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Made T-shirt Quilt
A Labour of Love
A t-shirt quilt makes a great going away present for your
children (or husband) when they eventually leave home. Save your t-shirts and
sew in old memories. Start saving your children’s t-shirts now and you will
have enough to make each child a quilt to give them when they move out - imagine
the memories they would take with them.
Something personally made is an investment of love and the
t-shirt quilt is a great example of that investment. Wherever your loved one may
be, when they wrap themselves in your home made quilt they will remember who
made it and why – no doubt about it.
The Basic
T-shirt Quilt is Not Difficult
If you would like to make your own t-shirt quilt follow these instructions –
much like my mum used (see below) – a very basic pattern resulting in a very
basic quilt.
If you have the time and experience you may wish to obtain a
more involved pattern. Some t-shirt quilt patterns include interfacing of each
t-shirt. This is a tedious job but well worth the effort. Horizontal and
vertical sashes is another extra that enhances the look of your t-shirt quilt.
Instructions for a 16 t-shirt quilt:
As well as the 16 t-shirts you will need-
- 1 ½ yards of fleece
- 1 ½ yards of quilt batting or wadding
- 2 packages of satin blanket binding
- matching binding
- matching thread
- embroidery floss
1.Cut shirts Cut each shirt as large as possible. Large adult t-shirts may give you up
to 16” by 16” , children’s could be 10” by 14” or smaller. Note: All 16 t-shirts must be the same width, however, as long as they
are in lots of 4 the height can vary. That’s because you will sew 4
t-shirts in each row horizontally. So you could have4 @ 16x14; 4 @ 14x14 ; 4
@ 12x14; 4 @10x14; Got the drift? And so all your t-shirts do not have to be the same size. 2.Lay the cut t-shirts out with image side up. Make sure that you lay 4x same size in same row horizontally. 3.Sew each vertical row of t-shirts together. Pin first and then sew, leaving a ½” seam. Start with the one in the bottom right corner and the one above. Then add
the one above that and then add the last one. Repeat with each row until you
have 4 vertical rows of t-shirts. 4.Sew each vertical row together starting with the one on the far right
and the one next to it. Add the 3rd row and then the last one. Because each
t-shirt may have different stretch tolerances check each row before you
start to sew . If one is too short then you may need to stretch it a little
as you sew. 5.Now that all of your t-shirts are sewn together, measure it and cut a
piece of the batting or wadding and fleece to the same measurement. 6.Next lay the piece of fleece on the table or floor, lay the batting or
wadding followed by the t-shirts – face up of course. 7.There are now two ways of doing the next step. Baste all the way around the edge of the quilt, then sew the blanket
binding in place or just take the blanket binding and pin it in place around
the edge. The fold is placed on the edge and the opening goes to either side
of the quilt edge. 8.Machine stitch the blanket binding in place as close as possible to the
inside edge making sure to catch both edges. 9.At the corner fold the binding around and make a dart that reins to the
outside corner You can come back later and stitch the fold in place. 10.At the point where you join the next bit of binding, just machine
stitch a seam joining the two pieces, making sure the raw edges are on the
inside. If you miss catching any binding just sew back over that area. Make
sure you use matching thread and it won’t show. 11.At all places where the 4 t-shirts intersect, use the embroidery floss
and needle stitch back and forth from the front to the back to the front
again and tie a knot. Cut off the extra floss leaving a ¼ “puff. This
will hold your quilt together in the centre.
Not
a Quilt – A Slab
When I was young (many years ago) we were fortunate to own a holiday
“hut”. We were not well off otherwise, but back then coastal land was
cheap.
The “hut” was not sealed or lined and so it got very
cold during the winter months. Enter the t-shirt quilt.
We had a name for everything back then and we called the
quilt, the slab. The slab had one purpose – to keep us warm.
To make the top it was old t-shirts or off cuts, it didn’t
really matter, the backing was chosen based purely on price – whatever was
the cheapest.
In between the t-shirts and the backing, burlap or hessian
was added. Yeah you read correctly, burlap or hessian and thickly woven
burlap or hessian at that, washed potato sacks.
Mum would sew the bags together with a large needle and
twine and the quilts were very heavy, hence we called them slabs. That’s a
double layer of burlap or hessian, they sure kept us warm and in the one
place because they were too heavy to allow you to roll over.
Quilting
to The Alter – A High Price to Pay
In 1934 Carl Carmer published a list of 100 quilt patterns made by “Mattie
Sue” from rural Northeast Alabama. Poor “Mattie Sue” had to make the
quilts before her parents would give their permission for her to marry. Her favourite
quilt being “Old Maid’s Puzzle”.
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