OK, so my next major project is making a tshirt quilt for my son. He is now in high school (freshman) and he said he doesn't want to wear his middle school shirts anymore. He is big into music, he plays viola and sings in the choir. I have enough shirts I think, but I would really appreciate pointers before I start cutting up shirts. I was thinking 14 " squares, iron on stabilizer, and 1" black strips inbetween. Ideas? Opinions?

It's not difficult to make a t-shirt quilt. Just be consistent in the size you decide to cut them. I add a solid color sashing to stabilize them but for this one, I'd consider a music themed sashing.

Sounds like a great start to me.

I cut mine about 15 inches, ironed on the fusible interfacing, and then cut them down to 14. It kept the edges perfect!

I would measure the design on the shirt before deciding on a size for the block. Cut them larger than the finishing size so they can all be trimmed after the stabilizer is put on. The iron on stabilizer may have a "stretch" in one direction, be sure it stretches in the opposite direction the t-shirt does, it will be much easier to work with. Personally I love black sashing, but using the school colors may work better. I would audition them just to be sure. The small designs on some shirts can be used on the back or as cornerstones if you have enough of them.

Hope this helps.

i agree cut oversized then trim

Plan how you are going to quilt these, and what type of batting will go with your plan.

You probably don't want to quilt over the tshirt's design... :wink: I could be wrong, but when shopping for batting, the largest quilting requirement I have found is 10". You don't want the batting bunching up on you after use/laundering.

Maybe well washed flannel, a light weight blanket, or a heavier backing without any batting would work if you want to keep the blocks bigger and the quilting further apart :D:D:D

I have made several of these for male family members. One of the schools logo was a footprint of a dog. I found some small print black background with little white dog prints. It turned out really sharp. If there are several of the small designs that he really likes I cut them small and the wideth of my blocks then sew them together to make them the size of one block.Ballpoint neddle to quilt on the shirts.

Use the search option and type in t-shirt quilts. you will come up with alot of help..