Tuesday, April 22, 2014

T-Shirt Quilt Along Part 1

So let me go ahead and throw out a disclaimer before I begin, I am in no way a professional sewer. I love I sew and and create things and that's about as far as it goes. I like to make it as simple as possible while looking good as well.

I made a T-Shirt quilt about 5 years ago out of all my old t-shirts. I kind of hoard them, as in I love them so much I wear them almost always and I usually get tshirts when I go on trips or to events, it's like my souvenir. Eventually they get to the point where they really aren't wearable and I put them in the pile to be made into a tshirt quilt.
 
After I posted this picture on my social media I got a lot of interest in how to make one. Luckily I am starting to make my sisters quilt for her 16th birthday so I have decided to do a quilt along. Step by step on how I make one. Again I am not professional, just a person who loves to sew.
                                      

Part 1 - Gathering and Cutting 

So for the quilt I am going to be making roughly a twin size quilt, it could be a little bigger, or a little smaller. 

First gather all of your shirts, you will need 30 total squares, so either 30 shirt fronts or 15 shirt fronts and back, or an combination in between. 

                           

Then make sure you have your other supplies, I use fabric scissors (left handed for me), a sharpie, and a ruler/straight edge.

                                    
 
Now for me the first one is always tricky, trying to make a square that is the dimensions you need. We will be using rectangles that are 12.5 inches wide (across the top) and 15 inches length (along the side). I usually find a shirt that has a design on the front to help guide in making straight lines. I also use my ruler to help guide me in marking the lines.
 
                              

Once I cut out the first shirt, I use that as the guideline for the rest of the shirts. I lay it over the shirt and then place the ruler down and trace with my sharpie. 
 
                                      

  
                                                                                     

Then continue until you have 30 rectangles ready to go. 



That's it for this part, it can be time consuming cutting out 30 rectangles, trust me I know. But to me its the most tedious and easiest part of the quilt, so just push through and knock it out during a good few episodes of your favorite show.
 
Next time we will be using a jelly roll to connect the pieces together, see you next time!
 
 
Jenny 


(If anything in unclear please feel free to email me and I will try to explain the best I can!)

2 comments:

  1. Thanks Jenny! No joke, my mom and I have had a tshirt quilt in the making for yeeeears. Hopefully we can get it finished along with you this time!

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