If you are thinking of making a T-Shirt Quilt, you need to start now. Graduation is right around the corner.
What? We just got finished with this year’s graduations!
Yes! If you want to start planning to sew a graduation T-shirt quilt, now is the time to start thinking about it.
If you don’t start now, your graduate may be receiving their T-shirt quilt TOP and not the finished quilt.
Here at Heirloom Creations we are inundated with phone calls starting at the beginning of April of people starting to think of making a graduate in their family the ever-coveted T-Shirt quilt. Note to self everyone…April is a bit late to start a T-shirt quilt especially if you need someone else to machine quilt it for you.
What do you need to do first?
First, contact the seniors’ mom and see if they would even be interested in having a T-shirt quilt made from their T-shirts. Some may say they don’t want one and then you can skip this whole process. If you think the graduate would like to have a say in the process, have them start thinking about which T-shirts are their favorites. This is their memory quilt anyway. On the other hand, it could just be a total surprise. Have mom pick out items to use in the quilt.
What if there are items from their senior year you want to include in the T-Shirt Quilt?
There is so much prep work that goes in to a T-shirt quilt that you can get the majority of the work done ahead of time and leave room for a few last items.
Will there be pictures included in the T-Shirt Quilt?
Decide if you will be including a few (or lots) of photos in with the T-shirts. One baby picture, a t-ball picture and a senior picture are a few fun pictures to include.
The easiest way to transfer photos is to use the EQ Printables. You can use either the Premium Cotton Satin Inkjet Fabric Sheets or the Premium Cotton Lawn Inkjet Fabric Sheets. Both look great. As by the title, you print on the fabric sheets with your own personal inkjet printer. Do not use on a Laser printer. Pictures can be scanned in and printed just like regular color printing. Follow the simple directions included with the fabric sheets to prepare them for the quilt.
How are the T-Shirts prepared?
This is the 2nd most time consuming part of the T-shirt quilt process. First, rough cut off the back and arms of the T-shirt leaving as much of the usable part in tack. Using the Pellon 906 interfacing, fuse the interfacing to the back of each T-shirt. You will need about 1/2 yard of interfacing per T-shirt. Interfacing has a stable direction and an unstable direction. Be sure to match the stable direction of the interfacing to the stretchiest direction of the T-shirt. Use a damp press cloth to help adhere the interfacing to the back of the T-shirt. Use an applique pressing sheet to keep the interfacing from getting all over the ironing board. Put in a movie and pour a glass of wine. Slowly apply the iron to the wet press cloth for 5-10 seconds. Lift the iron and move to the next area. This slow process will ensure the best results. Take your time. It’s worth it. Do not cut the T-shirts until you know the final layout of the quilt. Plan to work with the large chunks of T-shirts as you plan the layout.
Making All the T-shirts Fit
The next process requires a design wall. This can be as simple as a sheet attached to a wall. Begin laying out the T-shirts in columns. This will help you be able to create filler blocks to make all the rows the same length. Once all the T-shirts are in place begin the process of cutting them to size. Create the filler blocks and finish sewing all the pieces together. Any T-shirts that did not fit on the front could be added to the back of the T-Shirt quilt.
Having a T-shirt Quilt Machine Quilted
T-shirt quilts must be quilted. Whether you do it yourself or have someone else professionally machine quilt it, you do need to plan for 4-8 weeks for the machine quilting. If you plan to machine quilt the quilt yourself or tying it, make sure you give yourself plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed through this very important part of the quilt process.
Take Sara Snuggerud’s online Bluprint class T-Shirt Quilts: Start to Finish
So the moral of the story is to plan ahead so you are not finishing sewing on the binding to the T-Shirt quilt on the way to the graduation party!