About T-Shirt Quilts

T-shirt quilts are a creative way to display a collection of T-shirts you never wear, but do not want to throw away. High school T-shirts, sports jerseys and childhood clothing can all be used to display cherished memories. T-shirt quilts have been made popular by movies like "Stepmom" as a way to "wrap up in your memories" when you miss someone or are homesick. Many online T-shirt quilt businesses will make a quilt for you using your T-shirts, but these quilts are very easy to make on your own.

Features

T-shirt quilts combine squares of favorite T-shirts with simple quilting techniques to make a cloth scrapbook. Most T-shirt quilts have an intricate front design with a solid colored backing. Quilts may be fully quilted or tacked every six inches with embroidery thread. The borders may be made from leftover T-shirt scraps or cloth purchased to complement the color scheme.

Types

The most common T-shirt quilt is a simple block pattern, made of 12 large squares arranged with a border around them. Cut a square or rectangle about eight inches long from cardboard. Place this pattern over the portion of the T-shirt with the design you want included in the quilt. Cut around the cardboard. Do this to 12 different T-shirts until you have 12 squares. Place the smaller squares into a rectangle three squares wide and four squares long. Sew them together and add a four-inch border around the outside. T-shirts may also be cut into smaller patterns for more intricate designs, but the designs on the T-shirts are less likely to show as well as in a block pattern.

Function

T-shirt quilts are a unique way of scrapbooking events of family memories. Parents can use them for childhood T-shirts to remember their children. They are a way to display collections of T-shirts which are never worn, like vacation T-shirt souvenirs. T-shirt quilts are conversation starters for visitors and may be displayed on a bed or hung on a wall.

Potential

Make a T-shirt quilt to send with your college-bound child using high school T-shirts and cloth from childhood clothing with strong memories. Use T-shirts with favorite cartoon characters for younger children to take to summer camp. For the sports fan, take a collection of jerseys and T-shirts of a favorite sports team and make a block quilt which will naturally have the color scheme of the team's colors.

Warning

Do not try to include too much in the T-shirt quilt. For block quilts, choose shirts with the most colorful, interesting designs to avoid squares looking blank next to more intricate designs. To include more shirt scraps than the block quilt allows, cut smaller scraps into a crazy patchwork design. Cut around what shapes and designs from the shirts you want included, leave a one-inch border around the design, and begin sewing the pieces together. Start at the center of the quilt, work out until it is large enough to cover your bed, and then cut the edges of the entire quilt to make a rectangle.

Expert Insight

Go a step farther by including family photographs in the T-shirt quilt. Print photos on iron-on transfer paper (available at most office and craft stores) and iron onto blank whit T-shirts. Cut around the design as you would for a block pattern or crazy patchwork design. Low-quality transfers may peel, so this is best for quilts that are display only. Do not try to fully quilt a photo patch. Quilt around the photo or use tacking. Use embroidery thread to add dates, nicknames, and quotes to borders and blank spaces.