For my brother-in-law’s eighteenth birthday, I decided to make him a t-shirt quilt showcasing some of his most beloved childhood shirts. This is the fourth time I have completed this project. This quilt is great for graduations as it captures so many memories and repurposes outgrown and worn-out t-shirts that have been tucked away.
For Joe’s quilt, I used nine of his favorite t-shirts. Some of them had a few holes, so I backed them with interfacing. I cut each t-shirt out in a 12 x 12 inch square. You can use as many t-shirts as you want but this one made a nice-sized throw. I backed it with cozy polar fleece.
To read more about how this project came together, click to the jump.
Why I wanted to do this project: I wanted to do something nice for my hubby’s baby brother. Given that he turned eighteen in April and graduates from high school in June, I thought the quilt would be a nice way to mark these rites of passage.
How long it took me: These big projects take me awhile because I work on them for a day and then take a month or so break before forging ahead in the process. I started cutting the t-shirts out in January and didn’t finish the quilt until last week. All in all, the whole quilt probably takes about 10 hours. Keep in mind, I tied the quilt and did not bind it.
Bumps in the process: Old t-shirts get stretched out and can be difficult to work with. I recommend using a cotton quilting-weight fabric for sashing to avoid too much aggravation with the jersey knit. Also, because I backed the quilt with polar fleece, I used embroidery floss to tie the quilt, as yarn was too thick to pull through all of the layers of the quilt.
What I learned: T-shirt quilts are a satisfying project and a fun gift, but not worth agonizing over! The materials used in the quilt are already worn out and beloved, so I don’t think it’s worth it to sweat over irregularities in the quilt. I hope it will be used and washed frequently, so it doesn’t have to be perfect.
beautiful!
10 hours! Are you kidding me?! It takes me that long just to make decisions for the quilt. My quilt is currently working on 5 years…even tho i KNOW i’ll finish it before Super Fetus becomes Super Baby, it’ll still take 30 plus hours, i’m sure of it!