Many years ago, when my son was young, I saw the cutest quilt made from t-shirts. I did not know how to sew, let alone quilt. I had never owned a sewing machine. But I started saving those t-shirts – from daycare, t-ball, soccer, Little League, golf, proms – all of them!
Quite a few years later, I have now made six t-shirt quilts. My son and my niece each received t-shirt quilts upon high school graduation. I created their quilt tops, and had them professionally quilted. I am a little braver these days, having both pieced and quilted the latest ones, for our grandsons.
You don’t have to limit yourself to kids’ t-shirts. I’ve seen some really cool vacation t-shirt quilts, Harley-Davidson t-shirt quilts, etc..! Follow along, and I will give you some tips to make your own.
First things first, begin saving t-shirts! Wash them to remove stains as best as you can. My t-shirt quilt design is pretty basic. The blocks in my t-shirt quilts are 12-1/2 inches square. Begin by using a rotary cutter or scissors to cut off the sleeves. On each side, cut from the neck opening to the shoulder. Then cut down each side. Put the fronts and backs you plan to use in your quilt in one pile. And put all your scraps in another pile (you may want to use some of these).
Pick one of your fronts/backs. Iron it. Use a pressing cloth if there are any rubbery designs on the shirt. The next step is to “stabilize” the t-shirt fabric. I use Pellon 906F. You’ll want a non-woven interfacing, fusible on one side. Cut a piece slightly larger than your intended final block size. So for a 12-1/2 inch square block, cut a piece that is approximately 15 x 15 inches. Notice that most t-shirts stretch more horizontally, than vertically. And notice that the interfacing stretches in just one direction. Place the fusible side of the interfacing on the back side of the shirt, with the stretch of the interfacing vertically on the shirt. This step is really important, as this is what “stabilizes” the t-shirt fabric. Press, following the directions on the interfacing.
Placing your “stabilized” shirt face up, I use a 12-1/2 inch square ruler. Center the ruler as best you can on your shirt design. Carefully use a rotary cutter to remove the excess fabric.
Before you know it, you’ll have a stack of 12-1/2 inch square blocks to use for your t-shirt quilt!
If you haven’t done so already, it is important to plan the design of your quilt. I like to use graph paper to determine the size of my quilt. I find that 4 squares across by 5 squares down makes a nice lap size quilt. It is important to remember that t-shirt quilts can be quite heavy. So think about your quilt’s long-term purpose, and plan accordingly with regard to size and batting weight. As a high school graduate becomes an adult, it is unlikely that he or she will still want to use a large t-shirt bed quilt! After you determine your design, lay out the squares in a pleasing order. Be sure to take a picture of your layout at this point. If possible, print the picture. You will need it often as you piece your quilt together!
The next step is to add sashing to your blocks, so you can create the rows. For my quilt, I cut WOF (width of 40 inch fabric) strips in 3 shades of blue. Twelve WOF 1-1/2 inch strips (internal sashing), six WOF 2-1/2 inch strips (first border) and seven WOF 3-1/2 inch strips (second border). And I cut twelve 1-1/2 inch squares (internal sashing). Add a 1-1/2 inch strip to the right side of each square in columns 1, 2 and 3. Use a quarter inch seam. Be consistent with your quarter inch seam throughout your quilt piecing! Don’t cut your strips before attaching. Chain stitch and trim after pressing. I use a small 2.0mm stitch length.
Starting with the top row, stitch your 4 blocks (first 3 with sashing) together. To make the sashing that will be sewn between the rows, I cut 4 pieces of the 1-1/2 inch strips, each 12-1/2 inches in length. These need to be exact. Join in this order – a strip, a square, a strip, a square, a strip, a square, a strip. Be precise with that quarter inch seam. With right sides together, pin the horizontal sashing to the row, being careful to line up the seams of the 1-1/2 inch squares. Sew and the first row is done!
Attach this sashing to the bottom of the first 4 rows, all but the bottom 5th row, and then sew your rows together.
I have 2 borders on my quilt, first a 2 inch border.
And lastly, a 3 inch border. It’s ready to quilt!!!
Before we go any further, I want to mention that not all the blocks in my quilt are 12-1/2 inch squares from a single t-shirt. You can get creative by combining pieces and parts of t-shirts, emblems, photographs printed on fabric, etc.. Also, don’t limit yourself to only using t-shirts. It is okay to use silky materials, sweatshirts, etc.. But I will caution you, this adds a bit of complexity to your quilt making process. Start simple, depending on your skill level.
I experimented a bit with the quilting of this t-shirt quilt. I used a walking foot on both sides of the internal sashing, separating each of the now 12 inch squares. Next I switched to a free motion foot, and customized the quilting in each square. I am not a PERFECT machine quilter! But I am getting better with each project!
I finished the quilting by meandering on the borders. Last step is the binding. I like the way it turned out!
You can find my tips here for quilting supplies, piecing your quilt, quilting your quilt, and binding your quilt.
Excellent instructions on how to make a t-shirt quilt!
Thanks Diana. You’ve made quite a few t-shirt quilts!