can make this blanket any size you want, Nancy!
This is a fantastic project! I’d love to make one out of my daughter’s old jeans as a keepsake but all she has is stretch jeans. Can I make it work?
A few of the jean squares we used had some stretch, Coralee. And they work fine. I’m not 100% sure of a whole blanket with stretchy jeans…maybe try sewing a few squares together, washing it and seeing what happens? Let me know if you try! Good luck! 🙂
@Coralee,
I did a small one. 5 squares x 6 squares. I love it!!
@Joyce, you can put stabilizer on the backs of the stretchy material. It makes it more stable.
Years ago my husband's Grandma made one for him out of his old jeans. He still has it and my kids think it's the coolest blanket. Thanks for the tutorial, I'd love to make one for my kids.
That's wonderful, Sarah! I hope you do make one – they're my favourite blankets! 🙂 Sorry it took me so long to reply…
Love this idea! So cute!
Should I try to keep all the pockets going the same direction? Same with the plain pieces? Or should I put some across the grain so to speak?
By definition, this is not really a quilt, it is a blanket. Quilts consist of 3 layers, stitched together! I like our idea, however!!
@Marcia Craft, a quilt does not have to be 3 layers. Our great grandma’s use to make 2 layers for a summer quilt. 1 layer if Jean material makes a perfect quilt for a picnic
Made one of these for daughter and son in law 19 years ago and it is still going strong! Much loved and frayed. Still a very handsome item
Do you have any pattrens for director chair covers? I could really use some help with these, if you have any information on this, I'd be so greatful. Thank you in advance for your help & time.
Take the fabric pieces off your chair. Use the old pieces as templates to cut and stitch the new ones.
I love the look of this quilt. However, I am a bit confused (nothing new for me). Do you use a backing for this quilt?
Nope. No backing. It’s a very simple quilt. 🙂