T shirts quilt
01-12-2012, 06:29 PM
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,703
I've only done one t-shirt quilt (actually a large wall hanging) so I don't claim to be an expert on this. But I'll tell you what I did for mine.
Here's a picture of the top.
The shirt panels in mine are all the same size with sashing in-between, but you don't have to have all the t-shirt parts be all the same size. You could have them be different sizes, paired up with blocks, no sashing, etc. Look up pictures of t-shirt quilts to see the different ways other people have incorporated t-shirts into their quilts.
No matter how you decide what your quilt is going to look like you need to stabilize your t-shirts. Anyone who's ever made a t-shirt quilt says they used lightweight fusible interfacing and that's what I used. I believe the brand I used was Pellon. I cut my shirts before putting the interfacing on, but not to the exact size (24"x24").
To cut the shirts, most of the time, I lay the t-shirt flat, cut up the sides, around the sleeves (as close to the seam as possible), and then along the shoulder and collar seams. In a couple cases the design extended onto the side so I cut a vertical seam on the back instead of the sides and proceeded to cut close to the collar and around the sleeves like I normally would. I even used the back of one shirt---the panel in the middle was the front and the panel with the "2" on it was the back. Once the t-shirt was roughly cut I put the interfacing on the back according to the directions. Not enough to cover the entire piece of fabric, but enough to cover the back of the design. Then I cut the shirt down to the exact size. I had a template that I made by cutting out a 24.5" square from a piece of tag board and used what was left of the board kind of like a picture frame. And you should end up with something like this:
After that you can sew it with other fabrics like you would if it were a regular block. Once you sandwich your layers you can quilt it like you normally would. However, the quilting should depend on whether your t-shirts designs are ironed on or screen printed. If you can't tell by looking you can feel it: iron on's feel kind of plastic-y and are kind if raised while screen prints won't hardly have a feel if at all. I wouldn't recommend quilting through iron on designs and instead quilt around them. Another option would be tying the quilt, which is what I did for the t-shirt parts (plan on quilting the sashing and border). I used black cotton Perle floss about every 4" (give or take depending on if the tie landed on a part of the design). Instead of having the ties on the front (ties as in where I finished the tie with a knot) they're on the back.
Here's a picture of the top.
The shirt panels in mine are all the same size with sashing in-between, but you don't have to have all the t-shirt parts be all the same size. You could have them be different sizes, paired up with blocks, no sashing, etc. Look up pictures of t-shirt quilts to see the different ways other people have incorporated t-shirts into their quilts.
No matter how you decide what your quilt is going to look like you need to stabilize your t-shirts. Anyone who's ever made a t-shirt quilt says they used lightweight fusible interfacing and that's what I used. I believe the brand I used was Pellon. I cut my shirts before putting the interfacing on, but not to the exact size (24"x24").
To cut the shirts, most of the time, I lay the t-shirt flat, cut up the sides, around the sleeves (as close to the seam as possible), and then along the shoulder and collar seams. In a couple cases the design extended onto the side so I cut a vertical seam on the back instead of the sides and proceeded to cut close to the collar and around the sleeves like I normally would. I even used the back of one shirt---the panel in the middle was the front and the panel with the "2" on it was the back. Once the t-shirt was roughly cut I put the interfacing on the back according to the directions. Not enough to cover the entire piece of fabric, but enough to cover the back of the design. Then I cut the shirt down to the exact size. I had a template that I made by cutting out a 24.5" square from a piece of tag board and used what was left of the board kind of like a picture frame. And you should end up with something like this:
After that you can sew it with other fabrics like you would if it were a regular block. Once you sandwich your layers you can quilt it like you normally would. However, the quilting should depend on whether your t-shirts designs are ironed on or screen printed. If you can't tell by looking you can feel it: iron on's feel kind of plastic-y and are kind if raised while screen prints won't hardly have a feel if at all. I wouldn't recommend quilting through iron on designs and instead quilt around them. Another option would be tying the quilt, which is what I did for the t-shirt parts (plan on quilting the sashing and border). I used black cotton Perle floss about every 4" (give or take depending on if the tie landed on a part of the design). Instead of having the ties on the front (ties as in where I finished the tie with a knot) they're on the back.
01-13-2012, 01:54 AM
#4
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Small town south of Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 1,692
I used a fusible tricot stabilizer when I made this one. This was actually my first tshirt quilt and it was requested by my favorite Sister-in-law, so the pressure was on. I looked at many of the tshirt quilts on here and wanted something different. I chose to do a nine patch/snowball variation. I had a few issues but none that weren't surmountable. It was fine going together( I would be more careful applying the stabilizer the next time), the quilting was a bit of a challenge as I did it on my longarm. But all-in-all, it turned out fine and she loved it, which is all that really mattered.
01-13-2012, 09:16 AM
#5
Super Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: No. California
Posts: 2,131
Quilterella......Love your design.....did you make it up on your own or follow a pattern? I am soon to be doing one for my daughter (an adult) and this is a design I think she would like. If you did it on your own, would you give me some basic sizes for blocks and T-shirt cuts? Thank you...
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