Crafty Sunday: Completing a T-Shirt Quilt

My husband had so many t-shirts his drawers could barely close. Many shirts he held onto for sentimental reasons, but they just took up space and were rarely if ever warn....so, I had him pull out all of the shirts he rarely or never wore and decided to make them into a t-shirt quilt.

I tried my hardest not to make myself too crazy about this quilt's design...my main goal was that he could use it while watching tv on the sofa (so it needed to be long enough!) otherwise I was just concerned that the blocks would stretch funny and not look right (since the fabric is t-shirt...) 

I ended up finding my first local quilt shop (Sew Chic in Fairmont WV) and had a chance to look around and purchased iron on lightweight interfacing....perfect for this project. 




Here's how to make your own t-shirt quilt:

You'll need: plenty of t-shirts, interfacing, sewing machine, quilting ruler, rotary cutter/mat, matching thread. 

Because the shirts came in a variety of designs, I cut them into two sizes 12.5x12.5" and 6x6" I cut the interfacing to the same size and followed the package instructions to apply it to the back of each block. The only specific request my husband had was not to cut the design of his ONE t-shirt, SO, I made that one as wide as a could, did a little math, and added some contrasting fabric to make it the width of two blocks. 

I cut 2" strips (12 1/2") long for the sashing between the blocks. (Sashing is optional, I personally just like the look.) 

Apply the sashing to the blocks. My design was 4 blocks per row, so 3 pieces of sashing. Sew all blocks into rows. Once I did that, I sewed long 2" strips and joined all my rows. 

My husband had a t-shirt with writing down both the arms, he asked if I could include those, so I cut the seams and added that in the borders. 

I cut the borders 6" wide. I mitered the corners. 

NOW, I'm piecing together all of the t-shirt remains to make backing...I figure why spend money on backing when this quilt is really more sentimental...

Next, I'll have to figure out how to quilt it...I'm so happy that I have the integrated walking foot on my sewing machine! 

I think a t-shirt quilt is a great way of "upcycling" and reusing something with sentimental value. 

Facebook Comments Plugin Bloggerized by BloggerTricks.Biz

3 comments:

  1. I have so many t shirts that I don't want to get rid of b/c of sentimental value, but I need to make room in my closets. This is the most brilliant idea. I am going to learn how to use a sewing machine just so I can do this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband asked me to do this...I didn't even know where to begin! I am saving your notes! T-shirts everywhere!! Another lovely project my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is that a NMMI shirt I see??? LOVE this, Dani!!!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave me messages. I love hearing from YOU!

Blogging tips