Thread: Virgin Quilter

A T-shirt quilt is very tough for a new quilter. Find someone who knows about quilting and ask them to assist you or at least to be available for questions. One bit of advice I give to folks doing a T-shirt quilt is to look at it in stages rather than the whole quilt. First, lay out the shirts and get an idea of what you want to do (this may change over time). Then, rest, then stabilize the shirts and cut out the pieces (include generous seam allowances at this point). Then, at a later date, start looking at how they will be laid out. Doing it in stages may help you from feeling overwhelmed and let you build your confidence. Good luck!

Welcome to the board from NE Ohio.

I personally have never made a T-shirt quilt, however, a friend of mine has made 5-6 and she ALWAYS uses stabilizer because of the stretch in the T-shirt.

Just to add my 2 cents worth, this is indeed the greatest Quilting Board. There are so many fantastic ladies who are such a help with any question. If you want more detail, you can click on their name and do a PM (Personal Message) to them. I have a sweet gal even in New Zealand who has become an e-mail friend through her advice on a particular pattern.

I have made several t-shirt quilts for my grandchildren (from their various sports' activities) and you definitely want to wash the t-shirts first; then cut off the neck and arm areas which will give you a flat piece (from the front and back) and then iron on the stabilizer prior to cutting the block size you plan to use. If you search for "Ayden's Quilt" on this Board, you will find a wonderful pattern for a t-shirt quilt; in my opinion the best there is. It gives almost a 3-D affect and it is really easy. The "creator" of the quilt was so helpful with her explanation which included pictures. If you have trouble finding the site, please e-mail me or PM me. darrellsuecrotts@verizon.net. You have made a wonderful decision to start quilting and to join this Board.

Definitely use iron stabilizer on cotton shirt fabric (be careful with "technical" fabric shirts...use lower temp on iron) you can get it in packages &/or in bulk at Jo-Ann Stores - here are a few I did for charity quilts to give you some ideas on using boarders to separate shirt colors that may be similar