TShirt Quilts

[Alex A.]

Hi Everyone,

This is Adair, Alex's daughter. I forgot my log in Anyway, any tips on how to make a tshirt quilt? My friends and I want to do something with all of our old gear. Thanks for your help!

Adair

[Beth A.]

Hi, Adair! Welcome to the board!

First – get yourself a book & choose a pattern! There are many (well, at least SEVERAL!) books out there with instructions and patterns, but they boil down to those that use just the T-short logos cut into same-size blocks and those that use them more creatively --cut into different sized pieces.

One new one is TOO COOL T-SHIRT QUILTS – see http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com/

Another is THE EXTRAORDINARY T-SHIRT QUILT: A SCRAPBOOK YOU CAN SLEEP UNDER – see http://www.amazon.com/Extraordinary-...ref=pd_sim_b_3

(You get the idea – just Google T shirt quilts.)

T-shirts are made of knit cotton which is stretchier than regular quilting cotton, so the first thing you have to do is stabilize it with lightweight fusible stabilizer. It's easy to do, but it can take a while. Once you do that, it handles more like regular woven cotton and you can treat it just like you bought it at your favorite quilt store – or went shopping in your mom’s VERY well organized stash. (That’s what she tells US, anyway! -- and if you tell us otherwise, it will be almost as big a scandal as David Letterman's!)

One thing to remember: T-shirt fabric + stabilizer + batting + backing fabric can result in a pretty heavy quilt. Be prepared for that! Some people don’t use any batting at all and just back it with polarfleece. At the very least, use the lightest weight batting you can find.

T-shirt quilts are great fun and preserve lots of memories. Have fun!

BethMI

[Sharon E.]

Adair -- Okay honey you need to cut the t-shirt design BIGGER than you will want to cut it eventually. You will need to go to JoAnn's and purchase an interfacing with a nap. One way stretches and the other way doesn't -- then iron that interfacing to each t-shirt block with the naps going the opposite direction. That way the t-shirt doesn't stretch and the interfacing doesn't stretch. Does this make sense? Then cut the block to the desired size. You will definitely have different sizes for the t-shirts, just play with them and you may have to use filler strips with quilters cotton to make it all fit. Just lay them out and play.

I have done several t-shirt quilts and they tend to be heavier than regular quilts with the added interfacing and the t-shirt fabric is heavier.

Good luck, hugs to mom,

Sharon - who still promises to bring the drinks -- in Colorado

[Sharon E.]

Don't be fooled into having to use iron on backing - you don't need it. And without it you have a much softer quilt. The book How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt gives you complete directions for making the quilts without iron on backing and the sashing. They are fun to make! We have been making quilts this way for 17 years and the first ones are still in use. T-shirt material is so much easier to sew than cotton! Trust me! Andrea Funk, Too Cool T-shirt Quilts.

http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com

[Alex A.]

Thank you everyone! I will start my research this weekend. Sounds like I have a lot of choices on what to do.

Don't worry my mom is NOT lying when she says her stash is well organized... after all I am EXCELLENT at organizing

A

[Lynn K.]

Look at the quilt I made my bicycleing friend from his TShirts, Alex. I think it is really cool and unusual. Plus I won a ribbon with it!

It's in my profile! the second one on top row.

Lynn

[Lynn K.]

Adair, I have one in my profile, too. It's the third photo. My daughter didn't want all the blocks the same size, but she didn't want "quilty" patterns filling in the spaces either, so I just created lots of different sized sashing strips from the same print to make the blocks fit together.

[Lynn K.]

I have a bunch of my son's T-shirts saved and someday would like to make a quilt with them. It is on my todo list. LOL, maybe a grand will get it someday. Keep us posted on your progress please. Sandi in FL

[Lynn K.]

Adair you probably already know tons more about quilting than I did when I made my twins' t-shirt quilts-- I don't think you can go wrong, no matter what you do! Not sure how the "too cool" ones are pieced but I made mine in "columns" to account for the various sized images. So I did a lot of measuring before cutting, to determine what some maximum and minimum widths would be. They're on my profile under the personal photos. These were the very first quilts I ever made. They're backed with polar fleece (and they ARE heavy) and flipped pillow-case style, thus no binding. I tied them, but this summer, before college, they needed some TLC so I zig-zagged all the seams on my machine. Good luck!
Florence

[Eileen K.]

Adair,
If you go to the quilt gallery, I just uploaded a quilt I made for DH Mike last year. Since I had such odd sizes, I went with a non-traditional setting.
eileenkny

[Eileen K.]

I have made a couple. I do not stabilize them with any special product. I just cut the T-shirts with two layers and I serged the edges together. I usually try to pick a woven cloth with less stretch to use between the blocks. I do not always use the same size block. I like some kind of flannel for the backing and I have stitched in the ditch for finishing the quilt instead of tying them.
FYI---I needed more t shirts so I asked the football coach for some extras; he was generous. I used them to add fabric transfers like pictures or newspaper articles. The quilts I have made have all been well received. Good luck with your memories!