Lighter weight TSHIRT quilt:interface and backing suggestions
 

I'm helping a friend make a Tshirt quilt. I've looked over past posts and may missed the answers to this. I have two questions:

1. Is there a lightweight interface I can use for the tshirts? Can you be specific about the name of the interface and where you got it. If you don't know a lightweight interface can you tell me what interface you used.
2. I'd like to skip the batting and just use a backing. What would you suggest for this? Is a piece of prewashed flannel good for this? I am working with a beginner on this so having the backing be easy to work with is important. She will use a walking foot to SITD.

Thanks, I couldn't do this without you.
Mary Jo

I have used lite weight fusible non woven interfacing with success in making t shirt quilt.....purchased at JAF, Pellon

I use Pellon ultra lightweight fusible interfacing. I buy it in packs of 15"x 3 yards. I make my blocks 15" so it works out perfect for me (price and convenience). I use fleece backing, no batting. I 'Birth" my quilts, thev zig-zag over the seams for quilting. I use lots of pins when quilting, because fleece tends to stretch and slide. I've never tried flannel, that might be easier to work with.

I will add that if you use fleece, use your walking foot. It helps keep the fleece from stretching and bunching.

I use the Pellon 906F for sheer to lightweight fabrics. I might use a very thin polyester batting instead of flannel. JMO.

This is not a great project for a beginner. I tried t-shirt quilts once & swore them off for life.

But if both of you have more patience than average & a few extra t-shirts in case something goes wrong (it often does), then here are the other tips I can share:

1) Pellon 911FF is great provided that the tee's are 100% cotton. This is very important. Pellon products are designed for 100% cotton & will not bond properly to synthetic fibers or blends. I like it better than the 906F because it gives just a touch more stability to the knits, making them piece together a bit nicer, imho, with quilter's cotton.
2) Fusible bonds better when pressed against a hard surface. I covered a piece of particle board shelving with paper grocery bags (tape with masking tape or painters tape, NOT plastic packing tape or Scotch tape as those will melt!).
3) Strongly recommend using a pressing cloth. It will keep you from pressing too long & melting the vinyl decals.

Is there a reason why you don't want to use batting? I'd go with a cotton backing & low-loft batting vs flannel without batting every time. I wouldn't recommend fleece for a beginner project. It shifts a lot. If she plans to hang this quilt on the wall, I'd recommend a low-loft polyester batting like Poly-Fil. If she plans to use it either as a picnic quilt or a lightweight bed quilt, I'd either use Warm & Natural 88% cotton batting (12% synthetic materials for scrim), or Quilter's Dream Request 100% cotton batting. She could do Poly-Fil for a bed quilt, but polyester doesn't breathe so often people sweat under it and either get too hot or chilled depending on room temperature. The nicest option is wool -- lightweight, warm in the winter, cool in the summer. It does cost more, but Hobb's Heirloom (washable) wool batting is super luxurious and so easy to quilt.

Finally, she certainly can stick to SITD, but if she plans to use it as a bed quilt (which I'm assuming, since she asked for a Twin), I would really recommend reconsidering if maybe you could help her out some once she finishes with SITD so she can add additional quilting. The amount of time it takes to stabilize all those t-shirts is about 10x longer than one might think. It look me twice as long to apply the stabilizer as it does to needle turn applique 10,000 stitches at 1/14" each -- no exaggeration -- and I can charge 8x more for my needlework. After such an enormous time investment, I'd think twice about whether I'd be okay with the goofy thing starting to come apart in 4 years. I'd really recommend at least doing crosshatching or a large meander to fill in the space between decals so there's no more than 4" between quilting lines. I suppose you could even just quilt a box around the motifs & use that for travel stitching. If she can do SITD, she could follow a marked line. Just grab a Crayola Ultra Clean marker -- or the marking pen of your choice -- and a ruler & draw the lines starting at the center out. Pretty easy even for most beginners to follow.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I suspect some of the shirts will not be cotton but we'll consider this when purchasing fusible interface. We will make sure we save extra tshirts in case we screw up. I like the idea of 15" rolls of interfacing. I use a table to iron on, so I'll take off the pad and we'll just have a sheet covering the table that should help with the fusing.

Here in California even warm & natural makes the bed quilts too warm for year round use but I do think that the Hobbs wool might be the right choice if its not too expensive. But why not flannel? It seems that would eliminate the back and make things easier. I'm not considering the fleece right now its just too stretchy to work with.

I am going to either have her or I do additional quilting on the quilt. I thought about having her do a grid across the t shirts but that sometimes detracts from the pictures. A simple meander should do it. I will also look at the different things you can do with a walking foot.

I think we will have a lot of help on this quilt as there will be four of us and a teenager working on various projects all at once. I'm hoping, with the teenager and my help, she can finish it in two long days.

Thanks for the suggestions.

If you've done flannel without batting before, go for it. I personally find it to be even hotter than regular cotton backing with batting, but it's your quilt. :) The way flannel is made is by trimming down cotton fabric, making it a short & dense. I love the softness of it, but I overheat with it quite quickly. The other thing I'm not sure about -- so maybe try a sample sandwich to see -- is how much you will feel the stabilizer through the flannel if you don't us a batt.

I've tried ironing on a sheet before & would still recommend the paper grocery bags. I know it sounds insane, but honestly, it makes a big difference. The sheet can bunch up -- even if you've taped it to the table, if the vinyl starts getting a bit too hot or some of your fusible leaks out, you will end up with the t-shirt stuck to the bed sheet (ask me how I know). At a minimum, I'd iron some parchment paper to the sheet if that's still the way you want to go.

I have made several t-shirt quilts and use Pellon 911FF, there are lighter weight but this works best for me. I use several old towels on a table and i use a wet fabric to iron on the pellon. The steam helps set the pellon very well.

I always use batting and cotton or flannel backing. I will let the customer decide what they want to use.

Since I LA I just meander all over, even on the designs..so far everything has worked out fine. I have not tried DMQ.

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French Fuse is very lightweight and drapes beautifully.

Sandy