How to Make a Quilt Out of T Shirts

Don't trash those old memories! Transform your old T-shirts into quilts.

A T-shirt quilt provides a great way to commemorate a special event or your high school years. It can also be a fun way to memorialize a deceased loved one. The soft cotton material of T-shirts also helps to create a soft blanket that many people prefer over standard quilting cotton. While many steps in the process are similar, you do need to follow a few special steps to make your old T-shirts into a quilt or quilted wall-hanging.

Things You'll Need

• Tailor's tape measure
• Fabric scissors or rotary cloth cutter
• T-shirts
• Fusible interfacing, non-woven
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Quilt batting
• Safety pins
• Sheet

Instructions

1. Decide what size you want to make your quilt. This will help you determine the number of shirts you need and how large to make the square cuts on the T-shirts. These instructions are for a full size quilt measuring approximately 82 inches wide and 96 inches long.

2. Gather 30 T-shirts to use in making a full size T-shirt quilt. Use fabric scissors or a rotary cutting blade and a tailor's tape measure to cut 30 quilt blocks measuring 17 inches square. You may use the front and back of 15 T-shirts or any amount of T-shirts that will create the necessary 30 blocks. Lay the material flat and work carefully to produce perfectly square cuts.

3. Cut out blocks of fusible, non-woven interfacing to measure 17 inches square. Iron the interfacing onto the backs of each T-shirt block to prevent the T-shirt material from stretching while you work and after you complete and begin to use the quilt.

4. Lay the T-shirt quilt blocks out on the floor and decide on a final layout for the quilt. Position the T-shirts in a color pattern, at random or in any other order. Use an iron set to a low setting to smooth the T-shirt material and remove any small, tight creases or wrinkles. Place the blocks in six rows consisting of five blocks each.

5. Assemble one row of the quilt at a time. Begin by assembling the first two pieces of the first row. Place the two pieces so that the printed sides are facing and sew a ¼ to 1/3-inch seam along one edge of the fabric.

6. Unfold and place the next piece in the row against one of the T-shirt blocks. Set the blocks face to face and sew the blocks together. Repeat this step until you have made all six rows of the quilt.

7. Fold two rows of the quilt together at a time and sew the rows of the quilt together. Repeat this step until you have sewed the entire quilt top.

8. Cut a piece of quilt batting and a sheet to measure the same length and width as the T-shirt quilt top. Place all three materials together with the quilt batting in the middle. Use safety pins to hold all the parts of the quilt together.

9. Quilt the three pieces together by hand or using a quilting machine. Then sew the edges of the quilt by folding the quilt over on itself and sewing a hem around the entire quilt.

References

• Quiltbug: Making a Quilt Out of T-Shirts
• Goose Track Quilts: Basic T-Shirt Quilt Instructions

Resources

• Re-nest: 5 New Uses for Old T-Shirts