We love quilts made from recycled clothing such as denim jeans! Here is a work of art by Candace Hackett Shively, who is a member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA). This original wall quilt is made with jeans pockets as if seen from "behind"!
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Back Pocket Blues by Candace Hackett Shively@chshively (Fayetteville, Georgia)
Back Pocket Blues was made with hand applique, dyeing, and painting; machine piecing, applique, and
quilting; painting using Derwent inktense pencils; and hand-guided machine
lettering. Candace Hackett Shively says, "Our blue jeans, especially their back
pockets, document our day-to-day lives in a blues tune of thread and
softness. The faded indigo and frayed edges wrap around our bodies and
our hands with familiarity. We rely on those pockets to keep us
company, keep us organized, and add a bit of improvisational blues to
our lives."
Shown below are some of the machine-quilted sayings around the border of the quilt, which reflect everyday thoughts about stuff we keep in our jeans pockets (Anybody see my keys? - Can't live without pockets!)
Pets are family, and we love seeing quilts that honor them. We also love the paper-pieced designs of Lisa Fryxell at PreFurred Quilts! Her Etsy pattern shop includes pet portraits, Southwest designs, and more!
The Doxie Race - Who Let the Dogs Out? by Lisa Fryxell
What's more fun than a bunch of racing dachshunds? Lisa Fryxell says she made
this foundation paper pieced quilt just for the fun of it. Check out the humorous "sponsor ads" on the fence, featuring the Chow Hound Grill, Hund & Katz Veterinary Clinic, and Fetch's Sporting Goods. Check out this cute doxie with his big ears:
Howdy Pawtner, made and quilted by Lynn Rubel, design by Lisa Fryxell
How cute is this smiling Corgi? Lynn Rubel says, "This banner is my corgi,
Phryne, with her cowboy hat on ready for some boot scootin'." We love
the use of recycled denim, made from jeans Lynn collected from family members. Lynn
says that the faded bandana is "from many miles on a horse in the
Arizona sun." There are lots of fun details in this quilt, including Phryne's button eyes and a silver concho on the cowboy hat.
We didn't realize how many of Lisa Fryxell's designs we've photographed at the Tucson Quilters Guild shows! Here are more quilts from posts at Quilt Inspiration:
Image credits: Photos of The Doxie Race by Lisa Fryxell and Howdy Pawtner by Lynn Rubel were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show.
Minimalism refers to a design approach that emphasizes simplicity,
clean lines, and a restrained aesthetic. Within the Modern Quilt Guild,
it has its own category for shows! We're honoring modern quilts for the
month of July, starting with minimalist designs.
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For continuous free quilt patterns, please visit us on Twitter.
Klee for a Day, 37" square, by Karen Duling (Michigan) @karenbduling
Paul Klee's inspiring work "Fire in the Evening" influenced the use of
color and line in this quilt. Karen Duling explains, "My version started by sewing together a
long-held collection of medium and dark value strips. Strips were
arranged using lessons learned by studying Klee's work. Textile artist
Rosalie Dace opened my eyes to Klee's work in her virtual class "The
Thinking Eye." Klee for a Day is machine quilted in a grid using silk thread, adding subtle texture to the minimalist design.
This quilt with its creative use of reclaimed materials and its minimalist design conveys a heartfelt message: "Distractions in life happen, They
can throw your world into chaos. That's when you hold on to things that
anchor you, be it faith in God, family, and friends. These distractions
will be but a short while and then life goes on and everything will be
okay at the end. This quilt is made of old denim, garment
top and painter's drop cloth as background. It reminds me that life is
not perfect but beautiful." For more about Off Kilter see this post by Margo Yang.
Dopamine is a chemical messenger that works in the brain and is
associated with pleasurable reward and motivation. This quilt is titled "Extreme Dopamine" because of the way the artist felt about creating this piece: "It was
joy-inducing from the design process to the color scheme selection, to
the embracing of a newly-found love of piecing inset organic shapes, to
the time devoted to hand quilting."
We found our eyes moving from the subtle curves and contrasts in the background, to the intense colors and quilting within the circles, shown below.
Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.
Today's featured quilt transforms discarded materials into art. The artists' work reimagines
waste as something modern and beautiful, highlighting the resilience of
denim and leather. We are drawn to the soft indigo hues and the contrasts with gold/brown leather.
Note: Please check outour eBay shop for great bargains on gorgeous beaded jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
A Study on Wash Formulas and Dye by Radha Weaver (San Francisco, California) @sewingthroughfog
Radha Weaver explains
that her quilt is a study of contrasts - light and dark, raw and
refined, organic and industrial. It was made with upcycled jeans and denim
factory samples hand-dyed by the artist in natural indigo. The denim samples were
paired these with commercially dyed leather scraps to reclaim waste from
two environmentally toxic industries.
Radha Weaver is a
member of the Silicon Valley Modern Quilt Guild (California). This piece was machine pieced, improvisational pieced, and machine
quilted without a frame (domestic).
Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 QuiltCon show in Phoenix, Arizona.
Have you ever made a quilt from recycled clothing? Fast, easy, and un-fussy quilts made from faded blue jeans can be so cozy. Using up old clothes is part of the "waste not, want not" tradition that characterizes much of quilting history. Today we feature one of the easiest methods around: faux cathedral windows.
Note: Please check outour eBay shop for great bargains on beaded jewelry, patterns, and collectibles!
Giddy-Up by Elena Bennett (Arizona)
This combination of denim and red kerchiefs is a classic Western look!
Elena Bennett says that this piece was inspired by her granddaughter who
is an avid horsewoman. The raw edges fray so nicely when the quilt is washed. (Photos of Giddy Up were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Tucson Quilters Guild show.)
This technique, long known as Faux Cathedral Windows, is a quilt-as-you-go method that is also called circular patchwork, folded cottage windows, or mock cathedral
windows. Warm tones of yellow, orange, and red provide a great color combination as shown below.
The Faux Cathedral Windows technique is perfect for scrap quilts, "I Spy" quilts, picnic and play quilts. For more information and inspiration, see the "how-to" links in our Free Pattern Day for Denim Quilts... CLICK HERE then scroll to the bottom of the post.
Here are some wonderful FREE patterns for denim quilts, pillows, and totes! To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the project you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked
website name) in the title above the quilt.
Note: Please check outour eBay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns,
fabric, and unique vintage jewelry ! (We are Top-Rated Sellers ! )
Dynamic Denim quilt, 53 x 59", free Coats & Clark pattern at Yarnspirations(CLICK for PDF download)
Stripy Denim quilt, 50 x 65", free pattern at Art Gallery Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)
Faux Cathedral Windows is an easy quilt-as-you-go technique that is also called circular patchwork, folded cottage windows, mock cathedral windows and cheater cathedral windows. Here are more examples...
Circle Jeans Quilt by Jessica Levitt, inspired by the tutorial by Doreen Baros
Image credits: This post was UPDATED on June 8, 2026. All images are copyrighted by their owners. Complete information including restrictions on use can be found at the websites provided in the links. If any links are broken, we'd love to know about it; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.
