Help...I've been asked to longarm a t shirt quilt!
 

l quilt for charity, both my own tops and those that charity group members have made. Recently, a member asked me to longarm her grandson's t shirt quilt she's made up. For my services, she will donate $ to our charity quilting group. l have been reading up on t shirt quilts...most info is on the piecing, but l need to know what thread to use, and any tips other longarmers can provide. The quilt will have fleece backing, cotton batting, and the t shirts have frames sewn around them. She doesn't want the letters etc. to" have stitching going all through them". l usually fmq from the front. Would monofilament thread on top and a thread to match back be a good idea? or a recipe for disaster,lol.

As long as the quilt was assembled "the usual way" and the T shirts have been stabilized there is no problem. If they haven't been stabilized Pin pin pin each "shirt before you start stitching that part. (been there done that)
Any quilting thread will do!

Just be sure not to quilt thru any of the "paint" on the t-shirts. I quilted many on my older Bernina. I outline most of the letting and designs. I hope she used fusible backing on the shirts so they won't get distorted. Good Luck.

I have quilted several t-shirt quilts for customers. (I quilt on a Gammill Classic machine) My customers used a very light weight iron on stablizer on the backs of the t-shirts before cutting them in blocks. Most of my customers used cotton fabric for sashings to lower the bulk of the seams which made it very easy for me to quilt over the seams. I used Hobbs 80/20 batting and A@E Perma Core thread, which is a poly wrapped poly thread. This thread is a strong thread which has no breakage issues for me. Most of these quilts I have quilted free motion, but there have been some that the customer wanted a pantograph pattern used. I had no issue quilting with the pantographs. They stitched through the "painted" areas on the shirts just fine. The main thing that I watched for was to avoid needing to rip out stitches on the "painted" areas - as the needle holes will not always fill in and they will show.

Relax, have fun!

Yes, avoid the plastic, painted areas and otherwise you should have no problem. I've used King Tut, YLS cotton, SoFine and PermaCore--Hobbs 80/20--do not use a poly unless a very low loft (I had problems with one that had a higher poly loft). One customer wanted feathers done around and on the t-shirts--personally I think an all over meander looks much better--work from the front and you can set it up to meander around the logos and make it look natural.

I've done quite a few t-shirt quilts using a domestic machine on a quilting frame. I use regular cotton sewing thread in the bobbin and cotton machine quilting thread on the top. However, I have found that the needle size is even more important. The last two were done with a top stitch needle and I have not yet had the thread break which I did when using a universal, quilting, or ballpoint needle. (And I do usually quilt through the print area unless it is that plastic stuff.) I use an 80-20 batt (as low loft as possible...1/8" I think) and a medium meander overall.

This is all good info. l now have the quilt here, ready to go on my frame to quilt with my Bailey next. Thankfully, she's stabilized the t shirts and used cotton for sashes . At first she wanted no batting at all, just the fleece backing, but l convinced her to use the thinnest batting.Last time l tried no batting with fleece back, l swore l'd never do that again,l got pushed around by the seams, even with a hopping foot.

Very few longarmers in my area will touch a tee shirt quilt . The ones that do charge almost double and get it with no hesitation.

I don't know about LA but on my DSM, I use a ball point needle for piecing & quilting. Otherwise you risk fraying the knit.