The Denim Rag Pattern marches on!

The continuing saga of the Recycled Jeans/Denim Rag Quilt Pattern!

My pattern continues to develop. I’m almost done with the rough draft. I’ve been making corrections as I go so I think it’s a bit better than a true rough draft.

As I think I’ve mentioned before, it’s definitely a challenge to put actions into words. I know what I mean but am I getting that across?

Here’s a sample of something I’ve written. What do you think? Is it clear? Too wordy?

“Place the first denim circle WRONG side up on your work surface. Using a ruler, measure 1 ¼” from the outer most edge of the circle and mark this line along the edge of the ruler. Any pen will work; you will never see the line.

Place the marked circle and a second, unmarked circle from your row, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. Pin and sew along this line.”

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Here’s where we left off last time. The table runner was completely assembled but not yet “raggy”. At this point, I got out the spring loaded scissors.

Okay, there’s a separate blog post coming about spring loaded scissors.
I’ve learned a lot about them and which ones are more reliable.

Here’s what the runner looked like after clipping the edges with the rag scissors.


I trimmed every edge except the outer edges. There’s no point in trimming them because they will be cut away prior to binding.

After trimming, I went to work on the clipped edges with a stiff brush. Similar in feel to a toilet brush, I always go over my trimmed edges with this brush. I find that it really speeds up the fraying process.


As you know, a rag quilt gains it’s frayed, ragged edges after multiple washings and dryings. This is, of course, an important part of the process.
However, I give my quilts a good “once-over” with the brush before the first washing to speed the process of fraying.



It can make a bit of a mess on your work surface but think about what you’re getting out ahead of time that won’t get stuck in your dryer’s lint trap!




You can see how the brush lifts up the edges and begins to create that frayed look we are going for.


And, here’s what it looks like after washing and drying.

All that’s left is to cut away the edges and add the binding.

Heather

Denim Jean Pattern...(cont)

Update:  The pattern is complete!

You can purchase a copy at my Etsy Shop:

A Passionate Quilter Etsy Shop

So...in order to stay focused on getting this pattern done, I've been getting up early before work to practice. 

I'm trying to get this down to a science.  It's not easy to translate what I know how to do in my head into written, easy-to-understand directions!  :)


Continuing from the other day...I've figured out how to maximize the number of circles I can get from a pant leg.  In this case, I was able to get 16 circles from one pair of jeans- NOT BAD!

It's taken me a while (and a LOT of practice) to get my measurements down to a science.  Since I'm making this up as I go, I've had to play with the exact measurements for sewing between circles.  I needed a size that would fit a charm square and still show off the fabric in the middle. 

I've made and remade these circles SO many times in order to finally get all of the measurements just right!  I am very pleased with how it's worked out! 

Sewing the denim circles end to end is actually quite easy now that I have a method for measuring consistently.  I never thought about it before but it's not easy to know how to measure from the end of a rounded edge!! ;)

I was honestly able to whip these out pretty quick!  It was fun and when I was done I was able to better envision what it would look like when finished!!

Although the pattern is for a quilt, I am making a table runner right now in order to practice the steps more than once. 

More pics to come with the charm squares inside! 

See ya and thanks for sharing the process with me!!

Heather