I gathered some of his old uniforms that were torn or otherwise messed up...BDUs from his time at Boot Camp and AIT, DCUs from his first deployment, and ACUs from majority of his career and second deployment. Here's a picture play by play. Sorry, not all the pictures are the best quality, but you get the idea.
I started cutting out an enormous amount of 4'' squares from pants and tops. This took forevvvverrrrrr. Thankfully I had Netflix to keep me entertained.
Miss Autumn decided to help me.
Then I alternated DCU, BDU, ACU and sewed them together in long strips. I think I ended up making 16 strips of 22 squares. But in the end, it became a bit smaller than that. Trial and error lead to many, many trimmings.
I staggered the strips to get a diagonal affect. They are in no way, shape, or form perfect, but it was the first time ever doing this. I know my squares and rows weren't precise, but it adds character.
No pictures for this part, but I layered the front panel, some lightweight batting, and a backing and sewed it all together.
I sewed long, straight rows to give it that quilted look.
This was the first time I've ever tried binding anything, and let me tell you the corners were very tricky. I think I did an okay job :-)
How both sides look finished.
A bow to top it off.
Overall, I'm very happy with how it came out, imperfections and all. I think it's going to be a very warm blanket and a wonderful heirloom.
Final Costs:
Singer Futura CE-150 sewing/embroidering machine- given to me by my Mom
Old Uniforms- free from friend
Batting- free from Mom
Backing material- also free from Mom
7/8'' Binding- $3ea at Hancock, 4 packs
Thread- $3ea at the PX, 2 spools
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$18
Have a great day and a happy heart!
~KBC
Update- So I finally got a better picture of the quilt and actually measured it. It's 56'' x 82''. It's not quite as big as I would have liked it.~KBC
I'm so happy you finally got it done, and now how, I was your friend there...and a drama free, or at least tried my damndest to be, army wife lmao.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say I didn't make ANY friends....I just said very few LOL. Miss you girlie! I'm in desperate need of a Rip It, Kit Kat and a late night drive to Wal*Mart :-)
DeleteCongratulations on your first quilt and how frugal you were! Great work!!
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to stitch through those patches with the toughest sewing needle. (ie. for denims). Try it out on one layer of fabric and go s-l-o-w-l-y by stitching inside the edge by a 1/4 inch so it can get "ragged" when it's washed.
Thank you for the tip. I'll definitely have to try it because the hubby really wants the patches on it :-) Hope you're having a great day!
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