Quilts without batting - any tips?
 

I am working on a tshirt quilt project for my niece. I didn't know what I was getting into - I am sure that she didn't either. Well I have 3 completed and I am finishing up #4 - whew!!

I used batting in the first 3 and this last one I was thinking about no batting. I have read posts here where people don't use batting for tshirt quilts... so I am going to do that

Any tips before I get started? I was going to pin baste and try the school glue as well. Can I stitch any distance apart? I was leaning toward stitching in the ditch of the sashing only. That would leave the 16" blocks "free and loose" :) do you think I should stitch from corner to corner on the blocks (making an X in each one)?

I would appreciate any thoughts. I have never done a quilt without batting before :)

Thank you!

It would help if we know whether you used stabilizer with the t-shirts, and if so, what kind.

If regular batting is too heavy, you could use flannel as the third layer. Somehow I am a traditionalist in that part of quilting.

I think any distance without quilting should be fine. Distance is specified by batting to keep it from separating or bunching up. Without batting you are sewing to protect those seams from abrasions and getting frayed

yes I did use stabilizer on the tshirts. I am always one to use batting - I mean is it really a quilt without it???? I have spent alot of money on this project and I really don't have money to spend any more. That is why I am skipping the batting on this one. I have thought of using flannel or either fleece in the middle.. but I have got to stop the spending :)

My concern would be pulling on the quarter inch seams with daily use. If it were me, I would pick something light, flannel sounds good or a very light batting, and do enough SID or other quilting so that the seams don't have a lot of strain on them. That's the weakest part of a quilt and the continued use and regular handling could make those seams come apart. The addition of the 3rd layer would also help the seam lay down and not look like lumps everywhere.

I agree. It is not a quilt without three layers. It is a throw to me.

I'd shop at a thrift store for a large white flannel flat sheet and use that for batting. They cost around $3 at our local thrift shop (it's not a Goodwill or Salvation Army).

I wonder what type of backing you are using, just to get an idea of what it will be like. If you have a sturdy backing, it might work ok. If you decide not to use batting, I would sew an x through the blocks in order to "anchor" them to the backing. They might just bag out, as you said, and generally not hold their shape, especially when washed. One way I could see this working would be to use fleece for the backing, still doing the SID for sashing and the X across the blocks. Fleece kind of "sticks' to fabric. Fleece is wide and lots of sales going on now. But I can sure understand that you don't wish to spend more money on this project. It would be kind of a shame though to have done all of this work and not be happy with the last one. So good of you to do this for your niece!

rather than SITD, I'd stitch 1/4" on each side of the seams and call it a day. Everything would be nice and tidy and the seams would be secured from too much pulling and pressure.