Saturday, May 31, 2014

T-Shirt Quilt Part 1

I have always wanted to make a t-shirt quilt and I have finally started! A few months ago, I gathered all of the shirts I wanted to use. I decided to make the quilt with only shirts from our time at Washington State University; mostly because I really like things to match. 

I got some awesome red fabric from a thrift store a couple of years ago and always knew I would use it for a blanket just because of how soft it is! It will be perfect for this one.

I had 9 shirts total and ended up just using 8. The shirt I decided not to use was made of a different fabric and I thought it would look better to not use it. 

The number of shirts of the different colors ended up working out perfectly: 3 gray, 2 white, 2 red, and 1 black (using the front and back to make 2 black panels). 


Starting with the first shirt, I cut up both sides, around the sleeves, and around the neck. This gave me a front and back panel. 


I then lined up my ruler as straight as possible with the front design and cut across the top. 


Centering the design with the edges to be cut, I cut it so the rectangle would be 14 inches across. For this shirt, the cougarr design is 8 inches across, which means I needed 3 inches on each side.


I then cut the bottom to make the finished rectangle 18 inches long. 


I then had 9 large rectangles that were each approximately 14 by 18 inches. I thought the quilt could use a little bit more of something, so I cut 6 rectangles 5 by 17. 

Here is what I have so far with the rectangles laid out on the back fabric (minus the white shirt that was cut above):


In between the t-shirt pieces will be plain black cotton. 

My next steps: 
1. Buy interfacing for the t-shirt fabric to help it hold shape better; iron on all rectangles
2. Cut black cotton
3. Sew top together
4. Quilt
5. Bind

I think it will be fairly simple and I'm excited to have it done!

2 comments:

  1. I have way too many t-shirts and really need to make a quilt like this but do not think it will ever happen...so I probably should just get rid of them before we move :)
    p.s. your nursery is SO cute! I love it! I am excited to someday decorate a nursery, right now we are nice and cozy in a 1 bedroom :)

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  2. Way to get after it, girl! Looks awesome! Miss you!

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