My very first t-shirt quilt.....a labor of love.

My daughter has been asking for a tshirt quilt for quite some time.  All the ones I've seen are sort of the same....rows and columns.  I searched online for ideas for the quilt and ran across photos of some really awesome quilts.  They were all Too Cool T-shirt Quilts.   Lucky for me, there was a book to teach me how to make one.

I could not find this book locally but was able to locate a pre-owned one on Etsy. Score!!!  The book description is that it will guide you through each step of making the quilt and that the quilt will defy your expectations (I must agree).

This book walks you through selecting your t-shirts and helps with incorporating special items other than t-shirts into the quilt.  The best part of this technique--- you don't use any iron on backing or cotton sashing....only t-shirts!

Ten templates to make or buy.

This quilt requires you to buy or make a set of 10 quilting templates to cut your t-shirts. You can buy them from the company http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com/make-it-yourself/#templates for $110.00 or have the local hardware store make them for you out of plexiglass for about $50.   I had mine cut locally.

The hardest part of the quilt is the layout. You can use a CAD program or use graph paper to come up with your design. You move your quilt blocks around in the program or on paper until they fit well  and look good. I cut each block out of graph paper and used repositionable glue to work out the design. It took a few hours and gave me a few grey hairs.....a computer program would be much faster.
When you have the design worked out, lay the actual quilt blocks out. You may see something you want to tweak. Fill in the empty spaces with extra fabric (I used the backs of the tshirts).

Auditioning the blocks in a layout.

Since there are few straight lines, sewing can be a little tricky until you get the hang of it. I had a few puckers that I had to rip out and re-sew.  It only took an hour or two to sew the top together.

I incorporated her newborn onesie, footprints and birth stats into the quilt.  

I quilted it on my brand new Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen!!! A special thanks to my husband for this wonderful Christmas gift.  I free motion quilted each block separately to complement the t-shirt design. I used clear polyester monofilament thread for the front and So Fine thread for the bobbin. The batting was Soft and Bright poly batting by the Warm Company. This batting is a dream to quilt!

My girl was ecstatic to finally have her t-shirt quilt and I am so happy that I found this quilt tutorial and was brave enough to give it a try.  I highly recommend this wonderful book!

Off to my next project...........a winter coat for the bee hive!

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