meyert

Hello... I am starting on a memory quilt (based on the clothes that I was given I may make 2 quilts) and I am pretty nervous. I don't want to foul this up (at least not too bad). I have all different types of material. Tshirts, a sweatshirt, cottons, light denim and midweight denim... do you think I can put all of these together on one quilt? My thought was that I would put interfacing on the Tshirts to help them "stand up" to the rest of the fabric. Any thoughts? Thank you Teresa

amyjo

Definitely would put an interfacing behind them so they won't stretch. sweatshirt and midweight denim maybe on the back. I think the others together would be all right. In fact I think the midweight denim would make perfect backing if that is what you chose to do. I have made some of them and used it for the backs, as I felt they didn't work too well with the t shirt and cottons. Amy

Tartan

It is tricker to make a quilt top with a lot of different fabrics. Try to find a pattern that is fairly simple with as few seams as possible. I usually just do squares with the seams off-set (kind of like bricks) and then top stitch on some of the interesting leftover bits like pockets, lace etc.

PaperPrincess

You will want to use stablizer with the knits: T shirts & Sweat shirts. If you have enough clothing, I think I would try to go with the 2 quilt idea, using the denims and heavier knits in one and the cottons and light weight knits in the other. Also, you might want to ask your client if you can add fabric.

meyert

Thank you for your replies. I have never used interfacing before, so this is a learning experience for me. As a first time user, are there any tricks to working with interfacing that I should be aware of? If I have a Tshirt that will be cut into several blocks should I put the interfacing on prior to cutting the blocks out? Tartan: I was thinking about using the Jacob's Ladder pattern for the memory quilt (I am using Jacob's clothing so it seemed to fit) - modified somewhat to accommodate the logos on the Tshirts. Do you see a big problem with the Jacob's ladder pattern with mixed fabrics? I thought maybe smaller blocks would accommodate the mixed fabrics better than larger blocks. Pa perPrincess: I have purchased additional fabric. I have some cotton fabric that I will use to mix in for the blocks on the front of the quilt. I have never mixed different fabrics on the front of a quilt (other than cotton and flannel). I also have purchased a fleece panel that I was planning using for the backing. Would fleece for the backing be a problem? (I have used fleece backing for many of my quilts and I am usually happy with the outcome because the quilts are very cuddly this way) I appreciate your thoughts Teresa

PaperPrincess

Here's a link to instructions on how to make a tshirt quilt. It talks about interfacing:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Quilt-from-Tee-Shirts

I think the fleece would be just fine for the backing. If you use it with denim, I would not use a batting too, just the fleece.

meyert

Thank you for the link.. I have some homework to do now I was thinking about skipping the batting as well - figured the fleece would be enough

Tartan

Jacob's Ladder should be do-able if you keep the blocks big enough. Try out a block and see how it goes. If one block turns out too hard use that one for a pillow front and try something else.

hopetoquilt

I love shadow box for t shirt quilts because it accommodates big blocks and lots if colors that don't go together

meyert

Tartan: I did do a Jacobs ladder block from scraps - - but that is a good idea. I will try it again with scraps that are the same material that I will be using in my quilt to see how it goes - Thanks When you say if the blocks are not too small - - do you have a size that you think may cause more problems? hopetoquilt: That quilt is gorgeous! thank you for sharing. My problem is that I don't have that many Tshirts. We lost our nephew in an auto accident and my sister gave me some of his clothes to make a memory quilt from... what she gave me is a little bit of everything. I am still in the creative steps so I truly appreciate your picture