Been There, Done That, Got The T-Shirt, And Made A Quilt

No pattern required for this one! This is for sure the most requested item I’ve had since I’ve been sewing. T-shirt quilts, and pants that needed to be hemmed.

I have made so many t-shirt quilts. I’ve made them for family and I’ve made them for profit. I’ve made fun ones, like my first one, which was made from my old Beatles t shirts. I’ve made sad, memory ones from shirts of people who have passed away.

Here is my old Beatles t-shirt quilt, front and back. It has been washed and dried, wadded up and used frequently. It is my kids favorite blanket to snuggle under. For it being the first one I ever made, it’s held up very well.

I do want to say though, I only make them for family now. The amount of time that goes into them is not worth what I would charge someone. Sure, I could up the price, but I guess the real bottom line is that I’m tired of making them.

There are plenty of companies online who do make them. So, if you do want one made and don’t want to do it yourself, then look into going that route. If in the future I decide to make them again for profit, you, fellow readers, will be the first to know.

With all of that being said, here’s the latest one that I was asked to make. I use this clear square ruler. I try to center the design in the square.

I use a rotary cutter to cut the square out.

If the t-shirt has a design on the back, I cut the shirt open along the sides, and up under the armpit area and under the arm. If the shirt is blank on the back I won’t take this extra step. I just make sure the t-shirt is flat and cut through both thicknesses.

One thing I have seen a lot over the years making t shirt quilts is that designs are rarely squared up properly on t-shirts. They’re made so fast and cheaply that there isn’t much quality control.

I always try to use all of the shirt in the quilt. I like to use the best design on the front, and then back the quilt with the opposite side of the shirt.

For fun, here’s a t-shirt quilt that I made for a family member that used to work at Chili’s.

When family asks for a quilt, but only has a limited number of t-shirts, I will back it with something else. This one was backed with some cotton cow fabric.

For the current project I used fusible interfacing on the backside of each block so it wouldn’t stretch as much. I don’t always do this either. The way I make them is a very simple way, so as many steps as I can get way with cutting out, I usually do. But this day I felt like using the interfacing.

Here I’m sewing the blocks together.

Here is the finished front all sewn together and laid out on the bed. As you can see, David was home that weekend from college and had been watching a movie in bed and eating popcorn.

Now here comes to controversy. Is it really controversy, maybe amongst the sewing community. I put cotton batting in my t shirt quilts and lay the front and backing fabric, right sides together. I then sew all around it all leaving an opening on one side.

Here I am, sewing the pieces together.

Here it is! A bunch of old t-shirts that have a new purpose!

The story of t-shirt quilts doesn’t stop there though.

My favorite shirt quilt wasn’t made out of t-shirts, but out of Grandpa Bert’s old snap up western shirts. After he passed away Grandma Doris gave me a box of them and asked me to make pillows out of them. When I got the box home and opened it, I was hit by the smell of Grandpa himself. He had always smelled like fresh air and pine trees. I burst into tears and wasn’t sure I would even be able to cut up his shirts. It was all so final feeling. He wasn’t coming back, and he’d never wear his shirts again. I wondered if this was why Grandma had asked me to make pillows, when she was much better at sewing than I was. Maybe it was just to hard and final for her too. I thought of Grandpa and his toughness. I thought about how he would never want anything that could be useful to go to waste, and I dried my tears and got to work!

I made the pillows she asked for, and then I went further. I, very painstakingly, cut up the extra shirts and made a quilt for her. It was a true labor of love. Some pieces that I sewed together were only about an inch wide. I pieced and sewed, and figured out how to arrange it all. I tried my hardest no to let anything go to waste. I kept the tiny scraps from the shirt seams, and put them into empty glass ornaments for everyone to have.

Here’s a picture of my ornament of scraps.

I braided strips of scrap to hang it with. Mine, however, sits out all year next to pine baskets that Grandma made. This sits on top of my glass cabinet of family treasures. Treasures like old quilts!

Nothing went to waste, and here was the final result.

I backed it in a traditional white, and hand quilted it. I surprised Grandma with it, and she loved it. She slept with it on her bed until she had the stroke, and I found it on her bed still.

Years before she had told me that at her funeral she wanted a different quilt, draped on her casket. It was one that my Aunt Joylana had started, and that I finished after she passed away. I had given it to Grandma when I finished it. I call it “The Tea Cup Quilt”.

She said this before receiving Grandpa’s quilt. When Grandma did pass away I told my Aunt about her quilt request. I thought it would be nice to drape not only “The Tea Cup Quilt”, but Grandpa’s quilt, and another significant quilt that Grandma had loved on her casket.

Grandma had given me the quilt she had as a little girl. She said her Grandmother, Gertrude Elizabeth McMichael, had made it for her. She said she loved the quilt so much because coming from a large and very poor family, it was something that was hers only. She didn’t have to share it with her siblings. Grandma told me that it was in such bad condition because she had, “loved it to death”.

So we laid each quilt on Grandma’s casket. Each one representing a time in her life, and things that she loved. Her family as a child, the family she made, and Grandpa, were all represented by a quilt.

Here’s is Grandma’s “Sunbonnet Sue”, quilt from childhood. It is indeed worn. On some blocks the fabric has almost completely disintegrated. This is not surprising, it was made during The Great Depression. I can tell by looking closely at it, that it was made of other worn scraps of clothing or from old flour sacks. Another quilt from clothes! Where it is worn to pieces I can see inside and look at the type of batting that was used in the middle. For me, it’s like glimpsing a piece that was never meant to be seen, but is now like a little clue to my own Great-Great Grandmother’s sewing style.

Here is a picture of my Great-Great Grandma and quilt maker, Gertrude Elizabeth McMichael (b. 1888-d. 1962).

Here she is again, and this time with my Great-Great Grandpa, William Jordan McMichael Jr. (b. 1884-d. 1972).

It is hand quilted around each block and each Sunbonnet Sue. The lattice pieces that go in between the blocks have an oval pattern on them.

I know how much work this was. I know how much love you must have for someone to labor in this way. For me quilts are a tangible piece of love. That I can see the stitches my Great-Great Grandmother carefully stitched for her little granddaughter Doris, is nothing short of amazing. It is so powerful to me. Great-Great Grandma Gertrude intended for her granddaughter to feel special and loved, yet because it exists still, I get to see that love. A Great-Great Grandma that was gone long before my time, is a part of my life, because of this quilt.

That powerful feeling of being loved by your grandmother had quite an impression on Grandma Doris. The proof is in this quilt. When I was pregnant with Mia, she got to work and had made this quilt for her before she was even born. A little Sunbonnet Sue for her first great grandchild. Grandma embroidered each block then sewed them all together, with love, like her Grandma had done for her.

It’s quite worn, Mia loves it to death. When Mia was a little girl, she got nail polish on her quilt and cried and cried. I told her that Grandma wouldn’t be mad. She understood about wearing out a quilt you love.

Maybe someday Grandma Doris’ great-great grandchildren will look at it, and see the love in it.

Sewing can be such a long lasting gift of love. Whether it’s quilts or clothes it’s a labor of love that someone has done and given you. When you look at it you can think of the maker, and know you have a little piece of them.

Cherish any homemade items you might have. They’re a connection to your past, and a link of legacy for the future.

As for me, onto the next!

P.S. I haven’t made a quilt from Grandma’s old clothes, instead have made an entire sewing blog because of her!