How to Use Vintage Sheets for Quilting
Vintage Sheets Patchwork Quilt
If you haven’t tried quilting with vintage sheets, you’re in for a wonderful surprise. These beautifully restored fabrics are lightweight and filled with lots of color and patterns. My easy patchwork quilt from vintage sheets is made with precuts, making it a very quick project.
This summer vintage sheets quilt is overflowing with colorful florals of varying sizes. Yet the prominent white background keeps the look light and airy. The charm squares are from Vintage Fabrics Studio. Kelly’s shop has an extensive selection of vintage sheets precuts and yardage.
Since there are so many patterns in this quilt top, I used a widely-spaced floral print for the center squares and lattice. Get the Free Printable Tutorial! The final border will also be the same. I’m so glad I used this print instead of a plain white fabric. The little blossoms look like they are floating across the quilt. Best of all is how all the prints blend so well together. I love how this quilt turned out!
Vintage Sheets Quilting Tips
This fabric is lightweight and you’ll get the best results sewing with a #10 or #11 needle. I used a 40-weight thread, but a 50-weight would also work well. The best seam allowance for quilting with vintage sheets is ½-inch. Some of the fabrics may tend to fray more that today’s quilting fabrics and the wider seam allowance ensures more stability. You may also choose to use pinking shears for cutting your squares for the cleanest edges.
If you’re interested in acquiring your own vintage sheets, check out Kelly’s DIY Super Wash. Her video explains just what you need to do with plenty of helpful tips. It’s an easy homemade recipe that will not only brighten your sheets but will also remove any musty odors.
How to Sew with Vintage Sheets
Patchwork blocks are a great way to use vintage sheets precuts. They are fun, bright fabrics that work very well together. In this vintage sheets quilt, the 9-patch blocks share a common center block. The lattice continues with the same fabric creating a soft background bringing it all together in a pleasing design.
This quilt is made with 72 charm squares plus 1 1/2 yards for the block centers, lattice and borders. The biggest difference in quilting with vintage sheets is your seam allowance. These are older fabrics and may tend to fray, therefore a ½” seam allowance will hold up better. Additionally, the seams should be pressed open.
Sewing this vintage sheets quilt was quite simple. The fabric squares were easy to manage and the blocks turned out great. I would suggest using thin pins when matching your seams for sewing. Larger pins may leave small visible holes. I actually pinned my seams within the seam allowance, in line with the direction I was sewing. That way any holes left wouldn’t be visible on the quilt top.
Try an Easy Patchwork Quilt from Vintage Sheets for your next quilt project. You’ll enjoy the memories vintage sheets inspire. I must admit, I’d forgotten about how pretty sheets used to be all those many years ago! Enjoy the fun.
Your variety of fabrics and quilts with them is so refreshing. I love these so much more than the old fashioned looking quilts you normally see. I just purchased a fat quarter of batiks which is my inspiration to start a quilt (for no one in particular), I just love the material .
Batiks are my absolute favorite too, Marcy. Their color can be so vibrant and the patterns are fabulous! Happy Quilting,
Lea Louise