Originally Posted by wildyard
I have just been asked by a local radio "personality" who has had the same show for 38 years to make a quilt for him from his collection of themed t-shirts. This is a great honor to me as I am a great fan of all he has done and represents.
Here is my problem and question:
Every t-shirt quilt I have ever felt, has not been soft and cuddley because of the feel of the iron on stabilizer. I, and he, really want this quilt to be very soft. I will use flannel or fleece for the backing. If I use fleece, then I will use a layer of sheet between since the fleece and knit are both so stretchy. So, here is my question:
Any suggestions out there about how to best accomplish my goal without using the iron on stabilizer that will stiffen the t-shirt knit?
Could I starch it enough for sewing, then wash the starch out? Could I pin it a lot and stitch each square to a backing of sheet fabric? Could I do it like a rag quilt with the t-shirt for the front and fleece for the back?
As you see, I'm full of ideas with no idea which way to go. I will make sample squares trying all these methods if necessary, just hoping some of you can save me some steps.
Hugs and smiles and thanks!!!
Before I begin, let me say that I am no pro. Far, far from it. But I have made 3 t-shirt quilts and have not used stabelizer on any one of them. I sleep under one of them quite often and so do the grandchildren. It is very comfortable and soft. The way that I quilted it was this: I hand-stitched in the ditch around the sashing. I did some hand quilting around some of the larger logos and then tied the rest. It's pleasing and follows the theme. On this quilt I had used many of my school t-shirts (I was a first grade teacher, so you can iimagine the assortment of t-shirts and their theme). The second quilt I made was done by machine quilting in the ditch and hand stitching around the logos in each block. This quilt also incorporated an assortment of blocks to fill in the quilt. (I had posted that one. Hmmm, don't remember the title-- maybe Gail's T-shirt quilt). It was given to our SIL and is washed quite often. It still looks great. The third one is still a top, not yet layered and quilted. I plan to do the same thing.