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

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