Quilts

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial: Part 2


Quilt top construction:

In this tutorial, I assumed that you all know the basics of quilting so I didn't go in the details of each step.  I don't have any affiliation to any of the products used here.  I am merely telling you what I used.  


Now that all t-shirts have been cut, it’s time to construct the quilt top. Our niece likes the shadow box design and she loves purple. 

Materials:

1 yard Kona shadow (grey)

1 yard Kona purple


Cutting instruction:

Kona Shadow        Cut (12) 2” x 12.5”

                               Cut (12) 2” x 14”

Kona Purple           Cut (24) 2” squares


Instructions:

    1. Sew a 2" square at the end of 12.5" and 14" gray strips as in the picture below.




    2. Sew 12.5" gray strips to the right side of the block first.  Sew 14" gray strips to the bottom side of the block next, as shown in the picture below.



Now repeat steps 1 and 2 to all the blocks and set them on the design wall for the final layout.  Next, we'll work on the sashing and finish the quilt top.


Thanks for stopping by.

Margo



In addition to the linky parties on the sidebar, I also link up to:

To Do Tuesday  hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt 

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese  (Thursday)

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More  (Friday)

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty


Monday, October 21, 2024

T-shirt Quilt Tutorial Part 1



How to block the t-shirt design and cut


The t-shirt quilt making has begun.   It took me a few days to figure out how to block the design on a t-shirt and to fuse an interfacing to the back before cutting without a lot of waste.  It's a little tricky to do that, and I think I've got it down.  I'll show the process with the help of pictures.  In this tutorial, I want the block size to be 12 1/2" but it will work with any size you want.

Material needed:

  • T-shirt Transformation ruler (optional)
  • 12 1/2" square ruler
  • 13 1/2" interfacing piece.  I used Pellon P44F Fusible Interfacing
  • Straight pins
  • Heat erase marker pens or any erasable markers you like
  • Pressing sheet.  I used Fon&Porter's pressing sheet
  • Dry hot iron

Note:  I'm not affiliated to any of these products.  I only tell you what I used.


Directions:

For each t-shirt, cut the sides, sleeves and along the shoulders to separate the front and back.  Try to cut off as little as possible of usable area as shown in the picture below.




I usually don't buy a ruler just for one thing/project but in this case this t-shirt block ruler is very helpful.  It's worth it because I'm sure I can use it to block any fabric for fussy cutting and I'll be making more t-shirt quilts in the future.  I center the ruler on top of the design and decide what size I want, in this case I want 12 1/2" square.  I then marked the square with a heat erase marker.  

(If you don't want to  use the t-shirt transformation ruler, you can put the 12 1/2" square ruler directly on top the design on the t-shirt and mark the square with a heat erase marker.)





I put pins directly on the marked lines to transfer the square perimeter to the back.





On the back, with the pins marks, I know exactly where the square on the front is.  I put the interfacing, adhesive side down, on top and position it 1/2" beyond the pin marks all around.  Smooth out all the wrinkles, then I pin the interfacing sheet at four corners to secure it as in the picture above and take out all the pins at the front of the t-shirt.  Now you're ready to fuse the interfacing onto the back of the design.




I use the pressing sheet over the interfacing.  I started in the middle, press the hot iron on just enough to tac the interfacing onto the t-shirt.  Do not drag the iron across the pressing sheet at this point.  Lift up the pressing sheet, take out the pins on the right side, smooth out any wrinkles.  Put the pressing sheet back on the right side and press down with the hot dry iron.  Repeat the same process on the left side, as shown in the picture above.  Now all the pins has been removed and with the pressing sheet on top, run the hot iron from the middle to the edges and around the square a few more times to make sure that the interfacing adhere to the t-shirt real well, especially around the edges and at the corners.




Turn the t-shirt over and position 12 1/2" square ruler on top, align with the marks that you made with erasable pen earlier.  They should still be visible enough for you.  Make sure the design is center one more time, then cut with confidence.  Now you get a perfect square block that is smooth and nicely pressed for your t-shirt quilt.

Now I have 11 more t-shirts to go.   I will be taking pictures and making tutorial as I go.  

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Margo




In addition to the linky parties on the sidebar, I also link up to:

To Do Tuesday  hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt 

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese  (Thursday)

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More  (Friday)

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty






Monday, October 7, 2024

Work(?) in Progress In October

Can't believe it's October already.  Time sure flies fast when you're having fun.  Not much going on right now except I am working playing with fabric and sewing machines.  Again I can't stay away from curve piecing.  What can I say, I just love it.  Here are some of the pieces that I'm playing with.  I placed them on the design wall without much thought at this point.  Just to see how they're reacting to one another and where I'm going.  I removed the one that didn't play well with the others.  LOL





 


At the same time, I'm planning how I will make the T-shirt quilt.  I've decided on the block size, background color, and all that before I do any cutting.  Thank you everyone for many great ideas and inspirations on the topic.   You all are so awesome and wonderful.  I feel I can move along with confidence now, but I'm going at a slower pace.  I'm being extra careful because it's a memory quilt for my niece.  I'm going to mix flying geese blocks with the T-shirt blocks.  Do you know that I've never made a flying geese block?  It's been something that I wanted to try and now is the time.  


Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great day!


Margo



In addition to the linky parties on the sidebar, I also link up to:

To Do Tuesday  hosted by Carol at Quilt Schmilt 

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese  (Thursday)

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More  (Friday)

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty