My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. God bless You!!!

I would like to thank you all for the words of comfort.. I know I have a long way to go to believe he is gone .God Bless

I haven't made a full quilt yet, still collecting kids shirts here. I am so sorry for your loss, I cannot imagine losing any of my kids or grands. Sending cyberhugs ~ and hopes your heart heals soon. Making the quilt may be very therapeutic, it was for me after losing my mom and grandma.

Test a few different stabilizers, there are many that work, but you may find one that you prefer. You can buy as little as an 1/8 yard at JoAnn's to test them out (like on a sleeve of the shirts)

Use a medium weight fusible interfacing to stabilize the t-shirt fabric. Take some of your own old t-shirts and try different interfacing weights to see which one works best. Some of them are too light and stretchy and don't work well. Some are too heavy and make the fabric too stiff.

Cut the t-shirts to separate the back from the front. Cut the interfacing at least an inch or two bigger than the size you want. Then, once it is ironed on, you can flip the t-shirt over and trim down to the desired size with the pattern from the shirt centered correctly.

The best t-shirt quilt I saw had each t-shirt with about 1.5 inches of black framing it and then another fabric between.

When you iron, iron from the back side. Some of the shirts have that plasticy stuff on them that melts (or maybe this is just kids' t-shirts).

Hope this advice helps.

i can't even begin to imagine what you are going through..i am so sorry about the loss of your beloved son.

i am in the middle of making 2 t-shirt quilt now..i did a short picture tutorial, and have it in my picasa albums..

https://picasaweb.google.com/strut526/TShirtQuiltForRose?feat=directlink]https://picasaweb.google.com/strut52...eat=directlink[/url]

a light weight woven stabilizer is a must..it is expensive, but i used a coupon and bought the bolt..

feel free to ask questions..there are so many way to put them together..

Ijust finished a T-shirt top. I used stablizer for the back...this is a must! Then I put them in rows of 5 across with two rows of 1 1/2 inch strips going down and across (like windows). I did the same for the boarder and I used navy and red. Then you place the batting then add the backing. I used safety pins (large) to help keep the quilt in place. I am hand quilting the strips between the T-shirts as I can't get the quilt rolled small enough to fit my machine. Then add your binding. IMPORTANT make sure the T-shirt is cut 15" X 15". I got a ruler from JoAnn's. I cut only the front of the T-shirts. I needed to have a few extra blocks so I took the back of the T-shirt and cut out 4 inch blocks to make a larger block that measured 15" X 15". When cutting the front of the T-shirt cut across the shoulder and up the sides. Lays flat and easier to work with. GOOD LUCK!

May you feel the love from all who reach out to you to you at this difficult time. I am sorry for the loss of your grandson. I know that the quilt you will make to honor his memory will be stitched with love and bring you and your family comfort. Blessings, Pastor Sandra

Shirley
I am truly sorry about your grandson. I just finished a T-shirt quilt for my greatniece. I used iron-on interfacing and that kept the shirts from stretching. As soon as I figure out how to post the picture I will.

I hope by making the quilt out of his T-shirts will provide you with some comfort in dealing with your grief. I know it did after my mother passed away.

Thank you

I have made two T-shirt quilts for people, one using the interfacing and sewing the blocks together with sashing but the second one had so many different sized emblems. I cut them out of the shirts larger than needed, put interfacing on the back of each one and cut them into neat shapes. I used fabric glue to hold them in place, not on the edges, just enough to secure them to a large piece of fabric and then machine stitched them in a decorative manner.
The man who ordered the second one, cried when I had it done, the Harley Davidson shirts belonged to his wife. The first one still hangs on the wall of the woman who went on bicycle marathons, I was told.

Carol J.

Love your quilt!!! I like how it's staggered and not all in line. I just made a t-shirt quilt for my daughter. Love the way it turned out but it's gonna be a 1 of 1 if you know what I mean...LOL I'm waiting for her to be home long enough during the day so I can take a pic w/ her and post it.