The Cashmere Quilt

When I moved into my house a few summers ago, I didn’t pack away my sweaters and they were selectively chewed by moths. I couldn’t bear to toss them, so I made them into scarves which I mostly sell, or give away as gifts.

However, all along, I’ve been thinking of how I can make a blanket out of the sweaters, which I now buy for a few dollars each at thrift stores. You’d be amazed at how many I find.

A few weeks ago, I came across a technique that was the solution for the blanket. I needed to be able to patch the squares together without having rough edges. I found a Korean process for seams that would work perfectly. The finished edges looked nearly identical on the front and the back, and this was exactly what I wanted. You can see where I started the project here.

I first put together strips of 11 blocks of 8x8 inch cashmere squares. I was never good at maths, and so my calculations were slightly off and the finished blanket was a wee bit bigger than I anticipated and it was very ungainly to sew.

It wasn’t until I put it on the bed that I realized exactly how big it is, so I may actually have to cut it down a little bit and maybe make another blanket. This one’s already spoken for – actually, it’s a Christmas present for my mother (she already knows because I wanted her to pick out the colours).

It’s puckered a bit at the hems, but that’s mainly because I haven’t blocked the piece yet. That will flatten it out and shape it.

Not all of the patches aligned exactly, but once I saw the finished product, I realized that I liked the slightly off-set look of the pieces.

I discovered that the patches with the cables, particularly a certain sweater, stretched more than the other pieces, so that accounted for the lack of alignment.

Over all, I am pretty pleased with the way this turned out, and now I am going to make one for myself!

And then I am going to wish for a very cold winter, because this is going to be so cozy and warm!