Needles and Pins
T-shirt Quilts

Think of T-shirt Quilts as "memory quilts". As the term implies, they are made from your saved T-shirts; perhaps from a vacation, a series of concerts, a school or church activity, or a family reunion. They make a great gift idea for family or friends.

Due to the extra preparation involved, T-shirt Quilts require a lot more time and effort than your typical "fabric top" quilt. Because of the time it takes to prepare the T-Shirts, some of my customers have opted to do it themselves. If you wish to prepare the T-shirt panels yourself, it will not only save me time, but it will save you money.

Please review my T-shirt Quilt Preparation Section for details.


"Baseball" T-shirt Quilt

(Quilt Completed 12/5/2012)
As you can see from these photos, I was able to include quite a few of the baseball T-shirts for this quilt. I also pieced the largest T-shirt, "Road to the Show," along with additional T-shirt fabric panels and cotton fabric to create a large, 36"W x 28"L center square. I quilted my own personal star stencil at the bottom of the square. As you can also see, right below the star square is a 28"W x18"L blue square. I digitized Blake's name in appliqued letters and then included a Biblical scripture as his mother requested. This makes for a very powerful and personal customized quilt.

I reversed thread colors in this quilt, using medium gray in the white T-shirt squares and white in the gray T-shirt squares, to give a sharp contrast for the colors being used. Several different free-motion quilting designs were incorporated on these squares as well. A 5-inch wide rope border was featured in the outer borders and a "tidal wave" was used in the narrower, 2-inch sashing areas.

Click the images below for a more detailed view of this quilt.

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"Cheerleader" T-shirt Quilt

(Quilt Completed 12/12/2012)
This young lady was a cheerleader at Brenham High School and later at Blinn College. I was able to include both of her cheerleader uniform tops in larger squares for her T-shirt Quilt. I was able to partially leave her Blinn uniform top "loose" from the actual piecing to give it a 3D effect. I featured blue and green quilting thread for her quilt, since the majority of her T-shirts were the same colors. I featured several different free-motion quilting designs in her T-shirt squares as well.

Click the images below for a more detailed view of this quilt.

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"Texas A&M style" T-shirt Quilt

Here are photos of a Texas A&M style T-shirt Quilt, wall hanging and onesy pillow. The mother had saved her son's onesy that he wore as an infant; she didn't want to cut it up. Instead, I created a "Texas A&M style" onesy pillow. We had plenty of T-shirts left over from these projects, so I also made a wall hanging the young man could display in his room.

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T-shirt Quilt Preparation
What it involves:

  1. You will need to wash and dry your T-shirts before you bring them to me. Be sure they are in good condition without any worn spots, stains or holes.
  2. Cut apart your T-shirts. You will need to allow at least 15 to 16-inches for each panel when you cut up the T-shirts. Also, you will need to decide if you want the front and / or back panels used in your quilt.
  3. You will need to purchase fusible tricot (a type of lightweight knit interfacing) to stabilize the back side of each T-shirt panel. Be sure the interfacing is applied in the opposite grain of the T-shirt so there will be no stretching when I piece your quilt top.
  4. Next, you will need to resize your T-shirt squares to a finished size of 12-1/2" square or 14-1/2" square.
    Please Note: It is extremely important that each square is resized to the identical size. If these squares do not measure the same, I will have to go back and resize each one to a smaller size so the quilt top will look balanced. An extra fee will be charged for my time and labor; depending on how much I have to do to complete the panels.
  5. When you bring me your resized T-shirt panels, please have a definite idea of how you want your finished quilt to look. The more communication we have in the planning stages, the better chance you have of seeing your finished quilt become a reality; just the way you want it to look. Feel free to bring me sketches or even photos of other T-shirt Quilts if you have them.
  6. I normally piece a 4-inch finished outer border to your T-shirt Quilt; I can also add fabric "frames" (sashing) around each T-shirt panel, or all of the T-shirt panels can be pieced edge to edge.
  7. The average T-shirt Quilt--which is usually a twin size or standard bed size--requires between 20 to 24 T-shirt panels. If no sashing is applied between each panel, I can use more T-shirt panels for the top.
  8. All T-shirt panels require an all-over quilting stitch, such as a meandering stitch, to anchor the three layers of the quilt. If desired, I can quilt a different design in the side borders. These options too needs to be discussed at our first meeting.
  9. A $75 deposit will be required at your first visit if you decide you want me to proceed making your T-shirt Quilt. During this visit, you will also need to let me know when you need the completed quilt. If you have contacted me after September 1, please be advised I will need 4 to 6 weeks to complete your quilt -- so plan your due date accordingly. I work on jobs as they are taken in. Christmas Quilt Orders: I will not accept any Christmas Quilt Orders after November 1. This deadline guarantees that I have the time to finish your project and that you will receive your quilt in time for the holiday.

T-shirt Quilt Labor Fees
Please be aware that these fees are general estimates for quilts with a 13-inch drop. Since every quilt is considered a custom-made item, the following fees may vary according to your specific requests.

Quilt Size Fee
Twin Bed T-Shirt Quilt 65" W X 88" L $225 to 250
Standard Bed T-Shirt 80" W X 88" L) $375 and up
Queen-Size Bed T-Shirt 86" W X 93" L) $475 and up
King-Size Bed T-Shirt 104" W X 93" L) $695 and up

T-shirt Quilt Preparation Fees
T-shirt Quilt preparation involves cutting the T-Shirts into panels, fusing tricot interfacing on back side of cut T-Shirt panels, and resizing all T-Shirt panels to size. Fees range from $80 to $125 per quilt.

Applying Binding to Quilt
When I bind the T-shirt Quilt edges, I normally apply the binding entirely with a machine stitch. Your quilt will most likely need to be washed from time to time, and machine-stitched binding holds up very well to daily use and regular washing.

Pricing for Quilting Materials, as of August 2014:

  • Warm & White Quilt Batting: $12.25/yard
    90-inch wide quilt batting
  • Cotton Fabrics: $6.95 to $11.50/yard
    44-inch to 45-inch wide, 100% Cotton
  • Moda 200-Thread Count Bleached Muslin: $12.50/yard
    90-inch wide, bleached muslin for quilt backings and quilt tops
  • Moda 200-Thread Count Unbleached: $14.99/yard
    120-inch wide, unbleached muslin for quilt backings and quilt tops

Contact me for a current list of fabric colors, as my inventory does change throughout the year.