when sewing the t shirts together do you use a straight stitch and the 1/4" seam allowance? I had someone (not a quilter) tell me to use a zig zag stitch so that the seam would stretch with the shirt. Thanks!

I do mine by stabilizing the t shirt blocks with a non stretchy interfacing and than proceeding like a regular quilt. If you want a stretchy quilt than you would probably follow her advice although I personally would not advise that. That would mean that the rest of the quilt would all have to be stretchy fabrics. Clear as mud??

well that was what I was thinking. I was thinking about using these tshirts as the backing on the memorial quilts I am making but just not sure how to make it work. I also don't need to spend a ton of $ on these....I still have buy the batting for them. What kind of stabilizer do you use and is it $$ to do?

I used tricot interfacing and bought it at Joanns with a 50% off coupon and bought a whole bolt! I forget how much it is but you can check their website. Just make sure that the "stretch" in the tricot goes the opposite of the t shirt stretch when you iron it on. I always cut my t shirt block bigger and after ironing on the interfacing I trim it to size. I use the tricot for the softness but there are other light weight interfacings out there that may be cheaper.

When I made this large wall hanging (notice it is over a davenport!), I used light-weight interfacing plus Warm&Natural batting. By the time I had both the quilt top and the backing, it was a very heavy pull to quilt. When I sewed the backed t-shirts together (definitely straight stitch), I used 1/2 inch seam to make sure the two back-sides of seams touched for quilting. The 1/4 inch was too small to open up. Hope you have a quilting angel sitting on your shoulder while you complete your quilt as it is going to be tough. Not knowing what the quilt top is like, might I suggest you make a separate throw with the t-shirts? Been there, done this....aching shoulder and elbow for months.

When I did my t-shirts I used both front and back. I sewed the square together first, then I cut out the block.

alright I may have to change my mind on this....its sounding like more work than I bargained for.

Now there is an idea! Did you put batting in between the front and back and if so, how do you sew them together without a raw seam showing? Sounds interesting.

I like the nylon tricot interfacing also. It is cheaper if purchased from a drapery company online. This is where I bought mine:
http://www.bblackandsons.com/

A cheaper cotton fusible interfacing may not work as well, because I am wondering if the hotter temperature required to fuse it would hurt the tshirt fabric and the designs on them. A tricot would require less heat, and may be more gentle on the screen printings.

I have seen fusible tricot interfacing at JoAnns for less than $2yd :D:D:D

i have a question to ask. i am thinking of making one for hubby with his concert t-shirts left over from his younger days :) i was thinking of making a border of flannel around the fronts of them and then making the back a rag quilt using his favorite team colors - black and gold. does anyone think this won't work?

ok here's a pic of the finished top....still need to figure out borders though. I'll have to go price interfacing and see if its in the budget.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-47167-1.htm

Oh, I just looked at your quilt. The blocks are very nice and set at an angle is so interesting. Congrats, it will bring many memories. I am, however, with the lady by the name of Lois (on your other link) and her suggestion of red-blue borders. I am not too keen on the green even for back but if that is what you have available, sometimes that is a must. Does the person have any cotton shirts? The back of the shirts could be cut into plain 12-inch squares and pieced for a backing. That way the fabric would be cotton and thin enough not to be difficult to quilt.

I made one without stabilizer. Pain in the tuchus. It stretched, and nothing lined up, yuck. I would suggest trying to cut down on the stretchiness as much as you can

interesting comments, thanks