• About
  • Press
  • Advertise

Craft Test Dummies

The Crafting Blog for Crafters, By Crafters

  • Craft News
    • CHA Coverage
    • Crafting for a Cause
    • Giveaways
    • CTD on TV
    • Quilt Market
  • Craft Product Reviews
    • Apps & Sites
    • Art Supplies/Mixed Media
    • Beads/Jewelry Products
    • Books, Magazines, Events
    • Comparisons
    • Crafty Tools
    • Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts
    • Food Crafts
    • Paints, Inks & Dyes
    • Paper Crafts
    • Polymer Clay & Tools
  • Craft Storage and Tips
  • Crafty People & Places
    • Crafty Field Trips
  • Kids Stuff
    • Hands On Crafts For Kids-TV show
  • Winter/Christmas
  • Home Decor
  • Food Crafting/ Party Crafts
  • Valentine’s /Sweetest Day
  • Spring/Easter
  • Wedding & Shower Crafts
  • Father’s Day Crafts
  • Baby & Shower Crafts
  • Mother’s Day Crafts
  • Patriotic crafts
  • Summer Crafts
  • Fall Crafts
    • Halloween Crafts
  • Jenny Sez
    • Sponsored Posts
  • Periscope Superfans Page
Home / Craft Projects / T- Shirt Quilt for a Grad

T- Shirt Quilt for a Grad

May 18, 2011

Last fall, one of my dearest friends from high school (shout-out to Connie!)  asked if I’d help her with a special project- turning her daughter’s t-shirts into a memory quilt for her graduation. I thought it was a lovely idea to take all of her childhood memories and literally wrap her in a cocoon of love to send her off to college.

After looking at the shirts Connie had accumulated over the years, I realized that we could generally get 12 1/2″ inch squares from most of the shirts- which would make lovely 12″ finished blocks. I figured we’d have enough to make 3 columns of 12″ blocks, alternating 2 rows of 9 inch (finished) sashing strips. In these sashing strips we would place small logos, Girl Scout badges, etc, as appliques. (Did I mention that Connie had saved a LOT of t-shirts??)

We sorted the shirts into ones that would fit into 12 inch finished blocks, and ones that would work in a 9" finished sashing strip.

I asked Connie to prep the t-shirts by rough-cutting them- making sure that the large-image shirts were at least 13 inches across. Then, she applied non-woven iron-on interfacing. This helps the knits from stretching crazy-outta-control during sewing.

Pick a color for your borders and sashing that complements all your colors. She chose a mottled grey print.

Then we really squared things up to 12 1/2″ inches and got them ready to sew together into a column. We sewed first, and made up for any differences in the rows by adding a little strip of cotton at the top or bottom. Then we cut a strip of 9 1/2″ cotton the length of our columns. Using a zig-zag stitch, I appliqued all of the small- and odd-sized pieces.

We used some spray-baste to help lay out the smaller pieces on the sashing strip before pinning & sewing.

We joined the 12″ columns to the 9″ sashing and then added 3″ borders to the top and bottom, and 9″ borders to the sides. The finished quilt was about 70 inches wide by 79 inches long. We haven’t had time to finish it yet, but the plan is to use a nice polar fleece to act as both the batting and the backing- it’ll make the quilt both snuggly and help it keep it’s drape. We’re going to bind it with pre-made binding.

Piecing & appliquing done in about 5 hours. Now it's ready for layering & quilting.

So here are my best tips for YOU:

  • Stabilize- use a non-woven, medium-weight iron-on interfacing on all knit fabrics.
  • PIN! I usually don’t, but even with the stabilizing, the fabric “walks” a little. Pinning helps.
  • The “column”  design helps acomodate for different-sized blocks. And you can use sashing for a space for friends to autograph.
  • Consider a walking foot. It might keep those knits from shifting.
  • If you applique, use a 3-step or plain zig-zag stitch instead of a satin stitch. The zig-zag will stretch & move with the fabric better.
  • Don’t feel pressured to be perfect- if the size is a little small for a twin, that’s OK. College students rarely make their beds, and you’d rather give them a great quilt to cuddle up with rather than a “perfect” quilt that only dresses a bed.

I love the way the top turned out, and I’m so honored I got a chance to be a part of it. And I’ve started saving my kid’s tee’s now, in preparation for my own quilting adventure!

 

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Jenny

Chief Craft Test Dummy, Craft Evangelist, Founder, Editor, bottle-washer, trouble-maker, and creative whirlwind.
  • Spooky Spider Halloween Bookmark Craft - October 24, 2018
  • Review and Demo of LDRS Hybrid Ink Pads - October 15, 2018
  • Review and Demo of Nuvo Hybrid Inks - October 1, 2018
  • Craft Studio Tour and Organization Ideas - September 20, 2018
  • Wax Paper Resist Background Technique - March 20, 2018
  • Comparison of Liquid Watercolor Markers/Pens - March 16, 2018
  • SAI Japanese Traditional Watercolor Brush Markers- Review & Demo - February 23, 2018
  • Rinea Metallic Foil Paper & Ghost Ink Review - February 21, 2018
  • Jane Davenport debuts at Creativation 2018 & Watercolor Card - February 13, 2018
  • Creativation 2018: New Product Showcase - January 20, 2018

Posted in Craft Projects, Fabric Crafts | 8 Comments

Comments

  1. Jess says

    May 18, 2011 at 08:31

    The t-shirt quilt is amazing, great job and thanks for the tips!! I hope to try one of these some day and it helps to hear what other people have learned. Execellent job!
    Jess

  2. Patty says

    May 18, 2011 at 10:24

    I love T-shirt quilts, I’m in the middle of working on one. I like to have the sashing in between to make it more square looking. Of course, since I’m still a novice sewer, you can see that some are not in straight lines. Ooops. 😛

  3. Vicki says

    May 18, 2011 at 11:58

    Very Nice! I really like the layout and can’t wait to see the finished product!

  4. Catrina Brunk says

    May 19, 2011 at 03:05

    Thank you for the idea. I think I might start now since my boys are young. I wonder if this is too girlie for my boys?????

  5. Jenny says

    May 19, 2011 at 09:56

    Catrina- it’s certainly NOT too girlie- actually, I think usually these are done for boys. They seem to accure a ridiculous number of sports tee’s, and this is perfect for them! ; )

  6. Danielle says

    September 5, 2011 at 21:01

    very good Idea, I love it, thank you for sharing with us…

  7. Jean MN says

    September 10, 2011 at 09:29

    One of my many nephews has been having the toughest time getting thru high school, his rocker T’s will become a quilt soon. Of course he needs to show that he is graduating. He is pumped to be getting a quilt… Now I need to do one for his brother!

  8. Cat@BudgeBlonde.com says

    September 13, 2011 at 13:16

    This turned out so great! I have a whole box of “special shirts” from high school that belonged to my husband & me and I’d love to do it! I’m very new to sewing though!
    xoxo
    Cat

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ctd-headshot-round

Hi! I’m Jenny, the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS and the Head Dummy behind CraftTestDummies.com where you’ll find craft product reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news.

ctd-fb ctd-pin ctd-twitter cts-insta ctd-youtube ctd-g ctd-email

Search

ctd-subscribe
Want weekly craft projects delivered straight to your inbox?

YouTube

Disclosure

CraftTestDummies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

jenny-headshot-square

Jenny Barnett Rohrs is Head Dummy and Pied Piper behind CTD, which focuses on reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news. Jenny has appeared on HSN, Scrapbook Soup PBS series, and is currently the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS.

ctd-fb-30  ctd-pin-30  ctd-twitter-30  cts-insta-30  ctd-youtube-30  ctd-g-30  ctd-email-30  ctd-rss-30

Copyrighted Content Permission All images and tutorials on this blog are copyrighted material. Please contact me if you would like to borrow any media (photos, video or audio files), tutorials, or ideas from this blog. 99% of the time I would be happy to allow you to use one photo with appropriate credit and link back to CraftTestDummies.com (preferably to the same post it was borrowed from.)
clever-network  linqia  viglink

All content copyright © 2015 Craft Test Dummies | Privacy Policy | Disclosures | Site design by XO Sarah

MENU
  • Craft News
    • CHA Coverage
    • Crafting for a Cause
    • Giveaways
    • CTD on TV
    • Quilt Market
  • Craft Product Reviews
    • Apps & Sites
    • Art Supplies/Mixed Media
    • Beads/Jewelry Products
    • Books, Magazines, Events
    • Comparisons
    • Crafty Tools
    • Fabric, Needle, & Quilting Arts
    • Food Crafts
    • Paints, Inks & Dyes
    • Paper Crafts
    • Polymer Clay & Tools
  • Craft Storage and Tips
  • Crafty People & Places
    • Crafty Field Trips
  • Kids Stuff
    • Hands On Crafts For Kids-TV show
  • Winter/Christmas
  • Home Decor
  • Food Crafting/ Party Crafts
  • Valentine’s /Sweetest Day
  • Spring/Easter
  • Wedding & Shower Crafts
  • Father’s Day Crafts
  • Baby & Shower Crafts
  • Mother’s Day Crafts
  • Patriotic crafts
  • Summer Crafts
  • Fall Crafts
    • Halloween Crafts
  • Jenny Sez
    • Sponsored Posts
  • Periscope Superfans Page