Goodwill Quilting

 One day, I decided to try my hand at sewing.  After a trip to the local Goodwill, I had my project picked out....   a Goodwill Sweater Quilt

If you don't shot at Goodwill, it's a fantastic place for makers and artists to get good and cheap materials to work with.  For this particular project, I choose 9 different sweaters that were $2 each...  If you already have a sewing machine... that makes this project under $20!!!

 My family has always enjoyed the Amish country, and I chose the Lonestar quilt pattern for my quilt.  I love the look of it, and it's a surprisingly simple geometric pattern to sew.

 When you look at the shape of a sweater, you wanna cut it so you have as little waste as possible.  
I first cut off the sleeves and filleted them open by cutting down the seam.  This leaves the main body of the sweater.  All you have to do is cut the side seams, it leaves you with 2 large pieces of fabric (the front and the back)

 You'll notice that for each individual sweater, you have 2 large pieces of fabric (the front and the back) and 2 smaller pieces ( the 2 sleeves).  If you bought 9 sweaters like I did, you can actually make 2 quilts out of this fabric by attaching regular quilt backing.  I simply made 2 quilts and sewed them back to back, making one very thick quilt with the Lonestar pattern on both sides.

 I them made 3 cardboard cutouts to use as a template to cut out my individual pieces.  Remember you want to leave about 1/2 inch over hang on each side for your sewing seams!

 After cutting up each sweater into it's main components, it's time to lay out your pieces to your liking.  If you notice, the Lonestar pattern is like a tic-tac-toe board, with 9 equal squares.  5 of these are solid pieces, so that means we only have 4 squares that we have to assemble before final assembly. 

 After I cut out my pieces from my templates, I had some left over scraps.  I couldn't just throw them away, so I made one more cardboard template in the shape of a Christmas stocking and whipped up a few decorations.  I even had enough to make a tiny stocking ornament for my tree, and of course, a snowman scarf :)

 This was my fun and cheap way of making something that's handmade, awesome looking, and functional all at the same time.  I'll be staying warm this winter, and when it warms up outside, I'll display it on my wall as a work of art!