Today’s Topic: How to Quilt a Tshirt Quilt
Good Morning, Quilters!
Thank you all for your kind notes regarding my return to blogging and my vision challenges.
I am so sorry to hear that many of YOU have experienced similar problems. The take home message is–when you see floaters or flashers-see your ophthalmologist immediately!
Everyone Loves a TShirt Quilt
How often have YOU been asked to make a Tshirt quilt?
More than any other quilt, non-quilters LOVE Tshirt quilts! It’s hard to give up a Tshirt when you’ve spent hours of sweat earning it’s logo. Or maybe the Tshirt brings back memories of favorite concerts.
Whatever the reason, everyone loves a Tshirt quilt….
Except maybe quilters-LOL!
Why Everyone Loves TShirt Quilts
The reason everyone loves Tshirt quilts is the same reason I constantly say don’t worry about perfection!
Personality is more important than perfection!
Our families are more interested in the personal touches-like fun motifs or handwriting-that we add to their quilts than they care about perfect quilting.
TShirt quilts are the epitome of personalization!
And while we don’t always like to use old, knit fabric, I’m sure we all love to make quilts that make people happy!
Creating a TShirt Quilt
My daughter, Olivia and I made this Tshirt quilt for her husband, Matt with Tshirts his mom had saved from his early years.
All those high school sports and activities combined in a colorful quilt mosaic.
Before piecing the blocks, we backed each Tshirt with lightweight fusible interfacing, being careful not to melt the logos.
The layout was a little tricky because the logos were different widths so we added sashing to the narrow blocks.
Choosing border and shashing colors is probably the trickiest part of making a Tshirt quilt. We used a design wall to audition a variety of borders and sashings and decided on the gray and red.
Longarm Quilting
Once the quilt was pieced, we considered how to quilt a Tshirt quilt of this size–extra tall for extra tall, Matt!
His quilt was one of the first projects in the queue for quilting on my new longarm.
We chose an overall, edge to edge design available in the Qmatic patterns. (Qmatic is the computer system for the BERNINA Q24 Longarm.)
We liked the square meander pattern because it referenced the various size rectangles in the Tshirt quilt.
Let the Tshirts Shine
The key to quilting a Tshirt quilt is to keep it simple. The Tshirts (and the personal achievements they represent) are the star of the show. Let the logos lead the way and choose thread and motifs that do not hinder your ability to see them clearly.
Choose thread color that blends with most of the colors in the quilt. (We chose medium gray thread for this quilt.)
Use lightweight thread that disappears more readily. (Read Understanding Thread Weight.)
Use a Universal or Ballpoint needle for quilting through the knit fabric. Test the needle on both the jersey fabric and the plastic logo areas to be sure it will pierce the paint. Increase the size of the needle if the needle appears to stutter as it hits the plastic. If that doesn’t work, use a Topstitch needle which is a sharp needle and generally not used on jersey because it may tear the fibers. (NOTE-after testing, we chose a Topstitch needle.)
Commissioned Tshirt Quilts
Here at LKQ, I often get requests to create Tshirt quilts which I only make for family. I would love to be able to refer requests to other quilters. If YOU are interested in creating Tshirt quilts for commission, please leave info in the comment section and I will create a list for future inquiries.
What about YOU?
Have YOU made any Tshirt quilts for family and friends?
Do YOU have any tips for making Tshirt quilts?
What motif, thread, needle worked best for YOU?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Your Happy Quilter,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!
41 comments
Rhoda Johnson
I have made many t shirt quilts. One had 60+ shirts in it and was king sized. I use the 911 Pellon stabilizer, batting and even someone Ike’s minky on the back. I have found smashing makes everything fit better and have even embroidered empty block to finish “the puzzle”. I usually custom quilt each block with the theme of it. Everyone has enjoyed them. The scraps i donate for pet beds. I don’t charge by the shirt but rather by what i actually use and my time. The only sad part, is there is a lot of time put into them and some folks just think it a quick, easy, cheap thing. It’s really not. I enjoy solving the puzzles from all the shirts people give me.
Masa O.
Praying for you, Lori: I’m making my first 4 t-shirt quilts (one for each adult child as intended Christmas gifts) so appreciated all these tips!
KarenS
I have never made one but I am often asked to. I figure as long as I’ve never made one I can always use that as my excuse–I don’t know how! I’ve even had people who barely know me ask me to make one for them for free. No thank you! I always refer them to Google to find someone to make one for them.
Nana in AZ
When I make a T-shirt quilt I skip the batting and use a fleece or velour type blanket for a backing. (Stabilized shirts are so heavy already!) I try to find one with the same theme or college logo on the blanket/backing. The easiest construction is making rows of shirts with similar widths and then sewing the rows together.
Mary Kay M
I made a t shirt quilt from 40 tshirt logos that are the same so I did front and back using the logo. I had to quilt as you go to make it work. I also used a topstitch needle on my domestic machine to quilt it. It was a labor of love but not something that I would do for anyone else.
Linda Morgan
Hi Lori,
Glad you are back!
I make T shirt quilts as well as baby clothes / memory quilts for customers and love the planning phase. It is worth the extra time spent in the planning so there are no surprises popping up during construction. Please add my name to the list you are generating for potential customers. I have a store on Etsy store where customers can contact me…Keepsake USA Quilts…. or a direct email at: keepsakeusaquilts777@gmail.com.
I have finished the quilts in both edge-to-edge quilting on a long arm machine as well as free motion quilting on my domestic machine.
Lynne TINSLEY
I’ve made hundreds of them. While they are my least favorite type of quilt to make I do enjoy seeing people so happy when they receive them. Honestly they pay for my monthly payment on my longarm so I just keep doing them. I have also made many memory quilts from baby clothes, dance costumes, wedding dresses, racing jerseys and hockey jerseys. I do enjoy the challenge each one presents. I’ve also made ones with sashing and more puzzle style where all shirts, pockets, logos etc. are different sizes. I use a 16 needle on my longarm and monopoly thread to quilt it. This clear thread can be ironed, doesn’t turn yellow, and makes the t-shirt the star of the show not the quilting. My customers like that I have used clear thread because they want to see the shirt. I have used a heat press (which is worth every penny since I do so many) and can interface a shirt in 6 seconds rather than 6 minutes. I also use a pressing cloth over the logo so it doesn’t melt. I have used the cheap pellon 911 from J but find that it really doesn’t do the nicest job and tends to stretch especially if sewing t-shirt to t-shirt rather than sashing. I have found that Pellon’s Shape Flex SF101 makes the nicest while it is significantly more expensive. I try to buy it by the bolt when in goes on sale or I have a 60% coupon.
Cyndy Ponczek
Lynne, Thanks so much for all your tips! After reading your post I thought I’d try the SF101 along with the FF911 and I also have Palmer/Pletsch Medium Shape Flex which is fusible. Tried them all and liked the Shape Flex the best. It made the T shirt feel more like regular fabric. The SF101 would definitely be my next choice. The Shape Flex costs slightly more overall but it’s 60″ wide. Give it a try!
Vicki McCaleb
Before I tackled my first t-shirt quilt, I made a sample using three different stabilizers. I fused the pieces onto some extra t-shirt fabric. I did some extra stitching across so that it would not get excess wear. I wrote on each section which stabilizer was in that section and then I threw it in the washing machine and dryer to see how it came out. Very glad that I did that because it showed me which stabilizer tended to let loose. Somebody had told me to just use pellon 44F and that one came out the bottom of my list of choices. I also tried the Pellon Shape Flex, and I wasn’t very pleased with that. The one that I ended up using and was very happy with was the Pellon EK130 which is the Easy Knit tricot.
quiltedcookiecrumbs
Sorry, I didn’t realize that my name wasn’t part of the previous post.
My name is lisa Giesfeldt, and I also do custom quilting.
Thanks ,
quiltedcookiecrumbs
Hello Lori. So glad you’re back. I’ve missed your blogs.
I’ve made over 60 Tshirt quilts over the years, for customers who get my name from a local quilt shop, or other friends. Each one is very special for the recipient, and the customer requesting the quilt. Not only have I made them with tshirts, but also other articles of clothing (usually memory quilts). Some have been more challenging than others, but each is unique in its own way. I usually use an 80/20 blend batt as the quilt can be very heavy with traditional cotton. I’ve found that using a spare plain back from one of the shirts makes a great pressing cloth. I spray it with water and place on top of the interfacing as I press the interfacing to the wrong side of the shirt. The steam generated by the damp press cloth really helps fuse the interfacing without any damage to the shirt. When it’s dry, the fusing is usually done.
I’m always looking for future business. I’m in southeast Wisconsin, and can provide pictures, if anyone is interested. I usually charge $15/shirt, but pricing can vary if more intense quilting is needed, or more customization. I can be reached at white-oak@att.net.
Thank you. Looking forward to more posts.
Kathy Kaplan
I’ve made many t shirt quilts! I love it. I’d would like to do more! My email is kathykaplanquilts@gmail.com if anyone is interested!
Ws Rupp
I make baby clothes memory quilts out of baby and childrens clothes. I have designed the quilt and a pillow pattern. Its alot of fun to see them come together and the mom’s always love them!
Mary F Nelson
I just opened your post on my laptop(bigger picture) and see your son-in-law is from Lewiston, MN. I am in WInona and have seen a lot of the same shirts in the customer quilts I have quilted. I have done 5 so far this year, a record for me. And I was at my local quilt shop today and they commented on how many are shopping for fabric to construct, or backing for, tee shirt quilts. Wonder if it has something to do with “cleaning out and purging” that has been happening during the past year.
Masa O.
Used to live in Lewiston & work in Winona and miss the area!
Marta
Love Winona ! from south GA…Been “scared” to attempt to make quilts with all the t-shirts my kids collected during their childhood/teen years. Y’all are making me brave to try it with all these suggestions of info available and products that are aids.
Jean K Roark-Ternes
I have made around a dozen t-shirt (memory) quilts. I love making them. I meet with the client and find out things about their life and favorite colors, etc. It’s a great way to meet new people. I also made 2 memory quilts and a tie tuffet from my own father’s shirts after he passed away in 2015. I made one for my sister and another for my mother. My mother passed away last April and I have kept many pieces of her clothing to make a memory quilt for my sister and I.
Phyllis A Arnold
Made a T-shirt quilt for my granddaughter for her graduation. Don’t want to do that again unless a family member would ask. Just to time consuming and with my Singer 6 inch throat it was a bear to quilt!
June N
I have used favorite t shirts and made shirt jackets from chambris shirts. I found this more rewarding and used more often then a quilt and more people see it. My daughter just gave me another pile of t shirts and wants a quilt. I have resisted and it has set for a while. After this post I am going to put it in my que to get started on it. One question- if you use knit for the sashing do you interface that also?
Kathy Kaplan
I do
Jo.O
I have done a few T-shirt quilts. I love making them. I use a Pelion lightweight fusible 911. I have done all same size blocks, mix sizes (because design on shirts varies), and on a grid. My favorite is following the grid of Winnie Fleming (I took her course on Craftsy, The Ultimate T-Shirt Quilt). I do all over quilting too. Many times I use flames, because I do Harley shirts. I also use all over stars for sports T-shirts.
Cathy Wilson
I am a longarmer and I only find quilting one difficult if they have not been stabilized properly. I have created a number of T Shirt quilts over the years. I decided the best way to deal with people who want me to quilt for them is to teach them how to make the quilt properly. I’ve had small classes, and taught them one on one, but it became overwhelming after awhile. I now encourage all to watch Missouri Star T Shirt Quilt tutorials. They even sell the stabilizer and kits to help the newbie.
LAURIE
I have made several T shirt quilts, including one for my husband. His is double sided and very heavy, so I didn’t put in batting, therefore I didn’t need to do a lot of quilting.
The commission quilts I’ve done I charge by the hour. One quilt, we thought she would bring it to a longarmer. But then we figured out that wouldn’t work. So I custom quilted it, putting in motifs based on the theme. I quilted in horses, cars, music symbols. She loved it. I did it all on my domestic machine. We discussed the lay out using our phone camera. It was great.
Shelley A Kaurin
Just finishing quilt as you go T shirt quilt, used it to practice free motion quilting, have only 3 lessons left with 25 week class. Amazed how far I have come.
Jean Ameduri
What brand and exact name of the lightweight fusible interfacing did you use? This probably makes a huge difference to the needle and I want to avoid quilting problems. Thanks!
Michelle Maggs
The lightest fusible tricot facing you can find. So Sheer brand or Fusi-Knit. At Joann Fabrics ask for help and tell them what you’re trying to achieve, and they’ll guide you. Pellon makes a super light fusible, can’t remember what it’s called.
Lucinda Herring
I use the 99 cent Pellon from Joann’s. I also have made many and have used sashing and same size blocks. I have another to make with my son’s track shirts and plan to make that all together different.
Rebecca J Koster
I purchased a longarm and started a quilting business when I retired from teaching in 2017. I have made 35 t-shirt quilts and about a dozen memory quilts from the clothing of customers’ loved ones. I usually use a size 4.0 Groz-Beckert needle for the t-shirt quilts and rarely have trouble with breaking thread. Most often I longarm a meander design. I do not have a website but my business comes via word of mouth and my Facebook page, Dutch Thimble Quilts. I have a basic labor charge for a throw with 12 t-shirts and sashing/cornerstones between the blocks, prices increase for larger quilts with more t-shirts or when the shirts really vary in size. My favorites to make are the ones with the sashing that makes a shadow box effect. I charge by the hour for labor for anything more than the basic throw and find that costs usually average about $18-$20 per shirt in the quilt. I use a polyester batting which has fewer issues with bearding when used with the knit t-shirts backed with interfacing.
Michelle Case
Quilters spend tons of time piecing a beautiful quilt and the one people love the most is a t shirt quilt that we hate to make. 🙂 I recently made a t shirt quilt using the June Tailor t shirt quilt kit. It was a great way to quilt as you go.
Mary Nelson
I am a long arm quilter and have quilted many. I don’t make them but refer all inquiries to “A Quilt for a Lifetime” in Rochester, MN. Cheryl Johnson. She has a website where you can figure costs, etc. She also had Facebook page. All who have hired her have been very pleased.
Vicki Donoso
I have made several TShirt quilts for my children. The first was for my daughter and was made from High School t-shirts. I think I quilted it with very simple stitches and stitch in the ditch. My second and 3rd quilts were for my son and daughter made from Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts that they received from their dad after his travels around the world. In both of these quilts the blocks were not all the same size and I used a motif on the front as border accents. My son’s quilt was quilted using a motif similar to what was done on the quilt above. It was pretty random and just seemed right. I used black thread and sashing for the blocks as the tshirts were mostly black and gray. For my daughter’s her shirts had a white Background and I used a lighter sashing and a bubble and double bubble motif to quilt with a taupe or light gray thread. Both turned out really well and showcased the tshirts. I used a topstitch needle on all of them.
Cyndy Ponczek
What timing! I’ve just agreed to do 2 t shirt quilts! I’ve been doing research on how. Hoping the quilting part on my home machine won’t be too hard. I’m waiting on the arrival of the t shirts which are all Hard Rock Cafe from their travels around the world I believe. I was thinking of doing a large stipple or loop d loop type of quilting and maybe staying away from the logo area. We will see once I get the shirts and how it all goes.
Bobbie
I made one for my son and put the blocks on both sides-front and back. What a challenge that was to quilt! Won’t do that again! But when your son gives you almost 100 t-shirts, you have to put in as many as you can! I ended up using 60.
Lynn
How interesting! I got started with quilting because I was drawn to a T-shirt quilt in an in-flight magazine! With help from a quilter friend I made a quilt with my husband’s road race T-shirts (that I had secretly saved) as a surprise gift for his 50th birthday.
Michelle Maggs
I agree with Lori about how special and personal these quilts are. I’ve made 1, and am in middle of t-shirt quilt #2. A finished one looks so simple and straightforward with all those big blocks, but the general public has no idea how complicated they can be, they’re so different from our standard ways of creating quilts. That said, I will only make them for family, and otherwise have referred requests to people who do this professionally.
Layout and prep seem to take the most time and thought. If you take on this project for someone else, engage them in the project by asking them to 1) launder all of the shirts at least once (to get rid of dyes and for uniform shrinkage) and 2) cut off neck and arm pieces. Those are time-consuming steps that anyone can do.
Regarding layout…the first quilt I made for a very dear friend ended up being 3 long columns of t-shirt fronts with 2 columns of sashing made up of pieced scraps leftover from the shirts. Some of those smaller pieces included smaller logos that were either on pockets or the back of the t-shirts. I did not create borders. It was so big, the front was 100% t-shirt material, binding and backing were quilters’ cotton. Had it professionally quilted (pantograph) because, well, you know…
This 2nd quilt I’m making is for my husband, using a totally different approach. I have pre-sandwiched all the t-shirt fronts and backs together and am quilting-as-I-go. This way I have some of the shirt backs containing more graphics on the back, and the back of quilt will be mosaic-like in color. Everything will be pieced with joining strips. It’s very long, so I’m adding width with t-shirt scraps on the sides only, 2 narrow columns about 6” wide made up from material that matches shirts in the quilt. Using a neutral dark gray for joining strips and binding. Back is 100% t-shirt material.
I’d suggest using a pressing cloth anytime you iron over logos. Also, since I’m QAYG each shirt sandwich, I sometimes put a piece of vellum paper (or equivalent) under the sandwich if there is a rubbery logo on the back. The slickness of my machine bed and the Supreme Slider both resist the logo paint (or whatever substance that is!). A very thin piece of tissue or see-thru vellum works on top as well if your machine foot is resisting the glide of the shirt with sticky or rubbery logo on top.
I’d be happy to share pictures, but not sure if this format accepts them. Let me know if it’s possible, and I’ll post them.
Michelle Maggs
In response to Pamela Wallis, there are many tutorials on quilt-as-you-go online, YouTube videos, etc.
Pamela Wallis
would love to see pics! Very interested in the QAYG method you are using.
Michelle Maggs
Sorry, I had intended kmy comments above to be a separate post, but I believe I started replying to Lynn’s post because the t-shirt quilt I’m working on now is, like Lynn’s, for my husband, includes his road races and bike races, and a little bit of paddling to round it out— all outdoor events. Hope you don’t mind me piggy-backing on your post, Lynn.
Rebecca Dobbins
I have done many T Shirt quilts not only for myself but others. I use a heavyweight top stitch needle and have had much success with them. I am a free motion quilter. Most of the designs I create are centered around the theme or gender. The thing I most enjoy is the pleasure I get in being a part of the memories that are so special to those to whom are the recipients.
Vicki
I made 6 t-shirt quilts last year. I did much research before I tackled the construction which was well worth the time. I do not make with blocks all the same size, and I use extra time to put on graph paper. My biggest recommendation is to use a heat press to fuse the stabilizer. That made such a difference. I will make more but do not agree on rush projects which makes you stress to much.
Patricia Stein
I made a tshirt quilt for my daughter and decided, when finished, I would never do it again!! I have a domestic machine and quilting it was very difficult. I did use a top stitch needle and put fusible fleece on the back of each section of tshirt. My daughter loved it but it was not a joy to make!
Comments are closed.