Using a blanket for quilt batting

MYellowRose · #1 03-09-2012, 06:22 PM

I've got a king size blanket that I really love but it's getting holes worn in it. I've been considering cutting it up and using the good pieces for batting in a small twin size quilt or a lap robe for someone in a wheelchair. Is this feasible? I'd probably do a whole cloth quilt and tie it together rather than quilting it but I'd use two different materials, one for the front and one for the back. Has anyone done something similar?

sher · #2 03-10-2012, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYellowRose

I've got a king size blanket that I really love but it's getting holes worn in it. I've been considering cutting it up and using the good pieces for batting in a small twin size quilt or a lap robe for someone in a wheelchair. Is this feasible? I'd probably do a whole cloth quilt and tie it together rather than quilting it but I'd use two different materials, one for the front and one for the back. Has anyone done something similar?

I have used blankets and also mattress pads for quilt batting, alot cheaper and the blankets make the quilt so much warmer.

LJH · #3 03-10-2012, 09:29 PM

Absolutely. You can't do fine hand quilting with a blanket for a batt but either machine quilting or, as you plan, tieing will work just fine.

Also, if you have old flannel sheets they're great 'batting' for a lightweight summer quilt. I never throw anything out, can you tell?

MYellowRose · #4 03-15-2012, 12:01 AM

Thank you both for your replies. I know my sister has done this but I wasn't sure if anyone else had.

crackergirl · #5 03-23-2012, 01:02 AM

I recently found a quilt stuffed between a box spring and a mattress in a ranch house. The couple who had owned it were pioneers. The 'batting' was an old wool blanket! The quilt was probably more than 70 years old and although the pieced top was shot, the only issue with the batt was it had worn unevenly!

blowininthewind · #6 03-24-2012, 11:22 PM

My mother made a queen size quilt with 3 blankets in the middle and both the top and the bottom was quilted denim.
It had not been washed and was pretty bad. I was a teenager and thought I would surprise my mom by washing it. I had to drag it across the house to the washer off the back porch. I started the washer and had half of it crammed in there before coming to the conclusion it did not fit.
It was too heavy to take out of the washer.
When my mother came home from work and found her quilt gone I told her I needed her help to get it out of the washer. We were out there pulling on it when my dad came home. It took 4 of us in the family to pull it, as if we were playing tug of war with the washer, to get it out. It was too heavy to hang on the line and proceeded to rot where it was. It was just too heavy.

MNMOM · #7 03-24-2012, 11:32 PM

Holey, Moley, that must have weighed a ton. Denim alone is pretty heavy. The use of one blanket with a cotton top and bottom should be okay.
I always have used quilt batts for my quilts. I know that people in the southern states have sometimes used just flannel in the middle to keep them a lighter weight.

MYellowRose · #8 04-04-2012, 04:28 PM

I just hate to let this blanket go, don't ask why as I don't know myself, and since it has holes worn through it in places I thought I'd try and cut it so I could make at least two small quilts and would use it for batting. I'm trying to become more thrifty even though my income has gone up by half this year.

momma_to_seven_chi · #9 04-04-2012, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYellowRose

I've got a king size blanket that I really love but it's getting holes worn in it. I've been considering cutting it up and using the good pieces for batting in a small twin size quilt or a lap robe for someone in a wheelchair. Is this feasible?

I've done it dozens of times. I usually make the simple quilts with the little ties all over them instead of quilting. It is just easier than quilting them, and goes so much faster. If I use batting then I quilt, especially on a printed pattern that I want to stand out. It looks nice to quilt around flowers or characters in the print or whatever. But if I use an old blanket, then I just make little yarn ties all over it. I even search high and low in yardsales for old blankets to use in quilts.

whitehairedidiot · #10 04-30-2012, 12:36 PM

Oh my YES - please do recycle that blanket into quilts! I learned from grandma whose dad came from switzerland how to make all this stuff, when I was little. Now, my D is making punk-rock-tattoo quilts! LOL...

Another stuffing she started using was old stockings - and now, pantyhose. But the warmest quilt she made, was channel quilted and stuffed with those plastic shopping bags that are banned in a lot of places, now. You'd be amazed how HOT it was to sleep under! And it wasn't light, either...

The one I've saved, though is a patchwork that weighs about 15 lbs. The top is pieced bits of different kinds of upholstery material, joined with various embroidery stitches - filled with old flannel sheet blankets - and a solid backing.

crackergirl · #11 05-24-2012, 12:08 PM

Along the same lines, my old down comforter has seen better days. Do you think I could just recover it and stitch it like a whole-cloth quilt? Seems like it should work, but will the down bunch up too much? It is already baffle quilted (big squares)

LJH · #12 05-28-2012, 02:46 AM

I don't think I'd go that route, Crackergirl. Couple of things that can happen when stitching through down is the needle will push it through to the backing as you stitch - it'll look like candlewicking, only not in a good way - and unless it's really, really high-end down there will be a percentage of tiny feathers in the mix, with the possibility of breaking a needle if a quill is hit squarely. Not to mention wrasslin' a whole comforter under a domestic sewing machine will have you reaching for words you've probably never used before.

I'd suggest making a duvet cover for it. Sew some tabs with snaps or ties to the edges of the comforter and corresponding tabs on the inside seams of the cover. That will keep it from shifting and ending up in a wad all in one corner. The closure can be done in a simple envelope style with buttons, snaps, ties, even velcro to keep it closed. You could use two flat sheets, quilting cotton or pretty much whatever fabric strikes your fancy and/or matches your decor. Remember to pre-shrink your fabric before sewing or you could end up with a too-small cover after the first washing.

MYellowRose · #13 06-01-2012, 07:59 PM

I hadn't considered using flannel sheets for batting but that's something I'll keep in mind.

Just ordered from Nancy's Notions this morning, getting a set of pre-cut squares, a pattern, and a plastic storage box for the "charm" squares as they're called. I even splurged for priority shipping so it should be here by next Wednesday or so. Am looking forward to seeing what I can make for my first project. Already have 3 or 4 packs of pre-cut squares I got on clearance at Walmart, for some reason they no longer carry them, only had them for about a month, so I'm set to make about 4 lap robe size quilts. DD took me to Walmart this evening so I could buy an ironing board, I haven't gotten one because I didn't want to have to lug it half a mile home from the bus.