This past Christmas I wanted to make my niece something special. We have been passing our hand-me-downs to her and getting them back for my middle daughter. We usually get her old softball, church and school shirts. I went through all of the hand-me-downs and found t-shirts to make her a lap blanket and pillow to take to all her dance competitions. She will be in sixth grade next year, and I wanted the fabric on the back to be age appropriate for years to come. I decided on a sugar skull pattern that incorporated all the colors in the quilt. For my fist attempt at a t-shirt quilt, and second quilt ever I thought it turned out fabulous!
Materials:
T-shirts
Fabric for back
Scissors
Step 1: First gather all your t-shirts this will determine how big your quilt will be. I only had five t-shirts and I used front and back of each shirt. The squares were cut approximately 12′ x 12′. If you are making your t-shirt quilt for an adult the squares could be larger. ?My niece is a size eight.
Step 2: Once I cut all my squares I began to cut my ties. I used a cardboard template one inch square for the corners and cut my ties that length and about half the size. I promise I didn’t take the time to measure out every tie.
Step 3: When you have made all your cuts you can begin tying them. Occasionally you may end up with more ties on one square than the other unless you take the time to measure out everything exactly. I tied all my rows together then tied each row together.
Step 4: once you have your quilt pieces tied together put it out on top of your fabric for the back and cut as close to those measurements as you can. Follow the directions for step two and then tie the front and back of the quilt together.
I plan to do the same for my daughter’s soccer uniforms, but she has two more seasons before she can tryout for the school. Just think of all the quilts you can make with all your old high school or college ?t-shirts! I have been planning to make one for myself, but have’t done so yet.