Sunday, February 23, 2020

How To Make A Baby T-Shirt Quilt

Do you want to make a big or baby t-shirt quilt using those treasured t-shirts with memories
of baby, sports, theater, or other events? It's easier than you think it might be!
The hardest part is deciding to cut into those memories...the sewing is the easy part.

I'm on ThermOWeb's blog with this t-shirt quilt!

It measures 46" x 46" when finished and uses cotton fabric for the borders and alternate blocks.



T-shirt fabric is incredibly stretchy, so before sewing those sweet memory blocks into a quilt
 they need to be stabilized. Stabilizer keeps the t-shirts from stretching out of shape when sewing.

I made this quilt for my husband. It's been washed several times and is still soft and cozy.


The quilt hung out at a quilt show recently along with a new product by Therm O Web.
EZ-Tee Woven Fusible Stabilizer is made just for t-shirt projects. The black and white
stabilizers come in two sizes: 60"x 72" and 14" x 25 ft...perfect for making the blocks!
*Affiliate links

I'm pretty excited about this new product and equally excited that a photo of
my t-shirt quilt was used on the packaging. How fun is that! Pretty fun to me!


I made this baby t-shirt quilt using the new stabilizer...love it!


Let’s get started making those t-shirts into a sweet baby quilt! 
If you don't have any baby t-shirts, you can still make a t-shirt quilt.
Fun t-shirts can be picked up at department stores or discount clothing stores.

What you’ll need: 
Heat N Bond EZ-Tee Stabilizer
10½” x 10½” square ruler and rotary cutter
Seven special t-shirts (washed) in size 4T - 5T
(Check your t-shirt's logo/decal to make sure a 10” finished block is big enough)
Batting


The directions are for finished 10” x 10” blocks.) 

Cut 5 - 10 ½” x 10 ½” t-shirt *fussy cut squares from front of shirts 
Cut 4 – 5 ½” x 5 ½” t-shirt squares from back of shirts (alternate blocks) 
Cut 8 – 3” x 5 ½” red cotton fabric (left and right of alternate blocks) 
Cut 8 – 3” x 10 ½” red cotton fabric (top and bottom of alternate blocks) 
Cut 2 – 3 ½” x 30 ½” black cotton fabric (left and right Border A) 
Cut 2 – 3 ½” x 36 ½” black cotton fabric (top and bottom Border A) 
Cut 2 – 5 ½” x 36 ½” red cotton fabric (left and right Border B) 
Cut 2 – 5 ½” x 46 ½” red cotton fabric (top and bottom Border B) 
Cut 1 – 50” x 50” quilt backing fabric (allow extra for quilting) 
Cut 1 – 50” x 50” batting (allow extra for quilting) 
Cut 5 - 2 ½” x 42” strips for binding 
Cut 5 – 10 ½” x 10 ½” squares of Heat N Bond EZ-Tee Stabilizer 
Cut 4 – 5 ½” x 5 ½” squares of Heat N Bond EZ-Tee Stabilizer 

*Fussy Cut means you cut a specific area of fabric to target a design instead of random cutting. Fussy cut the front of t-shirts using a clear 10 ½” x 10 ½” square ruler. Allow a 1/4" seam allowance around the logo/decal if possible.


Instructions: Seams are sewn at 1/4"  

Step 1: T-Shirt Blocks – Cut the front section along the sides to separate from the back. You’ll use the back of the t-shirts for the alternate blocks.


Step 2: Fussy cut the squares using the square ruler. It’s okay if you overlap into the sleeve or neck area.


Step 3: Following the Heat N Bond Fusible EZ-Tee Stabilizer directions, iron the adhesive side of the fusible interfacing (it’s a little rougher feeling on the adhesive side) to the wrong side of the t-shirt blocks using a protective cloth. Be careful not to touch your iron to the right side of the logo/decal or it might melt. Let them sit until cool to the touch.


Step 4: Measure the blocks again to ensure they are 10½” x 10½”; trim if necessary.
Step 5: Alternate Blocks – Following the Heat N Bond Fusible EZ-Tee Stabilizer directions, iron the adhesive side of the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the 5 ½” x 5 ½” t-shirt squares from the back of shirts using a protective cloth.

Step 6: With right sides together, sew 3” x 5 ½” orange fabric to left and right of 5 ½” x 5 ½” t-shirt squares from the back of shirts. Press seams towards sides. With right sides together, sew 3” x 10 ½” orange fabric to top and bottom of block. Press seams down.
Step 7: Center Block Assembly – With right sides together, sew rows as shown below; press seams in opposite directions to allow nesting of seams.

Step 8: With right sides together, sew rows together matching seams; press seams down.

Step 9: Border A – With right sides together, sew 3 ½” x 30 ½” black strips to left and right of Center Blocks. Press seams towards border. With right sides together, sew 3 ½” x 36 ½” black strips to top and bottom of Center Blocks. Press seams down.

Step 10: Border B – With right sides together, sew 5 ½” x 36 ½” red strips to left and right of Border A. Press seams towards border. With right sides together, sew 5 ½” x 46 ½” red strips to top and bottom of Border A. Press seams down.

Step 11: Finish quilt using your favorite method of quilting and binding. 



Optional quilting method:  Quilt assembly with batting and Spray n Bond Basting Adhesive: Protect the area where you will be working by placing an old sheet or paper under and around the area you’ll be spraying. Place the batting on work area, smoothing to remove wrinkles.

Place the quilt backing, wrong side down, on top of batting. Smooth to remove wrinkles. Having the batting a bit larger than the backing is suggested. Roll back about six inches of the quilt back to expose some of the batting. Using the basting spray, spray batting from one edge to the other. Carefully lay the wrong side of quilt backing over the sprayed surface of batting. Smooth fabric to ensure it adheres to the sprayed fabric and remove any wrinkles.

Roll back the rest of the quilt back to continue spraying and smoothing about six inches at a time until you reach the bottom of the quilt back. Check for creases or folds you might have missed. Turn backing and batting over to have batting facing up. Lay quilt front, wrong side down, on batting. Make sure quilt front is lined up correctly; smooth out wrinkles. Use the same spray and smooth method as the backing. Trim edges and square-up quilt. Quilt as desired and add binding.

3 comments:

  1. Awesome, Carol! I've been seeing this product advertised and was wondering about the weight and stiffness after applying? I've been asked to make a T-shirt quilt and am researching stabilizers now. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I knew that baby tee shirt quilt had to have a monkey on it, lol!! How exciting your other quilt is on the interfacing package!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So cute, and a meaningful gift too. Someday their children will cherish this quilt so much.

    ReplyDelete

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