Charging for a T-shirt quilt

[Dawn S.]

I have been asked to make a couple of t-shirt/sweatshirt quilts for the daughters of our doctor's physician assitant. They need to be done soon, so I am guessing it will be for graduation. I am awaiting all of the details. But, in the meantime, what questions should I be asking her, and what in the world would I charge? I know I will keep the quilting at a minimum and on the simple side, and it will be done on my domestic machine. If she expects more, I will not take on the project. I have too many other FUN projects I am doing right now to heavily quilt TWO quilts! I have never done a t-shirt quilt, but look at it as a fairly easy project. Am I right? So maybe, charge $100 a quilt plus the cost of fabric and batting? I know she has gone through some rough times, and doesn't have a whole lot to spend, and I could use the money for Houston Festival. But, I don't want to get in over my head, and not make enough to make it worth while. Thanks for any input!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Pam D.]

Dawn, I know that Eileen Keane makes t shirt quilts so it might be worth contacting her.

[Dawn S.]

Thanks, Pam! I will do that! BTW, I'm keeping you and Ruth in my prayers!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Dawn S.]

The going rate for making a tshirt quilt in my area is $15 a shirt, plus supplies, plus quilting.

You need to cut each tshirt to a uniform size, let's say 13" which would allow for a 1/2" seam so finish at 12". Another common size is 15" finished. Every tshirt needs to be stabilized with fusible non woven interfacing such as Pellon 911. Actually you would rough cut the shirts, fuse them, then trim to the size needed. It's a big, time consuming job. Those who make these a lot, buy a heat press to use instead of an iron...

Often they have sashing and cornerstones, perhaps 2"-3" wide, then a border of perhaps 5" - 6". They could be set together without sashing of course, but sashing does help to keep the bulky seams away from each other at the corners. Press each seam allowance open to reduce bulk too. Bulk in tshirt quilts is one of the issues to watch out for, you don't want to sew over bulky corners and risk a broken needle. The other is if the interfacing doesn't fuse well, and pulls away... that can create folds and pleats on top when you are quilting it, because the knit tshirts will stretch when quilted.

After the top is pieced, use a light poly batting. These babies are heavy!! So cotton makes them even heavier. I use Quilters Dream Poly when I quilt them. The back can be any nice cotton.

I use a longarm and mostly do a large, simple meander, avoiding all intersections. Just a safeguard for those bulky seams. I also avoid quilting in the most rubbery of decals. They are sticky and grab the needle and thread and can shred/break the thread. On a DSM, I'd use a demin needle for strength, and a poly thread like Dual Duty. You will have to stabilize the quilt well, with safety pins and stitch slowly. You could meander or maybe just do strait line quilting with a walking foot, but not SID, rather find a path that is not going to hit the rubbery parts and avoid those bulky areas... perhaps a square around each image and then lines in the sashing like a grid?

Most tshirt quilts are large, bed size and they are very heavy to maneuver under a DSM. You will have a tall order to get into the center of the quilt with all that quilt in the harp area of your DSM. Perhaps she/you should consider sending it a longarmer, esp if it's more than 9 shirts.

As far a sweatshirts, I think I"d pass on that!! And don't mix tshirts and sweatshirts, it will be nightmare to quilt!

HTH and JMHO

[Dawn S.]

Thank you Michelle for your in depth tutorial on how T-shirt quilts should be made, and some of the pitfalls! I now know that this is not a quicky project. I will charge a lot more than I originally would have, (if I decide to make them) and let her know that she either accepts my possibly troubled quilting, or she can pay the bucks to get it up on a long arm! I'll check those prices out ahead of time, too. I didn't realize these quilts were so "weighty" or had such bulky seams. I've got a lot to think about here! Thanks, again!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Roseanne M.]

I have sewn 2 t-shirt "quilts" for our son & daughter. The word "quilts" is used since after piecing all the shirts & fabric bits, I put right sides together with flannel (after washing & drying the flannel in hot water 2 times to pre-shrink) & then turned & closed the
opening, top stitched around the edge & done. The kids loved them without batting & quilting.
Michelle is correct about the importance of fusing before cutting to stabilize the knit. I used a knit interfacing & lined up the stretch in opposing directions to the shirt. Otherwise, it's so wonky, it's impossible to cut it square. The shirt designs weren't very cooperative either as to size. In order to keep things a consistent size, I had to add fabric strips to some of the squares. This was a fun design exercise with the kids choosing what they liked.
Wish I could attach photos, but I don't have them on this computer.
I'd come over & help if I could!
Have fun

[Dawn S.]

Thanks, Roseanne! I'm seeing the value of us posting our quilts on our profiles, now. I went to your profile.......hoping! But alas, there were NO quilts, except that cutie pie drawing! I would love pictures when ever you get a chance!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Joyce D.]

I made a large t-shirt quilt for an acquaintance out of her daughters shirts. To please the mother, I agreed to use as many shirts as possible and make it as big as possible. I used knit fusible on the shirts and then cut them. It was a huge puzzle to fit together. I made it in three sections, did minimal quilting, and then stitched the sections together and then bound it. No batting. I furnished the backing fabric, fusible, and thread. I really undercharged at just under $200. She wrote me a check for $250, which I gratefully accepted.

When her son graduated from high school, she wanted a oversized pillow case to fit a body pillow. That was much easier than a quilt. I still used the fusible to control the stretching. I asked for $35 and she paid $50.

She has one more daughter to graduate in 1.5 years. I know there is another large quilt in my future. I will do it, but it will be the last t-shirt quilt I will ever make! I have not enjoyed the process. Although, I know that I have made it a much larger chore than it needed to be. If I had been given the freedom to just make it anyway I wanted, it would have been much simpler and a limit on the number of shirts used.

[Roseanne M.]

Thanks, Roseanne! I'm seeing the value of us posting our quilts on our profiles, now. I went to your profile.......hoping! But alas, there were NO quilts, except that cutie pie drawing! I would love pictures when ever you get a chance!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Lol
That actually is a quilt, though small.
It's a 2' x 2' panel submitted to The Dream Rocket Project.
The "drawing" is individual hand embroidered stitches about the size of grains of rice. And then echo quilted in cream.
I really need to get other photos posted!