How to Make a T-shirt Memory Quilt
T-shirt memory quilts are a way to preserve memories. Besides being ecologically responsible by reusing old T-shirts that might otherwise be thrown away, T-shirt quilts are also a favorite with those who dislike saving sentimental items that need to be stored rather than used. T-shirt memory quilts are perfect when there is a collection of T-shirts around a theme (such as sports participation or membership in an organization), but quilters also love creating a quilt whose theme is simply arranged around different hobbies, or even of a particular time period in a person's life.
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Things You'll Need
- T-shirts
- Sewing machine
- Fusible lightweight interfacing
- Thread
- #70/9 sewing machine needle
- Back panel fabric of your choice
- Border Fabric (optional)
- Pins
Instructions
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1
Cut the T-shirt fronts into 16-by-16-inch square blocks, ensuring that the entire meaningful front (picture, words, etc.) is included in the block.
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2
Cut the fusible interfacing into 17-by-17-inch square panels. They must be a little bit bigger than the T-shirts, but the excess may be trimmed later.
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3
Attach the interfacing to the back of the T-shirt panels by ironing them. To do this, set the iron temperature a little higher than what's appropriate for T-shirts. Place the fabric piece on the ironing board, wrong side up.
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4
Center the interfacing on top of it, adhesive side down (the adhesive side has the raised bumps on it). Place the iron straight down onto one section of the fabric piece and apply firm, even pressure. It may be helpful to use both hands. Do not slide the iron.
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5
Arrange the blocks in the pattern desired on the final quilt.
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6
Sew the panels together by placing "right" sides of blocks together, and then stitching with the sewing machine. This allows the seam to be hidden within the quilt layers.
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7
Sew the border all around the quilt, using the same technique used for the T-shirt blocks, if desired. This is not necessary, but it will give some shape to the quilt.
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8
Lay the quilt right-side up. Then, lay the back panel fabric wrong side up on top of the quilt so that the right sides are facing together.
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9
Pin all around and hand stitch randomly around the quilt so that the two panels do not shift while you are sewing the two sides together. Sew together using sewing machine, but leave about 12 inches of perimeter un-stitched in order to turn quilt right-side out.
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10
Turn quilt right-side out. Iron around perimeter and stitch all around the quilt, including the 12-inch gap.
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Tips & Warnings
The number of T-shirts that you'll need depends on the arrangement desired for the quilt. For example, a quilt that uses 16-inch-square pieces and uses 15 fronts will need to arrange blocks in five rows of three, for dimensions of approximately 80-by-48 inches
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
