https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/t-shirt-quilt • Posted by Chelsea C.
So, I don't know how to quilt. I am a total beginner, just made this up on my own. It took forevvver. The 10 hrs is just an estimate: I'd say anywhere from 10-15 hrs really, I have no idea. But I'd say it's worth it. If you have any suggestions to make it better/easier/faster feel free to post! This was made of all my old gymnastics t-shirts from all the meets I went to throughout high school level 4-level 7. I can't possibly wear them all as pj shirts so I decided to make a blanket, which would serve them much better. Pretty basic sewing skills, as long as you can sew straight lines fast and... duh... straight. I don't have a tutorial (which would take twice as long to make), but I can write out how I did it. Just get enough t-shirts, cut them into squares (front and back) lay them out in a pattern and make sure the backs of the t-shirt line up with the fronts. Make sure that each square's measurements are equal. It's important to measure. I was lazy and just guestimated but look at the last picture to see that my quilt doesn't line up exactly when I fold it in half =( So then take one side of your quilt, sew each adjacent square together (right sides facing in). Start with the top row, sew all those squares together. Then do the next row of squares, then sew those two rows together, then repeat with the following rows. Do both sides, cut cotton batting to fit and sew along the edges. Yay it looks finished! but wait you have to finish the edges. I used the bottoms of the t-shirts I cut out and sewed them together like I did the t-shirts. Then I folded the rough edge under and sewed it all around the periphery. This was tedious since I had to pin each side on and sew it separately to be sure it lined up... Then I sewed the top to close it up and hide the rough edges. That's 3x sewing down the length on each side of the quilt... There's got to be a better way to do it. Finally, to be sure everything stays together, cotton batting and all, I used embroidery thread to stitch an X in each corner where the t-shirt squares meet. All-in-all, people charge $200-400 for these things! With all the work, I can understand why, but you can make it for free and almost totally reused components.
So, I don't know how to quilt. I am a total beginner, just made this up on my own. It took forevvver. The 10 hrs is just an estimate: I'd say anywhere from 10-15 hrs really, I have no idea. But I'd say it's worth it. If you have any suggestions to make it better/easier/faster feel free to post! This was made of all my old gymnastics t-shirts from all the meets I went to throughout high school level 4-level 7. I can't possibly wear them all as pj shirts so I decided to make a blanket, which would serve them much better. Pretty basic sewing skills, as long as you can sew straight lines fast and... duh... straight. I don't have a tutorial (which would take twice as long to make), but I can write out how I did it. Just get enough t-shirts, cut them into squares (front and back) lay them out in a pattern and make sure the backs of the t-shirt line up with the fronts. Make sure that each square's measurements are equal. It's important to measure. I was lazy and just guestimated but look at the last picture to see that my quilt doesn't line up exactly when I fold it in half =( So then take one side of your quilt, sew each adjacent square together (right sides facing in). Start with the top row, sew all those squares together. Then do the next row of squares, then sew those two rows together, then repeat with the following rows. Do both sides, cut cotton batting to fit and sew along the edges. Yay it looks finished! but wait you have to finish the edges. I used the bottoms of the t-shirts I cut out and sewed them together like I did the t-shirts. Then I folded the rough edge under and sewed it all around the periphery. This was tedious since I had to pin each side on and sew it separately to be sure it lined up... Then I sewed the top to close it up and hide the rough edges. That's 3x sewing down the length on each side of the quilt... There's got to be a better way to do it. Finally, to be sure everything stays together, cotton batting and all, I used embroidery thread to stitch an X in each corner where the t-shirt squares meet. All-in-all, people charge $200-400 for these things! With all the work, I can understand why, but you can make it for free and almost totally reused components.