Denim Picnic Blanket

Thank you to Carol of Justletmequilt.com for organizing this Picnic Party blog hop. I have been wanting to make a denim picnic blanket forever. This was the right time, and I had even been saving denim squares for a year. I needed more but what fun this was going to be!

My first dilemma was to decide on the size of my picnic blanket? Turns out there is sort of a standard size depending on the amount of people you hope to seat. This helpful article from Kamui blankets helps you learn what size a picnic blanket should be. I wanted one for my son to keep in his car but not teeny tiny. These denim quilts sew up quite heavy so weight has to be factored in when picking a size. My goal is a blanket 8 x 8 using 8″ squares. It will roll up and be tied with some sort of attached denim scrap. I should get a blanket that’s about 60″ x 60.” While that seemed small to me at first, it will be a manageable size, without being too heavy. I am happy with how it is going thus far.

I sewed two rows first and played with how they would look when put together. It was a good start and off I went.

I kept going with more rows and tried to vary the dark and light denim patches without too much debate. A pocket here and there is nice, but one on each corner is a given.

I am almost done with the top, but the backing is a mystery. I don’t think I want batting or a regular backing fabric in this blanket. I want to make the back something waterproof. Does anyone have any experience using a flannel-backed plastic tablecloth, shower curtain liner or other such waterproof fabric for the back of a picnic blanket? I would love some ideas or suggestions on how to keep the quilt somewhat waterproof for those annoying park areas that wet our bottoms!

I have 5 rows of 8 squares so far. There’s a pocket on the corners to put a rock in and help weigh down the quilt on a windy day. I read that tip in an article about making a picnic blanket with rock pockets and really liked the idea.

I worried that an all-denim quilt could be too dull, but Pinterest always comes through. I found a cool denim string quilt idea from scrapfabriclove.com which is lovely. While I like her idea, I’m going for something a bit more muted and quiet. I’m not sure my string additions are enough yet, but hers’ felt like too much. We shall see how it all plays together as I sew along. I didn’t plan each square but am sewing and building as I go. Lazy perhaps, but I’m hoping to not make this too tedious a project. I want it done before the end of the summer.

I got a bit delayed because I needed more denim than I thought. Some of the denim hand-me-downs just weren’t big enough. I would sometimes only get 2 squares out of the little kids jeans I had on hand. See my note below* and you’ll read that as of Friday, I now have plenty of denim. The quilt top will be done soon, but what to do for the bottom? I’ll share some tips and perhaps you can pass along some backing wisdom.

Tips for Working with Denim:

1. WHERE TO FIND WORN DENIM:

a) Ask everyone you know for old denim jeans. I was able to get a few pairs this way.

b) You can buy some on ThredUp, a used clothing site, which may work. It wasn’t all that helpful for me because the adult jeans are priced way higher than necessary. I ended up buying kids jeans and unfortunately, you can’t get too many 8″ blocks from those tiny pants.

c) *A better idea is if you’re near a Goodwill Outlet. (I stumbled on one this past Friday.) Their big Warehouse, with bins of miscellaneous clothing, includes thrifted denim. You fill a cart, or grab some items and get charged per pound of fabric. I had the smallest pile of most folks there. I grabbed denim without even looking at it and paid $18 total for 6 pairs of denim jeans. The tags with sizes were missing but just one huge pair of mens jeans got me ten 8″ squares of thrifted denim!! Mission accomplished!!

2. STARCH TO STOP THE STRETCH: Today’s denim is usually stretchy. It can be helpful to starch the denim blocks. I didn’t starch all the blocks, but would next time. For some blocks, I cut them larger than necessary, then starched them and finally cut them exactly to my 8″ size block. Some people would do light interfacing on the backs of the blocks, but trust me…denim is HEAVY. Any extra weight is not what you want.

3. HALF INCH SEAM ALLOWANCE: It’s recommended to sew denim with a 1/2″ seam allowance but I went with 1/4 inch. I was trying to keep from using up too much denim for seams. Well, I should have used the 1/2″ seam because denim is a beast at times. Having the larger seams allows you to sew more easily plus pressing is much easier the wider the seam.

4. ROCK POCKETS: Put a denim pocket in each corner of your quilt. With a nearby rock placed in each corner on site, you can keep your blanket from blowing away in the wind.

That’s all for today, I’m happy to be working towards my goal, but why is it that I never seem to complete a project lately? Please check out the other bloggers who, no doubt, will blow your minds with their finishes and their creativity. Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment if you have time. What would you recommend for a waterproof backing?

You can follow the pinterest page for this hop as well.

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