Thursday, November 12, 2009

T-shirt Quilt and other Quilty news...


I am still working on the T-shirt quilt and hope to get it finished next week too. I had some questions about how I've made these. There are many ways to make a quilt out of T-shirts. I like to use fusible interfacing on the backs of the T-shirt squares so there is no stretching when putting the quilt together. It also gives a crisper look to the shirts, especially if they are getting worn out, which the favorite shirts usually are. Plus it makes quilting it easier too. I don't know if I could quilt it without the interfacing, I think it would stretch out of shape on the frame.

I cut my squares 14 1/2" so that they finish at 14". Some shirts have such large patterns that you need that big a block just to get it all in. For the smaller pieces I like to piece several together into 4 patches, or whatever works with what I have. Sometimes I use a sashing as in the above picture, sometimes I border each block (see previous post). These can be made pretty much any size you want. The one I am working on now will be about 90" x 90".

I have been working on quilting a quilt for a friend the last few nights. I hadn't done any quilting since I finished the Christmas Topper, so it felt good to turn on the machine and have a go at it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this post! Since this is my next project, I needed that.
I asked at our quilt store and was told that woven fusible interfacing is a good choice, so I bought some of that. I like the look of both of yours -- bordering each block and sashings with cornerstones. Don't yet know which I will do. I also appreciate your idea to combine tee shirt designs that are smaller into 4 patches or whatever. Thanks again!

quiltingnana said...

your t-shirt quilt turned out great

Jan said...

Awesome T-shirt Quilt Jean and the "quilting" looks fantastic!!! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to answer your question about the Halloween costumes our nieces were wearing ... she's not a sewer, so she didn't make 'em. They were absolutely adorable, weren't they! Have a great weekend :)