Why don't you give it a try? Then you will know if you want to make any more or 'never again'. I am in the process of making one for a customer. I feel honored to be trusted with all her son's shirts from his baseball and soccer years as a kid. He's 25 now and she diligently saved them all.

I used French Fuse, which is a knit fusible, great for T shirts as it doesn't make them stiff. To me the most interesting T shirt quilts are the ones with blocks of all shapes and sizes, not all the same size. So I cut a couple inches bigger than whatever was printed on the shirts, then applied French fuse to the backs. I will soon be working on the crazy layout. I plan to fill in the void spots with solid red and blue cotton, to make the blocks all fit. I really don't see what the big deal is that so many people don't want to make these.

charge $15 per shirt plus supplies. I would head to a second hand shop and buy some cheap tees to practice on first. I would hate to cut up the shirts only to find my results not so great. I have never made a t-shirt quilt so this is what I would do. You have to stabilize each shirt. Lots of prep goes into these. Another reason I don't want to make them for others. I hope the tees are WASHED first! W/O softener too. Or dryer sheet residue. Better for adhering the stabilizer to the shirt.

Sandy

I am so glad I didn't save any of my kids tee shirts. Seems everyone with old shirts think of me when cleaning out the closet and wants a tee shirt quilt. I give them the name and number of a lady who makes them and donates the money to her church. It's the way she chooses to tithe.

I have made 3, 2 of them had sashing. I used fusable interfacing before cutting each shirt. I backed 2 of them with an inexpensive 'Jersey' top sheet. My last one was just to see how fast I could do it. I used 12 of my sons t-shirts, cut all the same size squares, no sashing, sewed them together. I used fleece for the back and just 'Birthed' it. Then sewed around the edges, and did a zigzag stitch on the seams. It was done in a few hours.

Here is the T-shirt quilt my daughter made for me. She used the book "How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt" by Andrea T. Funk. She did NOT use a stabilizer under the shirts and quilted it on her mid arm machine. She has made 5 or 6 others since then and enjoys doing it. She did say it takes awhile to plan the layout of the shirts. Mine is approximately 68" X 76".


She also used the plackets and pockets of polo shirts and added some embroidered patches I had.

They never are the same size. That's why you add sashing around each design to get the size square desired. I trim each design so that there is about an inch allowance around the design and then use random material that coordinates or compliments each design. Some people use the same material around each design. Sometimes I incorporate two or more designs in a square if they are small and I have a lot of designs to get into the quilt. Each square is trimmed to 15 inches before joining them together. I love making shirt quilts. I am in the process of making one now for a Christmas present.

T-shirt quilts are an act of love...I made one for my granddaughter because it was important to her...they were old hand written T-shirts and none the same size...I managed to make a pretty decent quilt by adding pieces of fabric to blend in with the shirts and cutting every thing to fit a certain size block....interfacing is a must and yes it is costly...I would only do it again for another grandchild...LOL

My recommendation.....JUST SAY NO! Tell her you could help her make one and you'll likely never hear any more about it. If she decides she wants to try it, let her and just help when she asks. Usually they think you can whip one up in a day and have time for tea. They are a lot of work and I would only make them for special people in my life!

I too, do the same as mamagrande. I have probably made close to 50 of them. The sashing and cornerstone approach helps control the possible stretch. I also use the interfacing. I have even made double sided ones so instead of using 20 tshirts there are 40!!! In fact I'm traveling 1600 miles this week to hand deliver one to our nephew who is an veteran! His is very unique as I used his fatigues as the sashing and cornerstones and that created more of a challenge than the tshirts!!! That fabric is tough! My lumberyard cut me a plexiglass template 14.5" and that is very helpful as well. I don't mind making them, if anything I get bored as it isn't as challenging as a pieced quilt!!! Good luck!

I am making one for my DS (age 42) out of fleece. 1. Cut a 16' square from paper bag or cardboard. 2. Lay the 16" square on top of the front or back of the t-shirt, making sure it is centered. 3. Use a marker to trace the template. Cut just inside the line. 4. Once all the t-shirts are cut, use the template to cut out the same number of fleece square. 6. Match a t-shirt with a fleece square back sides together. 6. One each square quilt with a diagonal pattern. 7. Repeat the same diagonal going the opposite way. 8. Once all squares have been quilted sew t-shirts into rows and then sew rows together. Use a 1/2' seam allowance. Trim the seam very slightly with pinking shears. 9. Fold each side of the seam over and stitch 1/4" from the original seam to make a 1" border. 10. For outside border turn over 1/4'for a total of 1/2". Top stitch in the middle.