tesspug

We need a definite understanding of what you are using for this quilt. My husband rides bicycles. They wear jerseys which are made of a slick polyester/rayon fabric. You could not iron stabilizer on this material as it would melt. If what you are taking about is t-shirts then you can iron it. I would not want to try to make a quilt out of jerseys, it would be a mess.

Jingle

I just want to welcome you to this wonderful board. There are lots of helpful, knowledgeable people here.

KLO

gramajo, I really like your t-shirt quilt. It's much more interesting to look at than the usual lined up shirts, vertically and horizontally. Now maybe I know what to do with all my shirts. Thanks for posting the photo.

laboerschig, Warm welcome to the QB. Good luck with making your quilt. Take your time and you will be fine. Each quilt you make will hone your skills and they will look better and better with each one made. Oh and have fun too!

osewme

I've never made a t-shirt quilt but saw a beautiful one in a mini retreat that my local quilt shop conducted years ago. Like gramajo said, I feel like they are a lot prettier if the blocks are staggered in some form or fashion so they don't just line up in rows. In the picture below, the quilter at our retreat used "filler" sashing/blocks between the logos & it really was appealing to the eye. Good luck with your new venture & welcome to this board.

quiltingshorttimer

Bree123 has great advice for you. My first 2 quilts where t-shirt quilts for my kids before I learned anything about quilting--and it shows! But I've made about 8 now for clients. I definitely suggest you stabilize with a lightweight fusible on the back of all the shirts--if you are using the slinky poly ones that have built in holes (like football jerseys) the fusible will show through--but it's not too bad once quilted. You want to first cut the logos with about 2" extra, apply the fusible (all those plastic type logos are a no-no to iron---they will melt all over--so if it's large you really can't use it without gluing it down first) to the back and then you'll need to re-cut to the size you want--leave a 1/2" seam as the knit still seems to want to curl and move as you sew.
I highly recommend having some type of quilter cotton sashing between blocks as it helps stabilize the whole quilt.

While I have made very large ones, most people really are happiest with a lap or twin size--it probably would not use every single t or jersey, but suggest she pick one to represent each sport or age instead. They are very heavy and not cheap to make, despite using the t-shirts & jerseys.

I quilt on a long arm & recommend you get I long armed. But if you plan to do it on you DSM, baste it super well (lots of weight shifting around). Depending on the size of the shirt logos and the pictures, you'll need to quilt through the larger ones--but again those darn vinyl logos are a no-no---they tend to grab the needle and hold on, and it there are any problems, it will leave a big hole in the logo. Good luck!

sewingsuz

Hi and welcome to the board from Arizona.

jmoore

Welcome, welcome... you're gonna love the friendly folks here on the QB (Quilting Board).

I would just like to caution you as a newbie that I did not do a t-shirt quilt for my first project and I would recommend a simple pattern for your initiation... like Turning Twenty or similar.

I did just finish my first t-shirt quilt this past summer (and now have been quilting four years) and I did use a stabilizer so that my t-shirt blocks would behave nicely. There are several books and YouTube videos that are great tutorials. Good luck and look forward to hearing about your progress. : )

nancyw

I made at-shirt quilt for my son last Christmas. I cut squares of black fleece about 10" square. Then I took sqme of my son's old t-shirts and cross stitch them on the squares. then I sewed them into rows and sewed the rows together. for the outside border I turned over the ouside edges twice and sitichted them down. Easy peasy.

NatalieF

Welcome! As as a fellow quilting newbie, I would suggest quilting a simple project first before tackling the sports quilt. Make a simple lap quilt or something. Pick a pattern (there are all kinds of beginner patterns available for free. Check out Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company on YouTube). Pick a pattern that will work similarly as your sports quilt in the sense as, are you planning on doing quilt as you go blocks?, sashing?, stitch in the ditch?, etc... You want a chance to practice these techniques and work out any issues before working on the actual quilt. Do the thing in entirety, from cutting, piecing, basting, quilting to binding. You will learn tons from making it because you will make boo-boos at first. You'll definitely have a better idea on how the tackle the sports quilt and feel better prepared.

I just finished my first lap quilt and despite the mistakes I made I'm proud of it. I've learned so much and will definitely know better on my next one.

Best of luck and don't be afraid to ask questions! The community here is fantastic!

caspharm

You're close. It's How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt. I still have to try her method after it was recommended by a member of one of the quilt guilds I belong to. I have made one with stabilizer, but it's been several years. I can't wait to try her method which she created on her first T-Shirt quilt. She explains her method in the intro.