selm

I'm working on my first t-shirt quilt. Well, I've really goofed and I'm wondering if there is any way out of this problem.
I accidentally sliced through part of a t-shirt cutting the print on it in the process. I'm thinking of carefully(very carefully) putting it together with heat bond or similar along the slice. But, will the repair hold on the front along the slice over time? I believe t-shirt material doesn't ravel but will it work loose from the adhesive? Any ideas of something else that might work?

This was the back of the shirt so I do have a motif from the front but not having a lot of shirts to work with I wanted to use the back also.

Also, is it ok to use the whole front and back of a biking shirt on a quilt(minus sleeves)?
It's probably a small or extra small size so not huge. It's made of polyester I believe. I was planning on sewing around the short zipper at the neck to hold it down and machine applique the neck down. The back of the shirt has a line of pockets across the lower part of the back and I'm thinking of leaving them on as is.
I think I'm going to have to add background fabric to make the whole thing a block for the quilt. It's some work but I think it will look nice in the quilt.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

oreo1912

I would use heat n bond and then can you zigzag over the slice using a thread the same color as the tshirt. That should secure it and is what I have done with shirts that have had tears in them. Since they are used shirts a repaired rip would not be that unusual. Heck I have even used a sleeve to heatn bond a patch under a hole and then used a closed zigzag to make the hole into a flower center and then quilted petals and a stem. Sometimes you have to get creative to fix things. Just make sure you watch the iron so you don’t melt the shirt designs.

michelem

I had a client years ago who insisted on including a tee shirt her son had torn after a championship. I used fusible on the back over the cut part, then used the fusible on the entire tee that stabilized everything. My long arm quilter didn’t have a problem with it. Good luck.

aashley333

Are you using fusible interfacing on the backs to stabilize? I use a damp dishcloth under the iron to protect the plastic decals. The serpentine stitch is made for fixing rips, with the stitch length less than a 1.
Good luck! Post a pic!

selm

Thanks for all the good ideas. I'll try to post a picture when I'm done but could be a while.

maryb119

You can add an applique to cover the hole. I have used tags from the neckline or an applique from another shirt or even Boy Scout patches if it is a scout tee shirt. Just use your imagination.

MammieMo

I made a tee shirt quilt for my grandson using his tee shirts from all of his tournaments and used his team shirt made of polyester as the center piece. It turned out beautifully!