A t-shirt quilt was my first quilt ever ... and now I've spiraled down the quilting rabbit hole.
(above: a Pittsburgh t-shirt quilt I when we lived there)
A couple dozen t-shirt quilts later and you could say I have a bit of an obsession brewing. I love t-shirt quilts. I love the idea of transforming a piece of personal history into a item you can keep forever. And we've all gone thru our closet or dresser experiencing that since of loss knowing these beloved mementos from school, college, sports, clubs, etc need to make room for clothes that actually fit. It's hard to let them go, and that's where t-shirt quilts come in and transform them into a new and improved memory keepsake.
My little obsession even translated into a side hustle. I made the above Pittsburgh t-shirt quilt as a sample for a shop I worked in while living in Pittsburgh, PA. The owners graciously let me make a little extra money by doing personal quilting for their customers. (They even let me use their longarm machine, beginning another obsession with HandiQuilter - but that's another blog post entirely. LOL!)
Here's a little sample of few that I've made recently:
A college t-shirt quilt for a co-worker of my husband. He let me take pictures of the entire process so I could create a "how to t-shirt quilt" pamphlet. (Send me a note on my contact page if you'd like a copy.)
These two were made for sisters who had lost their father. It's a collection of the clothes he wore and favored. Just because it's a t-shirt quilt doesn't mean you ONLY have to use t-shirts. These two have t-shirts, polo shirts, button-down shirts, sweatshirts, and even jeans.
Now all the t-shirt quilts above use a traditional square layout. But I'm a big fan of getting a little crazy in my designs as well.
This quilt - which rarely leaves the bed, thus the frumpy picture - is my husband's t-shirt quilt. Can you guess what college he went to? I got super lucky when I was shopping for fabric; I found an entire collection of black, white and old-gold colors. Go Purdue; Boiler Up!
My most recent t-shirt quilt for close friends from my home town of Kansas City. This quilt doesn't have just one theme; there's school shirts, club shirt, events and sports; and I snuck in a extra t-shirt in the middle. (The Chiefs just won the Superbowl so I couldn't resist.)
I would be remiss if I didn't include a personal t-shirt quilt. This quilt is actually a reincarnation of my first t-shirt quilt. Long story short, it's first carnation didn't exactly adhere to a few important quilting "rules" and after much use fell apart. But I've come a long way in the past 20 years, and I took those blocks and gave them new life in this quilt.
Do you have a favorite t-shirt quilt? Tell me your story on my contact page.
Back to the lab ...I hear another t-shirt quilt calling me.
~Cynthia
These are not affiliate links; I just thought you'd like to know.
Quilters Depot - Castle Shannon, PA (Pittsburgh suburb)
(Tell Jenn and Pauline that I sent you.)
HandiQuilter Longarm Machines
I'm pretty partial to the Amara; check out their entire collection - they're great machines!