Progress on Maggie's t-shirt quilt

Today I put the backing, armour weft fusible interfacing, on the t-shirts. I cut the shirts about 1" larger than the finished size and fuse the interfacing on, using a pressing cloth.

After the interfacing is on, I cut the shirts to the size they need to be for the quilt. I place them on the design wall in approximately the place they will be in the quilt.

What was I thinking?

I recently took this quilt out to look at it and try to remember just what still needed to be done to finish it. The hearts are made in the same fashion as the frayed circles that I talked about earlier. The thing is heavily quilted and nearly finished so why did it get put away? Ahhh, now I remember, I had some crazy idea about a heart quilted into the design and the thread was too thick so I had to pick out all the stitches. It looks like I got the stipple quilting out but stopped at the second outline. I must have been pretty frustrated.

Well, now it is hard to remember the plan so I guess I'll just have to look at it for a while and figure something out. Lesson: go ahead and put the project away if you are too frustrated but maybe don't wait years before you go back to it.

Here is a bonus picture of Laila carrying a couple of purses around. She has a the makings of a purses fanatic!

An interesting new technique-Raggedy Reverse Applique

While I was sewing today, I was having trouble with the tension on my sewing machine so I went to visit my favorite sewing machine repairman, Joe. He is in South Elgin, check out his store at www.sewingunlimited.net. Well, I had the wrong size needle for the thread I was using...it has obviously been too long since I was in the sewing room!

I found a great book : Raggedy Reverse Applique by Kim Deneault, published by Krause Publications. Anyway, I have always liked the raggedy look and this looked like a technique that I could use in a t-shirt quilt. I decided to make one of the pillows in the book to get an idea of how the technique works. The first step is to trace a design on tracing paper, stack three pieces of fabric on top of each other and sew around the design. Once this is done, either one or two layers of fabric are cut out.

Slits are cut in the seams to make the fabric ravel when it is washed. I think it is an interesting look and I cant wait to figure out how to use it in a T-shirt quilt. Stay tuned!

Frayed circles

Starting this blog made me remember how much I love to make quilts. Once my class was over, I started T-shirt quilts for my two youngest daughters. In this post I will be showing how I make frayed circles, both girls want them in their quilts so I figure they are worth a look. This is an example of a quilt that I made a while ago that used frayed circles.

This is the design for Maggie's quilt. The background will be dark purple. I couldn't find as much as I needed but I had several dark purples in my stash so I will use those also. I have found that as long as the colors are very similar and there isn't a print that really stands out; it is actually more interesting with several different fabrics. As you can see in the design, I sew the quilt together in many small pieces.
I use a 2" grid for all of my T-shirt quilts. Because of this the circles would be a 4" square. Since I use a 1/4" seam and will be cutting the background square into quarters I will start with a 5" square. This square is folded into quarters and I press the folds. This is helpful when placing the circles on the background square.

To cut the circles I use acrylic templates from Creative Grids: Non-Slip Rotary Cutting Circles come in a package with 2 1/2" through 6 1/2" circles. These make the cutting much quicker and more accurate. For this project I will be using a variety of jewel tone fabrics. Since I have been doing this for awhile I used 78 different fabrics from my stash. I would say that if you need to purchase fabrics; you would want at least 4 of each color.

Once both sizes of circles have been cut I fold them into quarters and press the lightly also. These folds will be a guide for where to place the circles onto the background square. I like to place 2 pins on the large circle to hold it in place for sewing.

I use a very narrow zig zag stitch. I start and stop at the folds since these will be cut apart and sewn back together, the start will be hidden. I like to use a varigated rainbow colored thread since it will be seen this is an easy way to blend and much faster than changing thread for every color.

Once the large circles are sewn on; the fabric behind them needs to be removed or the piece will be too bulky. I have a pair of curved, blunt tipped applique scissors that work great. I think the most important thing is that they are blunt tipped so you don't have much of a risk of cutting the front of the circle.

Once the small circles are sewn on top of the large ones, I press them in stacks of 4 or 5 in preparation for cutting.







All the circles are sewn on the background squares.

Pressed and ready for cutting.

A wonderful tool that I have is called the Brooklyn Revolver, Made by "Come Quilt With Me" phone: 718-377-3652. The great thing about this is that you make the first cut and then just turn the revolver and make the second cut. It is so much faster and more accurate when I don't have to pick up the fabric and turn it.

I wait to cut out the extra fabric behind the small circle until they are cut apart.

In this quilt I will be using half circles so I will sew them together in sets of 2 in preparation for putting the quilt together. This is the design they will be in.

Scrapbook Quilts

These Scrapbook quilts are based on ideas from the book: fast fun & easy scrapbook quilts by Sue Astroth, published by C&T Publishing. The first is finished and the one below is in process. I think it is obvious that these are graduation quilts and yes, Miss Maggie who graduated in '05 is a little put out that hers isn't done. I used monofilament thread to attach the items and printed the pictures on Printed Treasures fabric sheets.

This set of quilts were made for my mom and her two sisters when my Grandma passed away. I used photos, lace,hankies and jewelry to embellish them.

I was inspired by creating this blog to make the t-shirt quilt that I have promised to my daughters Maggie and Erin. We had fun going through all the t-shirts and picking out design and colors. Erin had to edit quite a bit. Even though size is not an issue, she just had way too many t-shirts! I bought the background fabric for both quilts today and have been going through my stash and sorting in preparation. Now I just have to flip a coin I guess to decide who's to start on first.

Fuzzy Memories- T-shirt quilts for the novice

I designed this quilt pattern after giving many lectures on making t-shirt quilts. I discovered that the majority of people who wanted to make these quilts were not quilters and many really didn't sew much at all.

This design is based on a 6" square so it is very easy to design. It is made with flannels and homespun fabrics which are loosely woven. The edges are left unfinished and clipped after sewing. When the quilt is washed the edges have a chenille like appearance.

I suggest using flannel as the batting too. Some patterns for this type of quilt have you cutting a piece of batting just large enough to be caught in the seams. The problem with this is that many times the batting doesn't get caught in the seam and when it is washed you get a blob of batting in your square.


This is also a fun idea for a baby blanket. I do have patterns for the Fuzzy Memories quilt available.

Alpha Omicron Pi

This quilt was made for a college graduation. The theme needed to be the Sorority colors and symbol, a red rose.


Close up detail of the rose. I used a frayed edge to get a three dimensional look. I used many different reds, be sure to use some orange reds, they really make the other reds pop. Instead of cutting circles, I made a random wavy edge, cut them out in three sizes, sewed the 'circles' on top of each other on a square of white; then cut each square into quarters and sewed them back together to get a nice distribution of color.

Kevin's Quilts

This set of quilts was made in memory of 10 year old Kevin who was killed in a terrible accident. The black one on the left was made for his older brother. Kevin loved to play paintball and both quilts have a pocket from his camo pants with a swatch of fabric from his favorite silky boxers tucked inside. The blue quilt was made for Kevin's little sister.

Kevin's mom wanted stars and the feeling of being in the galaxy. This is a very fuzzy photo but you can see the diagonal lines of brightness in the background. These are four patch squares made with the background fabric and a bright print with a black background. In person it looks kind of like twinkling stars.

Step by Step

This is a very basic list of the steps to follow:

1. Collect and launder all clothing to be used in the quilt.
2. Prepare photo sheets, resizing as needed.
3. Prepare t-shirts, cut out 2" larger around logo, then stabilize.
4. Cut t-shirts to exact size.
5. Stabilize other fabric as needed
6. Lay out blocks and sashing. Join blocks to form rows; join rows.
7. Add a border if desired.
8. Layer backing, batting and quilt top.

• For basting I like to use 505 spray and fix. www.sprayandfix.com/505.html

9. Quilt as desired.
10. Make or purchase binding and finish edges.
11. Make a label for the back of the quilt. Include inforation like; who it was made for, why
it was made, who made it, when, where they lived, date made, etc...


This shows my design on graph paper and the finished quilt. You can see darker lines in the pattern. This shows the sections that I made the quilt in and then sewed each section together.

Quilting supplies to make your life easier

Supply list:

1. Make a pressing board:

• I used a piece of plywood, 20" x 26" and covered it with cotton batting and silver ironing board fabric. Some t-shirts have pretty big logos and it is much easier if you have a nice big pressing area. These are two quilts that had some really large logos.

• Teflon pressing sheet or parchment paper.
• Faultless Iron cleaner and an old towel. http://www.faultless.com/
• Graph paper to plan your quilt
• Colored pencils and repositionable double sided tape: Glues & Adhesives Permanent Easy Stick® Adhesive Rollers at http://www.duckproducts.com/
• Rotary cutting mat. Find this at fabric and quilt stores don't get smaller than 18".
• Medium size rotary cutter. 45mm Rotary Cutter (RTY-2/G) olfa.com
• 6" x 24" acrylic ruler
• 16" square acrylic ruler - optional but nice to have if you lave lots of t-shirts.

That's all for now. Next intallment will be about the basic steps 1-9 and some recommended books and patterns.

Stabilizing t-shirts and fabrics plus a Silk Tie Quilt

Stabilizing Fabrics:

I have used all sorts of fabrics in my memory quilts. Everything from sweatshirts to silk ties to nylon workout jerseys. My favorite stabilizers are called Armoweft (medium weight) or Whisperweft (lightweight) which are made by HTCW Inc. http://www.htcwproducts.net/ There really isn't a huge difference in the feel of these so I use whichever I can find. If you have trouble finding it, your local quilt store will probably order it for you or you can get it online. When I started making memory quilts I used lightweight, non-woven, fusible interfacing and it will work. I just like the Armo/whisperweft better; it adheres better to the fabric and leaves it feeling very close to original.

• If you plan on washing your quilt, wash your fabric first. Even if it is fabric that wouldn't normally be washed and dried, if it is going in a quilt it is a good idea to wash it first. Yes, I have washed silks and wools before using them in a quilt.


• For t-shirts, you will want to decide on the logo that you want to use and cut this out with about 2" of fabric all around. The ink used for the logo CANNOT be ironed. You will lay the shirt with the logo side down on your pressing surface and ix the stabilizer to the wrong side of the fabric. I like to use a teflon pressing sheet but parchment paper (from the baking isle at the grocery store) or muslin works too. Once the stabilizer is ironed onto the t-shirt you will cut it to size.


• When using silks or other types of fabric that might stretch or are noticeably lighter weight than the purchased fabric you are using you will want to stabilize that too. If you use interfacing be sure to keep the temperature of the iron at the correct setting for the fabric you are working on. I have found that the Aromo/whisperweft product will still adhere to fabrics when using the lower heat settings appropriate to the fabric type. I have also used foundation piecing when using silk ties. Basically you sew the ties onto a piece of muslin, then piece it into the quilt as usual.

This quilt was made from over 300 ties. The gentleman who commissioned it had been a banker all his life and had retired. He collected ties as this was the only way he could personalize his suits.

Planning your Memory quilt or Photo quilt

Planning your quilt

If you are using a pattern, great! Maybe you will be printing photos to fit a certain size or cutting t-shirt logos to fit the pattern. Maybe you are just using the clothing as fabric and will be able to follow a printed pattern. Usually though it is difficult to find a printed pattern that will fit your needs. I like to use graph paper and plan out the t-shirts and special photos or designs that I want and fill in from there. I plan the size and use the graph paper as a template and draw the t-shirt logos or photos on graph paper and then put them on the template an fill in with sashing and blocks.

This is an example of a quilt that used only fabrics so I was able to use a pattern rather than design the quilt from scratch. Mom was a seamstress and had saved fabrics from the dresses she had made for her daughter. Mom was moving from the family home and wanted the quilt made from the pieces of fabric for her daughter's 40th birthday. You can even make the back interesting!

Photo and Memory quilts continued

Memory quilts are usually made from a combination of worn clothing and new fabrics. Today we wear so many knits and other special fabrics that we need to know how to stabilize the fabric so that it will be able to be used in a quilt. In addition to using all sorts of fabrics in a memory quilt we can use our home computer and printer to put photos on fabric and incorporate these into a quilt.

Choosing a design

When choosing a design for your memory quilt you want to remember that the fabrics you are using are almost more important than the design. I recommend that you no use pieces smaller than 3". You want to be able to recognize the swatch of fabric. I like to search quilting magazines and books for "scrappy" quilts and save these for ideas in memory quilts. Squares and triangles are nice for memory quilts.

If I am making a memory quilt with photos and favorite fabrics or even just photos and new fabrics I look for a design with a large center square for the photo and frame it with the fabrics. Any basic quilting book or magazine will have plenty of designs to choose from. Many quilting books intended for baby quilts have simple designs that lend themselves well for these projects.

Photos to fabric

There are many manufacturers making products for transferring photos to fabric. I like Printed Treasures by Milliken and Miracle Fabric Sheets by C. Jenkins. These are fabric sheets that are backed with paper. The fabric s been specially treated to accept and retain the ink from ink jet printers. These fabric sheets can be printed on as if they are paper. The quality and permanence of the photo will depend on your printer. The newer printers use inks that are more permanent as manufacturers are learning that we consumers are using our printers for these special printing uses. Whichever product you choose to use, I strongly recommend that you wash it in the manner you expect to be washing the quilt before using it. I have tried iron on transfer sheets that felt like plastic on the fabric and some that just disappear when washed.

Photo Quilts-Women

This quilt was made for my house. I have three daughters and we had a really nice portrait of the three of them . I decided to make a photo quilt

with all the women in our family. I was also teaching a photo quilting class and wanted to try out some different photo transfer sheets.

I got photos of grandmothers and great-grandmothers at the same age for the quilt. I love that both of the girls grandfathers wanted to send a current photo of their wives because they both thought the women were more beautiful now.

I used two brands of fabric sheets that are usually available in a quilt store. Printed Treasures is made by Milliken, info@printedtresures.com . The fabric has a very tight weave and the picture is crisp. The feel of the fabric is a little stiff.

Miracle Fabric Sheets are made by C. Jenkins, http://www.cjenkinscompany.com/ . This is the same company that introduced us to Bubble Jet set which is a wonderful product that turns any fabric into one that can create permanent images with an inkjet printer. The nice thing about the fabric sheets is that they are already treated and backed. Bubble Jet is great for a really large project though. I prefer the Miracle Fabric Sheets because the fabric is softer after being printed. I worked for Caryl Bryer Fallert who was a pioneer in printing on fabric and Bubble Jet Set is what she used. You can see some fantastic art quilts at her web site, www.bryerpatch.com

T-shirt quilts for Twins

These quilts were difficult to do. I think mostly because Mom wanted blue for one and purple for the other and that they be similar but different and the colors of the shirts didn't really go with the requested colors. I did my best.

Madrigals & unusual items in quilts

This quilt was made for a young lady who had been a member of a Madrigal singing group in High School. given the nature of the group, there weren't nay t-shirts but it was a big part of her high school experinece and needed to be represented. I took the head wreath that she wore apart and sewed it onto a background square and incorporated that into the quilt. This photo shows the special hankies that reminded her of her favorite aunt who had passed away. What I did here was use monofilament thread and sewed them all to a foundation again. After this quilt I quit using prints. I think it got a little too busy.