Has anyone ever done a quilt for someone who has passed away???
 

I was asked if I would be willing to make a quilt out of clothes of a loved one that passed away - I guess the person that passed has child/children (and the grandmother asked if it was possible do this - to give the kids as they get older.

I am calling the family today to discuss - I've never made one out of clothes before.

Thoughts???

Thanks
Kimberly

It's fairly common to make quilts from the clothes of a departed person. Often photos are incorporated into the quilt. Any type of clothing can be used, but of course the cottons are easier to work with. If you're not comfortable with making the quilt yourself, you might refer them to someone else. This site even offers to do it professionally - http://www.elegacyquilts.com/lost_loved_ones.htm

i have done it and it felt so good when i got the notes of appreciation :)

A lot of it depends on the fabric. I have done bear paw quilts out of men's shirts and pants, and nine patch/snowball blocks with tshirts and lady's dresses. I think I have done about 7 or 8 now and thoroughly enjoyed doing them. The only thing I found, was that I had to lightly starch every piece before cutting, with the exception of the pants. It can be very tedious taking apart all the shirts or dresses, but, it is VERY rewarding to present the families with the quilts afterwards. Good luck with endeavor and please post pictures.

Quilterella

Just talked to the person - the lady who passed on was in her late 30's, has 3 children - they would like a quilt made for each child. Hoping to meet next week to discuss. I have no problem doing it, just have never done it, need to research some.

I made three last winter out of a man's shirts. He had passed away very unexpectedly, and I was asked to make a quilt for each of his two daughters and his wife. I was a nervous wreck that the family would not be happy with them, but they all absolutely loved them. It was really quite gratifying.

My Dad sent me a lap sized quilt made from my Moms clothes, I Love It. Every few days I look at it and find some other thing that I remember her wearing, I did not live near my folks, so my Dad used the summer type clothes that I would be more familiar with. I love it, it brings such sweet memories.

I lost my husband a couple years ago.....I made both of my only grandchildren lap size quilts out of Grandpas shirts, ties, shorts and dress pants....included a picture of him with them.....turned out really really cute. Would do again for sure.....

I have two friends who both lost their husbands. They made quilts for their kids out of the mens shirts. They were nice....nothing fancy, just blocks.

I am going to start one for my BFF who's hubby passed on. She said it would be like a hug from him every time she needed it.

A very good friend lost her grown son and a few months later handed me a shirt he had worn a lot. She said she wanted a quilt for her wall, a place to think (to pray?) about him, a memory place. I made a simple star out of the fabric which was striped. She couldn't put it up for about 6 months or a year after I gave it to her but then put it up. She thanked me with tears; told me it was perfect. Also, she had said she wanted to have a place to put pictures on it so I left the four corner the white of the shirt. Later she said the shirt itself was enough. I think it was one more step in her grief process.

I did three larger sized quilts and one doggie one. Two sisters and a brother. They did not have many clothes, her hospital gown she passed in (I know some would be creeped out by that, did not bother me at all) her favorite jeans and tee shirts. Here is a link to what I did. I just cut everything that I could salvage into squares and they wanted to choose their own quilts so I did not make any of them gender specific and received a really good response back from the owners. perhaps this helps.. It was a very daunting task for me since I am just not a top rated quilter myself. http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t155575-2.html

I have made several. I have posted several pics of them here on the board. I called them memory quilts. Each one turned out wonderful. One of them was for a lady that passed away before her grandbaby arrived. She loved the outdoors, so i incorporated some of the animals that she loved. For instance, she was a turkey hunter, so I appliuqed a turkey, and other things that she loved...A couple of others that I did were for a son and daughter that lost their dad. He was a Georgia bulldogs fan, so I thread painted a georgia bulldog on each of the quilts, and he loved to fish, so, of course, there were several different things I did, one appliqued a fisherman, and fish...just things that he loved. Everyone was very pleased with their memory quilts...Good luck with yours.

my brother just passed away and I have a lot of his t-shirts and am going to make quilts for my sisters and brothers. Is there a easy pattern to work with. I really would like something easy but not just blocks if can help it. I'm not a pro at quilting and just starting to try free motion quilting. I figured lap quilts would be great and one sister wants a 10x13 quilt for a frame. Thanks for any help.

I have a friend who's beloved dog of 18 years passed away. She asked if I would make her a quilt of the dogs "clothes". How can you say no when she is standing ther crying when asking. I made it. She loved it when I gave it to her. I think that her dog had more clothes than I do!

My friend just gave me 6 large totes of her mom's clothes and gave me free reign to make as many quilts as I can using the clothes of her mom for family gifts. I have found the work to be so satisfying (even if it has kept me away from the board while making them) especially when I see the joy in her face as she remembers the outfits and her mom. I also love it because while I am making them I wonder what she would think of the pattern I chose and how they were put together. I plan on doing the same for my family out of clothing from my grandmother and grandfather as I want to be sure that part of them is always remembered in such a cherished gift.

I think this would be a wonderful gift to the family if you're able to do this. If you end up with a lot of knits, such as t-shirts, google how to make t-shirt quilts for tips. Good luck.

How I wish I had saved some of my parents clothing and made quilts. What a nice thing you are doing for this family.

I just finishe making teddy bears, abot 13 of them from my aunts clothing.
everyone loved them

I just finishe making teddy bears, abot 13 of them from my aunts clothing.
everyone loved them
The fabs i used were knits, just backed then with feather wt iron on interfacing

Lynnie, do you have a picture? Would love to see them!

I've never made a memory quilt, but have thought about it. I have most of my mother's clothes upstairs in a closet. I've already pulled any that I can/will wear myself, and can't part with the rest. DH calls me a hoarder... which I am of all that my DM loved and wanted me to have!

I made two quilts out of t-shirts for the children of a man who passed away last year. They enjoyed looking at the different parts, remembering an event they shared with their father. It's a great idea to use the clothing to make a quilt, the recipients will feel themselves wrapped in the love of their dear departed.

I made teddy bears our of my friend's mom's house dresses. I cut the dresses into strips, sewed them together randomly then cut the strips into squares and made patchwork teddy bears. They came out adorable

Yes! My SIL passed away in August. I asked for her clothes so I could make a quilt for my DH. What I was provided with would make at least a dozen quilts - so far I have completed 4 and donated them to the special needs school near us. Something for the adults (kids) to remember her by....

I have done several...all were cherished. Also made throw pillows out of whole shirts. I made them look like the shirt was just folded, color intact. It was fulfilling to give someone somthing to hodl on those dark nights.

A friend made a beautiful and snugly quilt with her husbands shirts. She discovered her husband had been very careful in matching the. Colours of his shirt and ended up with a pale purple in squares and then appliqués hearts in several places. She also kept spraying her husbands deodorant over it as well .
She found it very peaceful in the even ings to snuggle in.

Last spring I made a disappearing nine patch from the clothes of a lady who had passed away. The daughter brought me the bright clothes the lady had made for a trip she and her husband had taken to Hawaii and a few things with special meaning. The daughter and her siblings gave the quilt to their Dad for Father's Day. He was delighted with the quilt.

Kimberly,
My father just passed from an accident three months ago. After getting back home and receiving the boxes of his things, I decided to do just that. I have two sons that love to snuggle in quilts. So I made them each one from his shirts. He wore western style shirts so I carefully cut the pockets with the fancy snap tabs in tacked. I applied them to several of the blocks. Then I took the front plackets that had snaps also and used them as an outer border. I put cuddle fleece on the back. They turned out great. I can not tell you the comfort it brought to have made something useful out of his things. My boys will cherish them forever. So I guess my advice is don't be scared. It will turn out fine and be something that you give that will continue to give for a very long time. :)

I do these all the time. They are one of the most rewarding things I do. It's hard to make the first few cuts from the
perfectly good clothing but I remember how special and what wonderful memories they will provide. I usually make simple squares and sew them in rows, nothing fancy, just so that each piece will be large enough to recognize. I also like to cut out squares that include a pocket (sometimes with a name - like a work shirt has.) I have used shirts, pants, aprons, running clothes, T-shirts and even gloves from the NY Marathon. It turns out to be a priceless gift.

I made a quilt from my Dad's clothing when he passed away 22 yrs ago. It was a clothes
line with shirts & bib overalls hanging on it which is what he wore 90% of the time. There was a lot of applique ( flowers, vines, dog, toys,basket etc.) & each bib had a mini quilt block in it. I absolutely loved working on it as it provided a lot of time for reflecting on sweet memories. I gave the quilt to my grandmother who packed away her first borns clothing remnants and then returned it to me as her health started deteriorating. I have pieces cut out to make a 2nd quilt for myself but after receiving hers back, I never finished the 2nd one. Maybe one of these days.

I've made several, cheap clothes are a pain, my favorite was fine quality wools from around the world, as well as other fabrics. Each one is different though.

Yes I made a quilt out of my father shirt for my mother and made potholders out of his jeans for my sisters and brothers.I also made 2 quilts out of my grandmother clothes and my 2 aunt got them.

Hi kimberly

I am working on the clothing of my mom who passed January of this year. I have been asked to make quilts for all the kids, grandkids, great grand kids and the 3 great great grand kids. that is a lot of people. I am happy to do it but not sure what I am doing as I am cutting up the fabric for the diffrent quilts, do not even know what size to make
them.

I will figure that all out when I cut up all the fabric. LOL Happy quilting

I've completed one lap quilt from my FIL's plaid flannel shirts and have fabric cut for several more. The one completed had appliqued burr oak leaves and acorns in the corners...I used leaves from the trees in their yard for the pattern. I bought some flannel in solids and small prints to have enough to work with for several quilts, but all the plaids are his shirts and bathrobe. I included a full shirt pockt with a bandana handkerchief on the back with the quilt label...he always carried a bandana.

YES! My thought is YES! Do it. I have 3 stepdaughters (in their 30's)who lost their Mom, I used blouses they picked out & made each a 'throw' quilt. My best friend lost her husband, she has a throw quilt..I call them "Hugs from Heaven" The girls LOVE them , as does Katie. Here is just 2 of them. I took pics of their clothes & then the quilt. They remember their Mom wearing the clothes & that makes them happy.I also made a personal card up with a nice saying in each . The clothing of loved ones passed only stay in the closet so long...those quilts will stay forever. The quilts all have a 'star' theme...they explained to the grandchildren that their Grandma was now a 'star in heaven'

Great job! Whenever I do this, I always end up with something that looks like old clothes...yours look like QUILTS! amazing!

I guess I should add that my little sunbonnets in my avatar are wearing my dad's blue jeans! I quilted one quilt for my cousin's niece. She'd cut big blocks, 10 inches or so, from her grandpas old shirts and jeans, added some ties, and pieced a quilt for her grandma. I was more than happy to quilt it for her. Her grandma loved that quilt, made by her grand-daughter from shirts that belonged to her husband of over 50 years. Very sweet.

Just made 7 different quilts this year from our Nanas Mumus believe it or not. There is no rule that says they have to be any specific pattern I took each one and let it tell me what to make from it. One for each big grandchild, 2 for babies and one for her daughter. They were all beautiful Good luck in your journey in making this type of quilt

I have made many many memory quilts....it takes time to put the colors together that you want from the available clothing...lots of time cutting apart and prepping the fabric ...ironing starching and then to plan the pattern of the quilt with the amount of fabric you have gotten from the clothing...but its well worth it when you see the eyes of the person its made for..I made 43 memory quilts from lap size to king size for one woman alone...took me 14 months

I've made several quilt's from clothes as well. First I washed everything and I mean everything in the washing machine and threw them in the dryer. The only fabric i didnt use was fabric that i could not iron.Took all the clothes apart and made crazy quilts, and string quilts which I placed as pinwheels. They turned out so well. These clothes all belonged to my dearly departed brother in law. His family loved the quilts. I even used the labels from some of his clothing. Wish I'd taken pictures. Go for it. The skies the limit and you'll get such positive results.

After a friend lost her husband, iI asked if I could make a quilt out of his flannel shirts. I received a box of the dreariest, mismatched, plaid flannel shirts you have ever seen. I didn't know what I was going to do with them and sorry I had suggested it. It was the most difficult quilt i have ever worked on.
I got a pretty red moda cotton. . . masculin not too bright and made a version of rail fence pattern I saw on line some place. I forget the name but the block has 5 strips. .middle 3 of the flannels and the top and bottom of the red. Alternate block placement, horizontal and vertical. Makes an attractive quilt and is easy. I used 2 1/2" strips for a block that finished to 10" so I didn't need that many.
I have received calls and notes from my friend thanking me over and over for this quilt. It means so much to her that I am happy stuck to it and finished. Only have one picture of it. Will try to post it.