Quilting Grammy Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have been asked to make and quilt a t-shirt quilt. I have never done one before, I know from reading on here that I have to stabilize the t-shirts but have no clue what to use or how do I stabilize where it is printed if I can't iron that. Does this make the blocks really stiff? Then is there anything I need to do to anything special to put it on the machine for finishing? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I've made a couple of T-shirt quilts, and they are a lot of fun! "T-Shirt Quilts Made Easy" by Martha DeLeonardis was a great resource. She recommends using 911FF Pellon Fusible Featherweight interfacing, and I found that it did not make the shirts too stiff. I used my Teflon pressing sheets a lot, both under the T-shirt designs when I was ironing the interfacing on the back, and when I was pressing seams, etc. from the front. I don't recall doing anything special for the loading the quilts on Emmeline. I used Superior Monopoly on the top, and maybe Bottomline in the bobbin, and took it a bit slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylannie Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I was wondering if anyone has ever used the easy knit interfacing? I have used it in a lot of garments and find that it is really soft. I have thought I might like it if I did a Tshirt quilt. Has anyone else used it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeannieB Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I used the 911FF interfacing too. When i press the interfacing to the back of the tshirt, i lightly spray the sandwich with water and use a dry iron. I find it "melts" together better at a lower heat setting on the iron. I dont have teflon sheets (the preferred pressing tool), i just use a square of 100% cotton as a pressing sheet to keep anything from coloring my ironing board or sticking to my iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 The lighter the interfacing the better, but if the easy knit interfacing stretches, then that would not be good for a T-shirt quilt, as the purpose of the interfacing is to keep the shirts from stretching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHuffman Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I use a teflon pressing sheet both below the shirt and above to protect my iron and my surfaces. I use cheap lightweight non-woven fusible interfacing. I chop off the back and the sleeves but leave the shirt big and only trim it up after applying the interfacing. I actually got a big heat press to use for t-shirt quilts as I make so many of them and I was tired of how long it took to apply the interfacing. Now I can do it in 13 seconds per shirt! I charge $16/shirt for t-shirt quilts. That is a turn key price- it includes poly batt, black backing, gender neutral black/white dot outer border and black binding applied by machine front/back. If they want a label it is $30. I use anything- shirts, athletic jersey, uniforms, old baby blankets... anything. I quilt it with a wide open meander as my poly batt and interface shirts don't need a lot of quilting. If they want sashing it is $3/shirt more. They must give me the shirts freshly laundered with NO fabric softner and they must not be cut up. When I quilt it I avoid going through that super puffy vinyl stuff and I avoid stitching through faces but everything else is fine. Here's a video I did showing my heat press. I've seen them on Craigslist used a many times or you could even use one of those pants press thingys but you'd need to do each block in 2 passes. Have fun! Making t-shirt quilts is a great money maker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalei Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I wonder if you could use parchment paper? It's got silicone in it to make it non-stick, and if you're using a lower temp iron, then it might be an option in a pinch. and also, does anyone else read "monopoly" the way you would for the game, and then say "grrrrr" and go back and read it slowly "MONO-poly! You think I'd figure it out by now!" Maybe that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Mandy, it's not just you. I read it as Monopoly (like the game) EVERY time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandalei Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 *phew* I've been feeling like it's my quilting dirty secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Grammy Posted January 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Everyone has been very helpful I just have one more question then I think I am ready to start experimenting. After I put the fusible on the t-shirt do I fuse it to a differant fabric? Or is this a one sided fusible. I am really NEW to using a fusible of any kind. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Fusible interfacing only has "stick-um" on one side. Make sure you put the bumpy side against the wrong side of the shirts, and iron on the smooth side. The interfacing should come with instructions. While you may not need to fuse it for as long as the directions say, you should be sure to only heat your iron as hot as it says, or you could have issues. You should be able to tell by looking at it if the fusible material has attached to your shirts. Angela gave good advice about leaving the shirt big until after fusing. It uses a bit more interfacing, but makes the trimming so much easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Grammy Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thank to everyone who has helped. I hope to play with this a little this week and hopefully I will hear back from the guy in a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmkeindl1 Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Funny Mandy! We used to occasionally watch 3rd rock from the sun and one day, my then younger daughter, blurts out "3rd rock from the sun, I get it it's the earth". So now whenever we say something wrong, funny, or duh?! We say "3rd rock from the sun?" Thanks Angela for the video, everyone has given great tips here - I haven't made many t-shirt quilts, but they can be so soft and fun - Some of my sons t-shirts were old and/or the design small, so we had to add borders around it to make them all the same size. We just used cotton, anyone do anything different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 For both my quilts, I used the embroidered front of ball caps and patches, as well as shirts, and sewed the patches and hat pieces onto cotton background fabric. Almost every block was a different size, but I arranged them the way I thought they looked best, rather than in straight rows, and did a lot of partial seams with the cotton sashings. It was definitely more work, but allowed me to use more shirts, hats, etc., and it was fun - like making a puzzle. Since my first T-shirt quilt was a raffle quilt for our daughters' old school, it was worth the extra effort. If someone had hired me to make that quilt, I doubt they would have wanted to pay for the amount of extra time the design and piecing took. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewCuteQuilting Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 T-shirt quilts are going to be the death of me! I've done too many to count thus far and the only thing I would like to add is that I use Pellon 906F, it is a superior product for t-shirts, jerseys, cotton, knit, doesn't matter! I've used a couple others interfacings and they just don't work up as nice as the 906F. I cut the shirts up the sides through the armpits and sleeves then lay it out flat, no stretching the fabric and lay a piece of Pellon down and use the lowest heat/steam setting and press the material down, up and down press, no sliding motion! Once you have them all prepped THEN I go back and cut them out to whatever size I need, stack them up, lay them out and you are ready to sew! The way I prep, cut, sew and press the seams I don't even see the front of the shirt so I don't have to worry about burning the graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 There are many T-shirt quilt tutorials all over the internet. My favorite for piecing different sized blocks is Vicki's at Field Trips in Fiber. She shares an amazing amount of information on her blog, including her fabulous fabric dyeing techniques. Here's a link to the tute. It's perfect for T-shirts as well as any fabric you have with large motifs that you can't seem to force yourself to use. http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/field_trips_in_fiber/the-keepsakes-quilt.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Grammy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Well here is an update on what has been happening, I was hoping to use all of your suggestions and make a sample quilt to just get the feel of it and that didn't happen. Not sure what happened but my DD and her 2 kids were kicked out of he boyfriends house so they have moved in with us until she can get a place of her own. The little one has been sick with the flu and with her mom working I am on duty then the weather hit and no school this week and I dought they will have school at all this week!!! So no time to even turn around let alone sew or get to my moms to quilt .. Thanks and sorry for the unload just a tad stressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Connie, so sorry to hear life has thrown you and your family a curve ball. Hope recovery from the flu is quick, and everyone finds their new "normal" very soon. Hugs all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitepinesquilter Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Thinking of your whole family at this time. It sure can be stressful, no doubt about it, but your place in heaven is reserved for all your help and guidance during your grandchildren and daughter's time of need. Are the grandkids big enough to help practice on mini tsirt quilts, like for a doll? You could practice and plant a seed of interest at the same time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Grammy Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Thinking of your whole family at this time. It sure can be stressful, no doubt about it, but your place in heaven is reserved for all your help and guidance during your grandchildren and daughter's time of need. Are the grandkids big enough to help practice on mini tsirt quilts, like for a doll? You could practice and plant a seed of interest at the same time They love to help but they are 4 and 5. Thought about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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