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Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt

Bandanna projects· crafts· Home Projects· Patriotic Projects· quilts· Sewing· Tutorials

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How to make a quilt from bandanas:  This Red White and Blue Quilt is double sided and absolutely perfect for summer picnics and patriotic holidays!

Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)

Every Fourth of July, our family heads down to the little festival and firework display put on by our city.  In the past, I’ve always brought along an old comforter for everyone to sit on while hang out and wait for the fireworks.  This year, I decided to get a little fancy and make a special picnic quilt out of red white and blue bandannas. (Plus it’s only June 24th, how ahead of the game and I, the procrastinator extraordinaire?)

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This is a great cheater method to make a quick little quilt!  It’s different from the cheater method I used on this quilt.  Since no binding is needed, it has a very casual look and comes together in just a few hours.

I do wish I had thought a little bit more ahead when planning the colors of the quilt.  It is double sided, so I could have done the back side in different color bandannas so the quilt could be used for different occasions.  (Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20 right?)

To make this quilt, you will need:

  • 18 Bandannas (9 per side make a very good size picnic quilt)
  • Quilt Batting
  • Safety pins
  • Scissors, ruler, Basic sewing supplies
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Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt.

How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas (in just a few hours.)

1.  Start by laying out your bandannas into a pleasing pattern.

Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)

Next, line up the bandannas right sides together and sew along the edge using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  Sew all the bandannas together in a row and then sew the rows together.  Don’t stress too much about lining the bandannas up perfectly or matching up corners, because this will not happen!  Bandannas are never cut straight!

Go ahead and sew the bandannas together for the other quilt side and iron all the seams flat.  (You really could just stop here and have an adorable tablecloth to use for your family celebrations.  Like my bandanna tablecloths here.)

Lay one side of the quilt flat on the ground with the wrong side up and top with the quilt batting.  If you need to trim the quilt batting to fit, be sure to leave 3 to 4 inches around the entire quilt in case the bandannas or batting shift when quilting.

Use safety pins and pin the quilt batting in place.  Sew a couple of quilting lines down the quilt to hold the batting in place.  Remove all the pins.

Lay the quilt back out on the floor with the batting side down and and place the 2nd quilt side on top with the  wrong side facing up.

Sew along the edges, leaving a 10 inch opening so you can flip the quilt right side out.

Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)

Trim the edges to a scant 1/4 inch.

Flip the quilt right side out.

Hand or machine sew the opening closed.  You could iron the edges flat and topstitch around the edges, though I chose not to do this…

Add a couple more lines of quilting to hold the quilt front and back in place.  You can really do as much or as little quilting as you want.  You are done!

Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)

I haven’t washed the quilt yet, I want to get to the store and pick up some more of the shout color catchers for the first few washes.  They really do work and I want to be double sure the red bandannas don’t turn the white bandannas pink!

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My “assistant” could not wait to give the quilt a test run…

Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)

Want more easy quilt patterns?  be sure to check these out:

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Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt. How to Make a Quilt from Bandanas in just a few hours. (No binding method.)
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Comments

  1. I love the quilt. We go to a local lake for fireworks every year. It is quite a big event in our small town. I'm fairly certain that everyone who lives in the county shows up. The few benches are always taken hours before the fireworks start. I can't believe I've never thought to bring a quilt before. Especially a beautiful handmade quilt like this one.

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  2. Super cute! My daughter and I made a quilt top like this last year, but I haven't finished it! I'll have to use the shortcut method you used to make it go faster and actually finish it 🙂

    Reply

  6. Wow! This is a super cute idea! I love it! I think it will make a great gift this summer for a little girl I know!
    Dija
    theinspiredcafe.com

    Reply

  11. Bandana quilt was the first project I tackled a few years back I back mine with fleece much simpler for me I like easy people really enjoy them and there are a lot of designs out there. Thank you for sharing and I now have another great blog to follow

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    • I love the idea for a lightweight quilt in the summertime! Thank you for all the ideas!!

      Reply

  13. Love the simplicity of this! I like picking up cute and whimsical bandanas and I was just going through some of my stash earlier this week and now have a great use for them! I'm thinkin I'll make a quick summery quilt to take to the beach and put those cuties to good use! Thanks for sharing a great idea!

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  16. We had a quilt made from red and blue bandanas when I was a little girl. My mom had made it and I always wanted to make one too. Thanks for showing me what to do!

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  21. Cool idea. I see these bandanas in unique colors and designs all the time and think "what can I do with that?" I haven't thought of anything…until now! I will start collecting! This would be great for a male/boy theme. I found you on INspire Me Wednesday!

    Reply

  22. Your quilt is so colorful and turned out gorgeous! Perfect for the 4th. Thanks for sharing your great idea!

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  23. This is so fun a beautiful! What a great use for bandannas! You did a great job! We would love it if you linked up with our party this week!

    Reply

  29. Thank you thank you! I have some random bandanas at my house that I have been trying to put to use. This would be a great project for me & my daughter to work on!

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  30. This is so cute! It's perfect for sitting under the fireworks on the 4th of July.
    ~Bonnie @ Behind the Seams Sewing

    Reply

  34. I have a habit of collecting bandanas. This would be a good project to start with. Thanks so much for sharing. : )

    Reply

  35. This is so cute.. I have never made a quilt, but have been wanting to learn. I think this will be
    a great one to start learning! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  36. Have you tried rinsing the bandanas in vinegar? I remember doing that when we tie dyed shirts to set the colors. Just wondered if it would work here.

    Reply

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