I'm starting my first t-shirt quilt from my son's Boy Scout tees, and I don't want to mess it up. I wanted the quilt to be soft, so I didn't use interfacing. But I wonder now if I shouldn't have starched before I cut. Can I do it now, or will I stretch the squares? Am I screwed before I've even started?!? That would be just like me.

Any advice is welcome. Cut loose, you have my permission! :-D

there is no way i would make a tsirt quilt without using the light weight trico iron on interfacing

How far into making it are you at this point? Is it too late to add the interfacing? They are still soft with the interfacing in them.

You really need some light weight interfacing. Everything will stretch and you will not be happy. Can you start over?

I have made many, I always use lightweight interfacing, and mine are very soft. Have you sewn any blocks together yet? If not, then by all means go ahead and put interfacing on each block, then square them up again.

perhaps you could hand baste the cut shirts to the tricot interfacing to prevent stretching while pressing it on. the unfaced shirts might bag out without dense quilting, also. and the tshirts look so very much better with the facing. good luck.

I too always use interfacing and I do not find my completed T-shirt quilts stiff in any way. They are always soft. They are also heavy as all get out but they are soft.

Unlike many, I iron on my interfacing after I cut my shirts. So if you have already cut them out, it is not too late to add interfacing now. Just cut out your fusible interfacing the same size as your T-shirt blocks and iron them on. You may get a wee bit of stretching around the edges but that can easily be hidden in your seam allowances.

Thanks, everybody!! I guess I'll run to JoAnn's tomorrow and get some lightweight interfacing after all. Is there a particular brand or type I should use?