Hidden Threads

Save your tee shirt collection for posterity by making it into a quilt. Tee shirt quilts are all the rage and can be fun and easy to make if you follow a few basic guidelines.

Logos should be roughly the same size, or sized in groups to balance the quilt.

Tee shirt material is too stretchy on its own so stabilize it with a non-woven, iron on fusible interfacing. Non-woven, fusible interfacing is easy to find at your sewing supply store and a snap to use. Once you bond it to the tee shirt material, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it will make assembling the quilt.

Since the tee shirts themselves are the star of the show, don’t worry too much about the quilting. An even meander is great. I try for vibrant and colorful themed prints for the backing fabric, and use low loft, 100% cotton batting.

The first couple of quilts I made were less than stellar. I didn’t spend enough time designing and balancing my tee shirt logos and insignias to get a pleasing result. I was so anxious to get started sewing that I didn’t live with my layout long enough.

Quick Tee Shirt Quilt Tip: You can balance a smaller logo with other elements from a tee shirt to build a block the size you need. Once the fabric is stabilized, it will come together easily, allowing you to make a log cabin style block, a four patch, or anything else you need to make a logo-block work with your overall layout.

The best tee shirt quilt how-to I’ve found is at the Quilt Lover’s Guide. Take a look for a step by step with great photos and suggestions.

Oh, and if you don’t have a full sized quilt in you right now, try a single tee shirt made into a wall hanging. You can make art, immortalize an important moment in someone’s life, and cover those empty walls at the same time.

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