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From: NanCee
Date: 04-29-2004, 11:43 PM (1 of 21)
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Has anyone sewed one of these? I would like to make one but must confess I cannot figure out how! I was told you had to use the cotton denim or another 100% cotton fabric that would fray nicely when washed. It seems you layer the fabric, mark the lines & sew than cut the fabric between the lines except the base. Wash & dry it to fray. Is this right? and then I sew my squares togeather Or? do I sew the whole thing, cut then wash etc.? If you have done one and used what fabric? I could use some pointers. Thanks a bunch. |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: Skye
Date: 04-30-2004, 02:53 AM (2 of 21)
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Hi Nancee, I have always been fanscinated by chenille process so for Xmas I made some table runners for a good friend. I layered 3 fabrics together and marked 1st line and then sewed at 0.5" intervals diagonally across the fabric bound it and then washed and ried in the drier. My friend reaaly likes it and says that the cut edges are getting softer after each wash. I believe that you can buy gadets to help with the cutting - like a rottary cutter but with a protector bit for the bottom layer and brushes to accelerate the fraying process. Thats my 2 cents worth. I recently saw a lap chenille quilt whci was made up of large chenilled blocks and had been sewn together so that the lines went in opposing directions. Give it a go it was fun tho a bit tedious sitting there sewing row after row - I guess we like to sew  Skye |
User: Skye
Member since: 09-28-2000 Total posts: 233 |
From: NanCee
Date: 04-30-2004, 02:58 PM (3 of 21)
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Hi! Skye, Thanks for the input. Did you sew it all togeather first befor washing it? I guess what I meant was a lap quilt. I wanted to do it in a soft green denim but cant find such locally. What fabric did ypou use? you didnt say. Anyone else tried this kind of sewing? |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: Skye
Date: 05-01-2004, 12:10 AM (4 of 21)
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Yes I did sew before I washed it. Yime was a factor here 2 days before Xmas - I had bought food goodies for firend and she had a severe gastric bleed so food was no longer appropiate hence the sewing. No noticable shrinkage Skye In latest newsletter from this shop there are some pictures of some chenille kits they carry - good for ideas? http://www.grandmothers.co.nz/ |
User: Skye
Member since: 09-28-2000 Total posts: 233 |
From: NanCee
Date: 05-01-2004, 12:26 AM (5 of 21)
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Skye, that was an interesting site, liked their idea of an African one and the others were also very nice. You still did not say what fabric you used, I dont think I can get any homespun here. I will see if I can get some colored denim other than the blue, and get busy and make one. |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: shirleyp
Date: 05-01-2004, 01:10 AM (6 of 21)
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I did a chenille quilt, or called rag quilt with flannel. We cut top, batting, and backing in 6" sqs and 12" sqs. Put them together and then sewed any pattern or free sew motion, then sewed them together with a 1" seam. Once the whole quilt was sewed together, we cut into the seams with scissors. This part is time consuming. I have seen the same quilt done with jean, looked really good. We clipped a little more at the joints. Took some of the bulk away. Just remember not to cut too close to the seam. You might accidentally cut your seam. 
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User: shirleyp
Member since: 02-12-2002 Total posts: 352 
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From: Skye
Date: 05-01-2004, 08:18 PM (7 of 21)
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Sorry I used quilting fabric a dark denim like blue bottom top and a yellow and a mottled type blue in the middle layers. All fabric were at a reduced price Colours which my friend has decorated her dining area with. The runner is well used which makes me feel good about making it for her. Shirleyp I think you have described how you constructed a rag quilt which is different to chenille Skye |
User: Skye
Member since: 09-28-2000 Total posts: 233 |
From: NanCee
Date: 05-02-2004, 11:36 PM (8 of 21)
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Shirley and Skye, I think it depends on who is turning out the patterns, they are much the same idea, I think. My DH took me to 4 different fabric shops and none had any other denim than blues and black. I was told several ways & fabrics to use but I want cotton so it seems I will be going out of town to a shop that caters to this type of craft. Had I known this befor hand it would have saved me running around and listening to DH complain! Any my SIL and her DH will come with us & after SIL and I load up on fabric & notions the 2 complaining DH,s can treat us to lunch! 
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User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: shirleyp
Date: 05-03-2004, 03:52 AM (9 of 21)
| Correct me if I am wrong, but a chenille quilt is done with strips and closer together? They run horizontal, vertical or in angles. |
User: shirleyp
Member since: 02-12-2002 Total posts: 352
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From: NanCee
Date: 05-03-2004, 10:27 PM (10 of 21)
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Shirleyp, cannot correct you, cause I'll be darned if I know. My DH is taking me to a shop on Wed. thatgives lessons in this & has the material. Gracious me, I talked to another lady today and she said not all the denim can be used as it doesnt fray the same. Are these people just trying to sell their products or is confusion their game? Some of these shop keepers disgust me, if they give me the straight goods , I will be back & probably bring my other sewing pals with me but when I get all this blarney, I dont give them much business, like I am not going to buy something if its not what I want. |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: shirleyp
Date: 05-04-2004, 01:57 AM (11 of 21)
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NanCee. Fabric fray. If you get a hole in the knee of your jeans and wash them, they fray. If you wash them more without fixing the hole it frays more. This is the same with these kind of quilts. I will give you a piece of advice. This was discussed before in one of the other topics. It will make a mess in your washing machine. The best is to take it to a laundrymat and wash it there. You can also wash in a washable secure bag. |
User: shirleyp
Member since: 02-12-2002 Total posts: 352
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From: NanCee
Date: 05-04-2004, 03:15 PM (12 of 21)
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Shirleyp; What site was the discussion in? maybe there is some advise that will help me? I havent been in the forum long so I have probably missed some good advice." I feel like I'm in a vise" At present I'm trying to get the ball rolling on this chenille stuff with mySIL and at the same time I want to make a couple of light toppers to serve as light weight jackets, one will have to on the back burner! |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 05-04-2004, 11:14 PM (13 of 21)
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Nancee if you are making a "rag" quilt, that is one process but if you want to learn to make chenille, that is an entirely different process. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: KayTee
Date: 05-05-2004, 10:41 AM (14 of 21)
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Hi, NanCee, I've made a bed quilt using the chenille method, as well as a number of jackets. The only denim that won't work is the type that has stretch, or lyrcra, in it. 100% cotton and 100% rayon work very well. You can even mix those two. If you're using cotton, you can use fewer layers but rayon is usually so much lighter, you can use up to 5 or 6 layers which makes it really full and fluffy. Silk, although a natural fabric, doesn't work very well at all unless it's mixed with cotton or rayon. !00% flannel and flannelette also works well and you can use fewer layers. The others that have talked about taking your item to the laundromat are correct. The first time it's washed, particularly if it's a quilt, makes zillions of loose thread, better that it gets gotten rid of there than stuck in the drainage or filters of your own machine. You layer your fabric, figure out where the grainline is and then draw your sewing lines at a 45 degree angle from the grainline. That gives you a nice fluffy chenille furrow and keeps the threads from continuing to fray away. When I made my quilt, I did it in 12 or 14-inch squares; sewed all the lines, slashed them and then sewed them together into the quilt. It was made out of white flannel and then it was washed and dyed all in one step. I wanted a finished product that wasn't evenly dyed, more of a mottled look and that's how it came out. It would be much more difficult to work with a whole piece the size of a quilt, have all the layers and try to sew and slash the lines. It would get really heavy to work with and harder to stay on the 45 degree angle. I did a small child's quilt that way and it worked okay but even that got pretty bulky to work with. Good luck with your project. |
User: KayTee
Member since: 12-06-2002 Total posts: 98 |
From: NanCee
Date: 05-06-2004, 12:08 AM (15 of 21)
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Hey I'm so confused now and "Plrlegal" says theres rag quilt and chenille?Please clarify. KayTee, sounds like you have had lots of experience. I picked up some "homespun"cotton (thats what the clerk called it) and have some cotton called waffle so I will do 4 sq.s one and 5 sq.s the other. However I neglected to ask whether I should wash the fabrics first befor I cut and sew? Also was told today only one denim worked! What other types of cotton have you used? besides flannel? I would like a sort of moss green color and havent found anything with a nice weave. I will have to wash in my own washer, can I get good results if I rinse it in a tub first or wont that remove enough threads to safely use my washer? Dont want DH to raise cain!! |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: KayTee
Date: 05-06-2004, 10:38 AM (16 of 21)
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I've done successful chenille with denim, chambray, cottons and rayon, and a mix of each of the above. And some of my early projects included a layer of Warm and Natural dyed to the appropriate colour. But they each need to be 100% -- no polyester or lycra content. Sometimes you can add something like viscose in the layers and it works out. I recently made a lightweight jacket using two layers of cotton print from the quilting section of the store, caramel colour with big black roses, and used one layer of plain black cotton between those two layers and the base layer was black. It turned out really well and isn't heavy. That's another problem with chenille: the more layers of fabric you use, the heavier the item becomes. With a quilt for example, that's a good thing -- with a jacket that's not what you want necessarily. Biggest piece of advice: samples. Do lots of samples. If you're using 4 fabrics plus the base layer, you should have 4 samples. It is truly amazing at the difference it makes what order the fabrics are layered in. If you do 4 samples, it usually works out that 2 will definitely be awful and the other 2 will be good - then you just have to choose what kind of look you want. No, don't wash the fabric first. Chenille fluffs up because of all the newly cut edges. I have washed smaller chenille projects (pillows, vests) in my own washer with no difficulty but if the project is of any size, the laundromat would be the way to go. That's true even for rag time quilts just due to the size of them - laundromats have larger, more heavy duty equipment. If you can track them down, there are two excellent books on this subject by Nanette Holmberg - she created this method and her books are packed full of good advice. If you check out my web page, the denim jacket with chenille lapels has two layers of denim and two layers of chambray. Ocean Waves was six layers of light weight rayon which I had hand dyed first. If you're buying rayon for chenille, the bigger type prints are better because they don't get "lost" once the chenille is done. I hope this helps. |
User: KayTee
Member since: 12-06-2002 Total posts: 98 |
From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 05-06-2004, 11:56 AM (17 of 21)
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NanCee, a rag quilt is usually 2 layers of squares sewed together with the seams on the right side and then clipped down to the seamline so that they ravel. This gives each seam a fluffy look.. Chenille is layers of fabric with lines and lines of parallel stitching on the diagonal and then you put a protector on top of the bottom fabric and slash thru all the other layers and this creates the chenille fuzzy puffy row.. You control whether you want an allover design or just certain rows or designs.. I grew up with chenille so I am not particularly crazy about it.. Fuzz, you know..Makes me sneeze.. But I love rag quilts and they are so easy to make..
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
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From: NanCee
Date: 05-06-2004, 03:10 PM (18 of 21)
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LeapFrog Libby, thank you for the explanation. Everyone has been very helpful. KayTee, You are one busy,talented gal.Thank you for all your helpful info. Ienjoyed your pic.s. Your quilt is gorgeous. I dont quilt, I sometimes dont even have time to do all the sewing I want.This pc takes up too much of my time(according to DH),I only go on when I am waiting for "water to boil"or something! Or I'm breaking. My favourites were the Xmas pillows and the "really its flannel" Did you use one of the pat.s from like McCalls orSimplicity or was it one made just for the chenille work.When I get this lap quilt done I would like to make a jacket like that. |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: KayTee
Date: 05-06-2004, 05:04 PM (19 of 21)
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Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it. No, I use regular patterns for the jackets -- something that doesn't have too many pieces is good. |
User: KayTee
Member since: 12-06-2002 Total posts: 98 |
From: NanCee
Date: 05-09-2004, 01:15 PM (20 of 21)
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KayTee. Did you do that jacket I liked from flannel? |
User: NanCee
Member since: 04-15-2004 Total posts: 76 |
From: KayTee
Date: 05-09-2004, 03:45 PM (21 of 21)
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Hi NanCee, Yes, that jacket is made out flannel, with a lining of cotton (same as the kangaroo pocket). I had taken a fabric dyeing class and used white flannel for all the dyeing projects. 11 metres of white flannel turned into 12-inch blocks of all different colours. They took up quite a bit of space so I turned a whole bunch of them into that jacket. Flannel is so fluffy when you're making chenille that you really only need 2 or 3 layers plus the base. It makes nice fluffy blankets. |
User: KayTee
Member since: 12-06-2002 Total posts: 98 |
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