I am in the process of making 4 quilts from recycled men's shirts. This is what I did.
- Laundered all shirts (they came from the Salvation Army)
- Cut them into 5 large pieces: fronts, sleeves, back. I put all the bits (collars, cuffs etc.) in a box. Need to decide later about this stuff.
- Starched everything heavily
- Cut everything into 5" charms and 2 3/4 inch "quarter charms"
Got a couple of Pat Speth's Nickle Quilt books, and was good to go!
By starching everything, the different weights didn't seem to matter much. All shirts were 100% cotton and ranged in weight from a heavy work twill to a light dress shirt.