Mary Lou’s T-Shirt Quilt

Here’s a note from Mary Lou Micheaels, WeAllSew.com reader:

After watching Jo’s Quick Holiday Gifts Webinar, I knew I had the perfect way to make my son’s t-shirt quilt. Combining ideas from the t-shirt scarf and the patchwork fleece blanket, I was able to finally use the t-shirts I have been saving into a great memory quilt for my son. I cut 14″ squares, combining any shirts that were not big enough. I used a 3-thread flatlock serger stitch to put the squares together. My original plan was to make it back-to-back with just t-shirts (since it doesn’t normally get that cold here in Arizona), but my son is 6’4″ and after putting the two halves together, I decided it would be better to use all of the shirts on the front. I backed it with sweatshirt fleece (no batting needed); it is just perfect that way, and the fleece is a good match for the t-shirts. I tacked the front to the back at each corner with the “button sew-on” stitch, going over it a second time to make it very secure. Once it was backed and trimmed I used a 3-thread overlock stitch with variegated thread around the outside edges. I can’t wait for him to open it on Christmas morning!

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3 comments on “Mary Lou’s T-Shirt Quilt”

  • I am new at quilting. And I was just wondering if anyone could give me any easy tip on putting the batting in the quilt. I have finished my first quilt but haven’t got it together yet. I really don’t know how to do it. Some say to tape it to the floor then pin it. But I have a 4year old that is always into what I am doing. Help please!

    • I don’t have a “little helper,” but I’ve seldom had enough floor space to lay out a full size quilt. I wish I’d seen this video from QuiltUniversity before I made my last full size quilt — most of us have a kitchen table, even if it’s not very big. The quilt in the video is narrow enough to fit on the table, but they also explain how to work with quilts that are wider than the tabletop. There must be dozens of ways to put the layers of a quilt together, and we all have our favorites — what do our readers recommend? Jo

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