The Pantyhose Comforter

(Page 2 of 2)

March/April 1979
By Charlene, S. Wilson 
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(When I made my first quilt, I tried to use assorted white fabric to back each patch of color in an effort to make the colored material I had "go further". It was not a smart move! Not only wasn't the comforter reversible ... it looked so odious that I had to re-cover it!)

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After you've sewn up all the quilt squares, clip the corners (but not the stitching!), turn the pouch right side out, square the four "right angles" with a chopstick or some such, and stuff each fabric "baggie" with a pair of pantyhose. When all the stockings are in all the "pockets", sew up the open edges with tiny overcast stitches. (You could machine-sew the holes shut, but it looks awful. I know . . . because I've tried it.)

Now, match the plump pillows up in attractive pairs and sew them together with small overcast stitches along one side. Continue until all your squares are paired. Then pair the pairs. (You could do this by butting the squares and using a machine with a zigzag stitch, but that, too, looks terrible!)

Then stitch the sets of four together, and so on. Don't get the bright idea of sewing the squares together in strips the length or width of your intended bed-warmer and then joining the strips together. They tend to stretch and warp when this is done, and the comforter won't come out even. Sets of four squares are more easily handled. (Again, this is the voice of experience speaking.)

Keep joining one block of pillows to another until the comforter is of a suitable size. At that point, it's finished . . . unless you want to trim the edges. To do this, bind each side with a strip of fabric or satin edging ribbon ... or make a blanket stitch all the way around with bright floss or yarn.

Your new comforter will have all the attributes of a down or dacron "puff which would cost upward of $100. It'll be light, warm, easily cleaned, personalized, gentle-on-the-world . . . and inexpensive!

Not only that . . . your mind will finally be eased—as mine was—by finding a use for those blankety-blank dead nylons!

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  • Karen 9/1/2009 10:50:42 AM

    You could also, instead of hand overcasting each square, use a zigzag on top of butted edges when putting together the little pockets. It would look neater than stitching the ends, and it would take a lot less time than hand stitching them.

    What a great idea. Back when my children were small, in the 70's, I used to stuff all their homemade toys with nylons, since I saved all the ruined ones (and we wore a lot more of them back then). They lasted forever, and nylons are very washable, plus non-allergenic. It's a good use of what would ordinarily be wasted.

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