Do I HAVE TO...?
 

I have made 5 memory quilts of shirts that belonged to my deceased cousin. There were so many t-shirts that I refused to throw away and lots of scraps, so I made LOTS of string blocks. I STILL had lots of t-shirt parts left over so I cut them into 6 1/2" squares. I appliqued hearts on some of the squares, but I have over 100 squares to deal with. Do I HAVE to put some kind of backing on the squares before sewing them together? Since they will be interspersed with the string blocks, won't that provide enough stability to make a lap quilt? I don't know if I can afford the backing for all the squares! :)

Thanks for any and all advice.

I would think it would be difficult to sew the jersey knit to a woven cotton without a backing on the knits. The knits are going stretch when you sew them.

I suppose you could use paper then tear it off.

Or ... put them all on one piece of iron on backing, then use your rotary cutter to cut them all at once.

You really need a stabilizer. Otherwise the t-shirt fabric will stretch and swarm on you like crazy.

Do you have old jeans? You could do something like this. Then you wouldn't have to put anything behind but a scrap of batting. These make a great memory quilt.

that's a great idea

This is cool. Very nice quilt.

Off the top of my head, I would say you need stabilizer. You might be able to get away without if you use regular cotton quilting fabric as sashing to control the edges of the blocks. However, since it sounds like you have extra, why not piece a small sample without it & quilt it and see how it goes.

I like the jeans idea. What about the wash out stabilizer?

Just newspaper?

Contrary to popular belief you do NOT have to put stabilizer on the back of T-shirts to use in a T-shirt quilt. I have made numerous T-shirt quilts and have only put stabilizer on shirts that were very flimsy or that were the open mesh. Just treat the t-shirt squares gently.

That's a really cute quilt. What size are your blocks and the strips that frame them?

You could also starch the dickens out of em. That would probably work just as well.

That's just what I was thinking. Or maybe even diluting some Elmer's and using that, so they'll be super stiff.

Or put stabilizer just along the edges, to make it go farther?

I think some experimenting is probably in order. :)

Watched a couple videos on YouTube and for the T-Shirt quilts they used a stabilizer/foundation. I believe it was Pellon.

quiltedsunshine - I love your quilt. I

Do the jeans just frame the squares or what? I do like this idea! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks to all for their advice! I really appreciate the knowledge contained in this board.

I have made lots of t-shirt quilts and have always used fusible stabilizer. I can't work with the jersey fabric without it.

What about freezer paper, at least until they are sewn together????? Just a thought?

If you really want a stable back for the blocks-try using used fabric dryer sheets....i use them instead of paper for paper in paper piecing...that eliminates the time consuming job of tearing off paper

Thanks, Ladies. The denim quilt pattern is "Brick Work or Windows Denim Quilt." You can find it on Craftsy or Etsy. It's a quilt as you go thing, and works up pretty fast. I've made them with flannel instead of denim, and put minky in the center squares, and they make a soft, snuggly baby quilt.

I have a friend who makes T-shirt quilts, using interesting designs from the front or back of T-shirts, and this is the tip she gave me - fuse lightweight fusible interfacing onto the back of the T-shirt fabric to stabilize it, otherwise it will give you all kinds of hissy fits.

For sure the stabilizing would be most helpful, but.... the t shirts were made without it... Having made a LOT of t shirts in my time, just knowing you have to be very gentle when you sew them, it is very doable to just sew the blocks. Put the t short on the down side of the seam with the cotton and you will have good luck.

I also like the jeans idea. Makes a nice looking backing too

I know what you mean! These directions for making a t-shirt quilt are very very different than any others. This was the second only quilt I ever made, and it was so easy even for a novice as me. There is no batting at all, it isn't needed. You use fleece for the back, but you have to read this pattern carefully to see how it is done one square at a time. It is so fast and easy, and looks great. Needs no starch, no foundation piece, just read it over and see what you think.

I say all of this because I posted it once before and I got flamed somewhat when someone said, "t-shirt quilts have been around for a long time, and everyone already knows this!"

Well, I knew that too, but honestly, I don't think you have seen one as easy as this.

http://tinyurl.com/lm6nhxt

I have found that when I don't put something behind the knit fabric, it is very helpful to pin a little more to help keep the stretch to a minimum. I also find adjusting the presser foot to a lighter pressure works great as it puts less drag on the fabric, thus causing less stretch.

Thin fusible interfacing doesn't cost much, and makes a huge difference when you are sewing the squares together.

Yes, that will work. I made a t-shirt quilt for my granddaughter and didn't have any fusible interfacing. I just ironed freezer paper to the back of my shirts before I cut them out and left it on until I sewed borders of regular cotton all around. After that I removed the paper and had no problems with the t-shirt material stretching.

Before I learned the 'proper way" to stabilize tee shirts for quilts, I cut tee shirt logos and used cotton for sashing. In sewing the sashing to the tee shirt block, I placed the sashing on top and the tee shirt on the bottom close to the feed dogs. This was a good way of keeping the stretching down to a minimum. The first quilt, I hand quilted around the sashing (SITD) and did some tying within the blocks. That quilt is still going strong after 17 years. This last quilt I did (a UFO from about that same time) was done all tied. It's the softest most comfy quilt around! One tee shirt quilt that I stabilized had to be quilted by a LAer because of the size and weight.