How To Make A T-Shirt Quilt
I got paid to quilt! A stranger found one of my posts, and sent me a message asking if I would turn her daughter’s t-shirts into a memory quilt.
I got paid to quilt!
This was the first time I was quilting for someone else, and my first t-shirt quilt, so there was a bit of a learning curve, but it turned out to be really easy, and I love how it turned out. It helps that this will be a graduation gift, for someone graduating from the same high school I graduated from. Now, I’m not super nostalgic about high school. I had fun while I was there. But then I moved on. I avoided my ten year reunion like the plague. The twenty year reunion next year? I’ll probably skip that too (and let’s not talk about how it’s been almost twenty years, I’m feeling old just typing that number). But to make a quilt of JHS sports shirts, with red, white and blue sashing?
Once a rebel, always a rebel!
That first cut is tough! Since the shirts don’t belong to me, it’s a lot harder to make that first cut than when it’s fabric I own. The potential for making an error isn’t really all that higher, but the need to live up to someone else’s expectations, and the potential to destroy their property, is intimidating. I must have stared at that first shirt, scissors in hand, for a good ten minutes before I was able to cut.
What makes a t-shirt quilt different from other quilts, is the jersey material the shirts are made of. It’s stretchy stuff! Stretchy is not good when it comes to quilting.
Fusible interfacing (lightweight fabric that can be applied to the back of fabric by heating through ironing) makes the t-shirt more stable, and easier to work with.
There are lots of different weights (thickness) of interfacing, I went with a medium weight, since I had never worked with it before. It’s pretty easy to use!
To Turn T-Shirts Into A Quilt:
- Cut the t-shirt apart along the seams.
- Cut the fusible interfacing a couple of inches larger than needed, but not so large that any hangs over the edge of the t-shirt.
- Put the t-shirt, printed side down, on the ironing board.
- Place the interface, fusible side down, over the portion of the t-shirt to be used in the quilt.
- Cover with a damp cloth. I found a wash cloth to be too thick for the heat of the iron to get through. I used the back of one of the t-shirts and a spray bottle.
- Iron, according to interfacing directions, until the interfacing is thoroughly fused to the t-shirt.
- You can even use multiple smaller pieces of interfacing to cover a larger area. Just overlap the edges slightly, and make sure to iron a little longer, to ensure both layers are fused.
- Trim to the desired size (plus ½ inch length and width for seam allowances), don’t forget to center the desired part of the t-shirt before trimming.
- Repeat with all t-shirts to be used. At this point, you could sew t-shirts together and call it a day.
- I chose to add borders, in a variety of reds, whites and blues.
- Sew blocks into columns, sew columns together. Because not all of the shirts I was working with were the same size, and because I had a small number of shirts but was commissioned to make a lap blanket sized quilt, I added some 1 inch and 2 inch squares to fill in spaces around the smaller t-shirt pieces.
- Baste, quilt, bind.
A few notes about things I learned:
Sweatshirts work just like t-shirts. Be careful with hooded sweatshirts, making sure to exclude the seams around the neck and the front pocket.
Soccer jerseys can’t handle the same heat from the iron as regular t-shirts, be cautious!
I did not use fusible interfacing on the basketball penny. Instead, I trimmed it down to one layer (it was reversible) and spray basted (aerosolized glue made for quilting) it onto a square of white fabric. I then bordered it the same way as the other shirts.
Not all of the shirts I was working with were the same size. Some were oversized jerseys. Some were petite, fitted t-shirts with less width than others. I measured the usable size of the shirt (arm pit to arm pit, and bottom edge of collar to bottom of logo) and drew a bunch of diagrams on graph paper to get the layout right before I made the first cut.
I planned to iron interfacing to all shirts, and then cut fabric and border all shirts. Instead, I found that the edges of the interfacing tended to start to pull up after they cooled. That probably means I should have ironed longer, but I was worried about melting the shirts. So instead I ironed each shirt, and bordered it, before moving on to ironing the next.
Guys, I got PAID to quilt! How cool is that?!?!
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19 Comments
Jennifer
How great that you got paid to do your hobby! Could this be a new small business venture for you? I still haven’t started my first attempt at a quilt but am reading with interest and gathering courage – maybe this summer! I might bring my sewing machine up to the cottage where I have more leisure time….
Darcy
Thanks Jennifer! I hope to turn this into a small business. I’m so glad you are thinking about giving it a try. It’s such a rewarding hobby!
Vickie Simpson
It came out very nice!
Darcy
Thank you! I think I enjoyed making it more since it was JHS shirts, than I would have for any other high school.
Roxy
How much to make me a quilt?
Darcy
Thanks for racing out, Roxy. How many t-shirts would be involved? Feel free to send me an email (darcyquilts at gmail) and we can make a plan!
judy Sasser
I am especially interested in the T-shirt quilts any updates would be appreciated.
Darcy
Judy, I’d love to help- what do you mean by updates?
Karen Woods
Hello Darcy,
Do you you have a website or way to be contacted to make quilts by request?
Darcy
Karen, I’d love to hear what you have in mind! Shoot me an email at darcyquilts@gmail.com or check out my Etsy shop (also called Darcy Quilts)- there’s one custom quilt listed there, but we could definitely talk other sizes and patterns.
Sharon
How did you add the blue chevron border around the “J” t-shirt square?
Darcy
Sharon, it was a chevron print, not a pieced border. I love when quilts look more complicated than they really were!
Sharon
Yes, it looks great! How did you attach the T-shirt part to the chevron print? I am new to all of this, but have my son’s shirts and want to give it a try. Thank you!
Darcy
Oh, I see what you are asking! Let’s say hypothetically that the J shirt is trimmed down to 10 inches square- I don’t remember the exact dimensions, but I do remember it’s square. Two strips of blue chevron are also 10 inches in length, and they are sewn to the left and right sides. I don’t remember the width of the chevron border,but I would bet money on it being 2.5 inches.
So you’re J is still 10 inches tall but is now 14 inches wide. The remaining two strips of blue chevron should be cut to 14 inches and sewn to the top and bottom to make the J block.
I hope this all helps?
Sharon
Thank you, now I get it too. I thought you fuzed one to the other.
Kimberly Goodmay
Hi! I’m currently making my first quilt for a lady – her mother passed away this past spring so she brought me a bunch of clothes to make a quilt. There were all sorts of material weights. I’ve been working on the lighter weights and just looked at all the heavier weights. I saw your post on Pinterest and thank you for posting about the tee shirts!!! So maybe I can make her 2 quilts. First she only wanted a 50×70” but she’s coming Sunday to talk more 🤦🏻♀️ Anyway, I don’t know how to figure up how much to charge. Do you have any ideas? Appreciate your input!! God bless you – you really do amazing work!!! Kim
Darcy
Hi Kim, that’s so sweet of you to make a quilt for her! I’ve read online that $15-$20 per shirt seems typical. I only charged for supplies for this one, because it was my first time doing a t-shirt quilt.
dale
congratulations on getting paid for doing what you love! i’ve been dragging my feet to make 3 t-shirt quilts for a friend. you’ve given me the jump start i needed to get started!
Darcy
I’m glad you are ready to get started! With some projects starting is the hardest part, and then it turns out to be a lot of fun.