I wanted to share with you all a t-shirt quilt that I made as my husband’s Christmas gift. I used all of his old punk rock t-shirts that he had saved over the years. It’s a simple tutorial and makes a really cozy quilt!
This is after he opened it on Christmas morning!
For his quilt I used a total of 20 t-shirts. For cutting, I simply laid a t-shirt flat on a cutting mat and positioned a 12.5″ square ruler over the main print, then used a rotary cutter to cut through both layers of the t-shirt. This gave me two 12.5″ squares from each t-shirt.
For the batting, cut 20 11.5″ squares using needle-punched batting. I highly recommend using Pellon brand (i.e. Legacy by Pellon) because it’s needle punched making it easy to trim squares from, but also it’s not too thin and has a cozy fluff to it.
Then, follow this tutorial (starting at step 1) except use your 12.5″ squares cut from your t-shirts and your 11.5″ batting squares.I recommend using a walking foot when quilting and assembling this quilt. If your t-shirts are wearing thin, I recommend using an iron-on cotton interfacing by Pellon for a quick fix.
After you’ve quilted an ‘X’ in all 20 of them, rearrange them on the floor in a 4×5 layout. Then assemble the squares as described in step 4.
After the quilt is assembled, I recommend using Fiskars ‘Razor Edge’ scissors for snipping the frays along the seams. These scissors are incredible sharp and slice through layers of the fabric like butter.
(do you see the ham in the background?) :-p
After you wash and dry the quilt, the frays will become all soft looking like this:
This is a great way to reuse old t-shirts and preserve keepsake shirts.
great idea
This would be a perfect gift for my son -he has so many concert T shirts! Thanks for the great tutorial!
That is awesome. going to do this for my kids. Thankyou xx
This is how I plan to do the t-shirt quilts I have planned. I like spring-loaded snips and have a pair of Fiskars I love, these:
http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-12-71777097J-Softouch-Titanium-Scissors/dp/B00114TK46/ref=sr_1_18?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1389034409&sr=1-18
I have arthritis and really need the spring for help. I also use some electric scissors for rag quilt snipping. It just depends on the fabric I used and how many layers there are.
Great , I like it too
Hi,
i like the post.
all the images are very clean and nice.
thanks for sharing such a nice information of t shirts online
I am so thankful for this article! I have one question- would you use the interfacing on both sides of the t-shirt?
I had never thought of making the t-shirt quilt as a rag quilt. Pretty cool.
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! I've been hoarding my kids' t-shirts for years. I'd better get them sewn before the girls move out!
OMG. I just found your site and I love it and your little dog too.
What do you mean by "quilting an x"? I'm a beginner.
She means that after putting the three layers of material together, you take the squares to the sewing machine and with a med-long but not basting stitch, you then stitch from one corner diagonally to the other and then do it the other way, therefore making the X. Make sense?
Love the photo with dog! He knows how to be the center of attention 😉
Thank you for the tutorial. My First T Shirt Quilt is only a few days away
Hi,
Nice t shirts designs, thanks for sharing.
We are leading manufacturers clothing items like underwear, t-shirts, trunks, briefs, shirts, etc.
Very useful tutorial on T-Shirt rag quilting. Your creative works will inspire all. Everybody should try to do something new from the reusable fabrics.
Thanks for sharing among us.
Very clear directions! Has anyone used flannel for the batting? I’m thinking it would stabilize the t-shirts.
Yes! When making rag quilts, my sisters and I always use flannel for the batting! It holds up nicely when laundered and doesn’t bunch up like the batting does, especially when you use large squares.
I’m getting ready to piece all of mine together. If I’ve used interfacing – French Fuse – on each piece of shirt, and am using flannel between, do I still need to sew an “x” on each square?
Thank you..I love the t-shirt rag quilt you made for your husband..I want to make one for my grandson for a graduation gift. I love all of your work.
love this quilt. am i correct in assuming the back of the quilt is smooth?
I am a beginner and what if you want to use different size blocks – like some bigger and some smaller
How did you finish the edges? Did you bind it?
Sew and clip around the entire quilt to fringe outside edges.
That is awesome. I am going to do this in my home. Thank you.
Awsome post, I hope it will helpful to me in real life. Thanks.
Nice information. Thanks for sharing.
Great ideas. Cool!
this is awesome concept.
I will try for my kids.
Thanks for sharing
Very nice T-shirt Rag Quilt
great article indeed, i love it very much
Won’t the interfacing show thru where the fringe is?
I feel like you tutorial is so much easy to understand and follow the instruction to finish the quilt.
Excellent article! We’ll be putting a link to this particular article on our website. Keep up the excellent writing.
Nice designs thankyou for sharing this idea amazing
I am truly grateful for your article. It’s an outstanding piece, and I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge from it. I believe anyone with a passion for fashion will share my sentiments. As a devoted fashion enthusiast, particularly when it comes to t-shirts, I often turn to TeeBeat – King of T Shirts, No1 Store POD T Shirts, my preferred online store. I extend an invitation to you and all those reading this article to explore TeeBeat.com.
What do you mean by “quilting an x”? I’m a beginner.
Nice to your mind-blowing content. Really helpful it is. Thank you so much.
Really helpful.
Great idea. Keep it up
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After all these years, still using this pattern to make my T-shirt quilts. Thank you!!
Excellent article about quilting