Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 117 Location: Kansas City, MO
Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:58 am Post subject: Handstitched blanket made from %100 recycled materials
Recently, I got a letter from my dorm saying that their beds are a funky size (I now know that this is pretty standard practice for most dorms) and that I had to buy their special fitted sheets. I haven't slept with a fitted sheet since I was 12, so I thought that I would make my own blanket to sleep on top of (a setup that works a lot better for me). Luckily, I had just cleaned out my closet for the first time in a couple years, so I had a lot of material to work with. A lot of old jeans that I grew out of, some old sheets, and a ton of extra T-shirts (thanks, red cross!). My plan was to make the top out of denim from the jeans, insulate it with T-shirts and whatever else I had, and then make the bottom out of cotton sheet. I don't have a sewing machine, so everything you see was lovingly hand-stitched by me.
This is what you get from one pair of jeans. I cut off each leg parallel to the waistband just under the crotch. As you can see, you can negate the taper in the legs if you turn one leg 180 degrees. I also cut off the big outer seam of each leg so that the finished surface would be smoother and so that I wouldn't have to deal with it. One "panel" is about 1 square yard, but that's with 32x36 pants so yours may vary.
The top completed! It's 2 panels across and 3 panels long.
The insulation core of the blanket. Each shirt was attached to the top layer with a cross stitch at each corner and one in the middle. I overlapped them for more insulation and a more even feel.
I know it's a bad picture, but this is the second insulation layer, made from some old sheet material I had. It was cross stitched through the shirts and the denim about every 8 inches.
The bottom, made from an old sheet extended with 2 old pillow cases to make it long enough. I did it inside out on 3 sides, and then flipped it right side out and stitched the 4th side.
All in all, it's about 5 feet by 9 feet, which should be sufficient. I plan on tucking it under the mattress so that it will stay put and not hang over. I've been sleeping on it for the last few nights, and it feels great.
P.S.: whenever my girlfriend makes fun of me for being prepared, now I get to say "you're just bitter because when you want a blanket you have to go to the store."
Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 117 Location: Kansas City, MO
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:35 pm Post subject:
Yeah, I figured it didn't have to look pretty since only me and my roommate have to look at it. My girlfriend hasn't seen it completed yet, so I haven't gotten the verdict from her. However, if she comes over for a sleepover it sure isn't happening on an extra-long twin bed with my roommate 4 feet away.
Joined: 20 Aug 2008 Posts: 12 Location: America's Banana Republic
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject:
My folks have some blankets from my Dad's side of the family which have cotton ticking on the bottom, and is made of swatches of suit fabric on top. Hand sewn in the 1930's by Dad's female kin. _________________ "If it ain't the Devil's music, you ain't doin' it right" - Chris Thomas King
"Don't you know there ain't no Devil, it's just God when he's drunk" - Tom Waits
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