I've made several tee shirt quilts. I sew the 12 1/2 inch squares of the design (with interfacing on the back) of the tee shirt into strips. I use the flip and sew method to put the backing and (interfacing if needed)on it. I then quilt the first strip using FMQ and the free motion foot. Using the FMQ you can stitch around the design and lettering easily and as close as you think needed. Then I add the sashing in the flip and sew method. Then keep adding strips and sashing till you are done. In this method you are only dealing with quilting 12 inches at a time. It is so nice of you to do this, not having made one before.