Olivia's Grammy

I use the thinest and cheapest interfacing I can find. I've never had a problem. I do make sure the stretch in the T shirt and the stretch in the interfacing go in opposite directions. As some one suggested to try a larger needle.

kelsunshine

What is the interfacing called that you used just for T-shirts?

phoenixrose

I make and quilt alot of T-shirt quilts. When I make them I use Pellon 911F but I know other people who use the 906F from Pellon. I use a variety of threads - usually a variegated color because they look awesome on these! I have used Superior Rainbows, King Tut plus their So Fine and even their Monopoly monofilament without any problems.

jhoward

I helped my sister with a Tshirt quilt this winter. We were advised to us the cheapest Pellon we could find...so we did, without a problem. It went to the LAQ, batting added, and a Cuddly(Minky like) back added. The quilter never mentioned any problems.

MRSRAB

I've just completed a t-shirt quilt and had all of the problems mentioned above but I was using a home sewing machine with a dual-feed foot, ballpoint #12 needle and 50 wt. thread. Initially had planned on doing stitch in the ditch and some squiggly straight line quilting but ran into problems through most of the process and ended up switching to free motion quilting with the largest needle out there and things went a lot smoother. Now my question: When I was sqiggly line quilting with the dual-feed foot (tried both techniques), I came across the heavy vinyl graphic on one of the blocks (shirts) and it puckered so badly that I had to take the stitches out. Now there are tiny holes where the stitches had been and am not sure if I should leave it alone or free-motion quilt slowly over that area to hide the holes? Has anyone run into this situation?

cindi

I've made many t-shirt quilts and use Pellon 906F - it's almost sheer, and all you need is something to stabilize the shirt. MRSRAB, try to avoid quilting any areas with the heavy vinyl graphics - they just don't quilt well. I usually free-hand outline graphics, leaving them unquilted. Not quilting them also makes them puff out more, which looks great! I'm guessing that by the time it gets washed those holes may close up. If they don't, place it face-down on an applique sheet and apply some heat, which may help melt the graphic slightly and close up those holes. But do it carefully!

soccertxi

what size needle are you using? I would suggest a size UP. If I think I will have a heavier quilt sandwich, I use an 18. I try to do a test piece and get my tensions to my liking. Jamie Wallen has a wonderful youtube video on machine quilting tensions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM This has saved me more than once!

I just had a shredding issue...turns out I had my top tensions too tight. PM if you want...

softpatches

I am working on a Tshirt quilt & the thread has been breaking every 6-12 inches--I tried everything, changing needle, thread, etc.....then I remembered something I read a wk or so ago abt a lady who was having trouble with thread breaking while doing some embroidery work. She placed wax paper for the area she was stitching and no more breakage, the wax paper lubricated the thread & needle. I was doing stipple work so I thought I will give it a try & it worked like a charm. I wish I knew where I saw the tip so I could pass a thank you sooooo much to this lady, I torn off a sheet and pinned it over the area to quilt and then tore away when finished. I used 50 wt Aurifil thread in the bobbin & on top & used a 90/14 size embroidery needle----I will always keep wax paper in my sewing room for problem stitching in the future---Pls pass this tip along, it has really been a life saver for me.

OzarksGma

I've done a number of T-shirt quilts with a lot of different threads, cottons and mono poly. I've used the Pellon interfacing F911, which is a featherweight fusible 22" wide, also used the cotton woven fusible 45" wide. I've used size 16 or 18 needles and have had no problems. Sounds like it might be the type of stabilizer you are using. It could be the adhesive is a bit too sticky on the needle causing the thread to drag then hang up and break. The thread does not feed smoothly down the groove on the front of the needle.