T-Shirt Quilt Question - Stabilizer or Not?
 

I know why stabilizer is used in a T-Shirt quilt, but am wondering if anybody has made one of these quilts without stabilizer? Not saying I would not use stabilizer, but the question has come to mind once in a while.

I did make one for someone recently without stabilizer. It wasn't quilted. Just the squares sewn together with fleece backing for a small lap quilt. I'm working on making some for each of my kids, but I will be quilting them and they will have stabilizer in them.

I just wonder what a tshirt quilt would be like if a person used a quilt as you go, without all of the quilting, if working with one square at a time with maybe the sashing? would work without the added weight of stabilizer, on second thoughts it still would stretch and knowing what I know, that is a huge headache.

I agree with judylg. If you sewed each square to a non-stretchy sashing or backing it might work, but seems iffy to me. You would need to use a ball point needle for sure. Try a couple of squares using the backs of some t shirts and see.

I typically do not use stabilizer when making T-shirt quilts - only if the T-shirt itself is very flimsy. I don't use sashing between the blocks but I do usually put a regular quilting cotton border on the quilt and use quilting cotton for the backing. I have made 6 or 7 of these now. All but one of them was twin size or larger. I machine quilt on my domestic sewing machine. Here is a link to one that I made.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...ml#post4790296

It doesn't need to be a heavy weight stabilizer. It just needs to be enough to stop the Tshirts from stretching. It may work to fmq without but I wouldn't care to try it on my longarm without.

Ive made many t-shirt quilts and its just not worth the trouble to not use a stabilizer...I know its a bit more expense but in the end the expense was well worth saving my sanity had I not used it and the quilt was difficult