{"id":2469,"date":"2011-09-17T20:23:13","date_gmt":"2011-09-18T00:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/keepsakecrafts.net\/blog\/?p=2469"},"modified":"2014-05-14T14:29:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T18:29:47","slug":"tips-for-making-t-shirt-quilts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keepsakecrafts.net\/blog\/2011\/09\/17\/tips-for-making-t-shirt-quilts\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips For Making T-Shirt Quilts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right now I’m working on a commission, a t-shirt quilt that includes what must be most every t-shirt this gal has ever owned.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

It’s rather an interesting challenge, trying to get them all into a reasonably sized quilt.\u00a0 We’re skipping any sashing between blocks, as that would make it far too large to be allowed.\u00a0 It will be quite busy to look at, but full of memories.<\/p>\n

In case\u00a0 you’ve never made a t-shirt quilt, they’re actually very simple.\u00a0 Fusible interfacing is pressed onto the wrong side of the t-shirt design to stabilize it.\u00a0 Then blocks are cut out and treated as quilt blocks.<\/p>\n

This is a Tanzanian memory quilt I made last fall, you can read the whole post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"tshirts<\/p>\n

For\u00a0the quilt I’m working on now\u00a0I got around the “way too many t-shirts” problem by cutting them into three different sizes, 6.5″ squares, 12.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles and 12.5″ squares.\u00a0 Two of the smaller squares sewn together are the size of one rectangle, and two of the rectangles sewn together are the size of one large square.<\/p>\n

\"t-shirt-quilt-pieced-blocks\"<\/p>\n

As you can see from the photo above, it’s very helpful to have a design wall to help you sort out just how many completed large squares you will have.\u00a0 If you don’t have a design wall, find a large table or some empty floor space to lay things out.<\/p>\n

It’s also good to have a\u00a0 couple shirt that will serve as “filler” for those odd areas.\u00a0 Thankfully my client had some old jammies and two tie-dyed t-shirts that worked perfectly for that.\u00a0 And here it is, with the all the squares sewn together.\u00a0 Did I mention she had a LOT of t-shirts?<\/p>\n

\"t-shirt-quilt-completed-top\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We had two shirts with designs that had to be cut larger than 12.5″ square.\u00a0 I solved this problem by making one row that was wider than the rest and filled in the gaps with our filler pajamas and tie-dye.\u00a0 You hardly notice it in all the busyness. (It’s the second row from the left.)<\/p>\n

If you want to make your own t-shirt quilt here are a few tips:<\/p>\n