i tend to use a tan thread for t-shirt quilts and let the design of the shirt dictate how to quilt it ......don't go around all the letters individually but in groups /around pictures /maybe if there is lots of room around the edges i do a rope like loop-de-loop it just makes the shirts pop ..and the tan or off white thread blends in with rather than taking away from the shirts ....good luck ...can't wait to see it