Need Advice
 

My friend and I want to construct a T-shirt quilt from her son's old soccer tshirts and jerseys. I've only made one t-shirt quilt - it did come out well- but I want some advice from someone who has experience beyond that!! We have some t-shirts, but also she has a lot of slippery type shirts - like maybe a polyester jersey material. Can we use those too, if we use the stabilizer on the back? I'd really appreciate some commentary from my experienced friends :) Thanks a bunch!

You can use different type of materials and fibers in quilts. Sports stuff is designed for use and washing and often holds up very well.

I'd be concerned about how good a bond you could get with an iron-on fusible without harming the actual shirt. I think though, a light weight muslin or batiste underneath would be a good way to deal with the more mesh or the poly types with all the breathing holes. Takes a bit of care dealing with slipper fabrics, I might cut the pieces with a half-inch seam -- doing a good zig zag in that extra seam allowance. Depending on size, some larger ones you might even need to baste or safety pin together until some quilting down is done.

Yes you can use those too. This is a hockey quilt I made using hockey jerseys, sweaters and shirts.

I often use slippery non-cotton fabrics in art quilts. I do interface them all the way to the cut edge and have no problem sewing with them, but they are rarely washed. I'd make a sample (interfaced) with the edges sewn to strips of fabric, put it in the laundry and see how it does. The interfacing should prevent ravelling.

Be sure you don’t iron directly on those shirts. Use a light press cloth to keep from melting them.

I've used every kind of t-shirt, and even a cheer jacket! I made a tutorial for t-shirt quilts, but, basically, I cut the exact size from fusible interfacing first, then fuse with a damp cloth on top. Just be careful with heat on jerseys.
I made this one for a cousin's high school grad. BTW, her sister's quilt included her college choice in the center.

I am making my 2nd T-shirt quilt now and use a pressing cloth - no moisture and it works great on the stretchy T-shirts.

Thanks for sharing your tips, ladies! :) J

Nice quilts - thanks for the advice J