Tdaigle

The decals are faded.. how doni fix without it washing off? A customer has paid me to make her kids sports jerseys quilt!

oreo1912

You could do some appliqué to replace something like numbers or letters, however, a tshirt quilt is a memory quilt so why do anything. The shirts show wear and those memories of how they got worn. I have made 25+ tshirt quilts and have never had anyone want me to fix faded designs. I have cut out things like # from the back to add to a front to get more tshirt info on a quilt while keeping the overall size within a range.

QuiltE

Welcome to the Quilting Board!

Sure hope that you haven't made any big promises to your paying customer for the recovery of these shirts, as I don't think there is anything you can do to "un-fade" them!

Honestly, about all you can do is work with them as is, and let them enjoy the memories created by how well-worn and well-loved they were/are.

Onebyone

We had a program at guild one time titled: Why you don't want to make a tee shirt quilt. LOL

cindi

You don’t fix them. If they came to you faded and torn, you make the quilt with them faded and torn. Every tear, stain and fade means something to the recipient. There’s memories in those tears and stains. If she WANTS you to fix them, hand them back to her and tell her you can’t.

QuiltE

Waving back to you, Cindi !!! Good to "see" you, and miss your being with us regularly. I've always appreciated/enjoyed your informative posts. Hope that all is well for you and yours.

cashs_mom

LOL! My husband wanted me to make him one until he found out what it was gonna cost him!

Onebyone

My granddaughter wanted a tee shirt quilt. I told her to wash and press all her tee shirts, no fabric softener or sprays and bring them to me each one on hanger. I have not received any and she has never brought it up again in the past five years. I think I'm good to keep my record of not making one unbroken.

Tdaigle

Its sports jerseys and some have embroidered patchlike numbers/ logos and other have iron on decals for the team
names, numbers.etc .. the decals are cracking and coming off and she does want them brightened up .. she is also willing to pay to repair the jerseys... we are talking about 5 out of 30 shirts that need the small touch up repairs. I have seen some articles that suggest acrylic fabric paint or permanent fabric markers ... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

polkweed

To deal with the cracking and peeling, start by re-ironing the decals like you would if you were applying them; that'll melt any remaining glue and get it sticking again. Then you can fill in any big gaps or missing letters with new decal material or fabric paint, markers. etc. To freshen them up, you'll want to use paint that specifically says it sticks to plastic/vinyl. The stuff they make for car interiors is best, but I think it only comes in big spray cans.

All that being said, those decals just aren't made to hold up to regular use. If the plan is for this quilt to be used and washed, then you should probably be upfront that you're just buying time and make a plan for what happens when the peeling returns. Personally, I'd outline the letters and logos with embroidery or quilting so if anything does come off later on, there's not a big mystery gap.