Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 1
Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 2
Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 4
Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 5
Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 6
Making a T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial, Part 7
So far, we have cut all the t-shirts and trimmed them up to all be the same size, ironed the stabilizer to the back of all the pieces, and then sewn all the appliques on. Today, we finally are going to start putting the quilt pieces together!
Today, the first thing I did was to cut six strips of the sashing fabric into 2 1/2″ X width of fabric pieces. The actual number you use and the length they will be are determined by how many squares you have, and what size they are. I am using 25 squares that are each 12″ X 12″, so I need to make 20 12″ X 2 1/2″ strips. A little math lets me know how many to cut. My fabric is 44″ wide. So, if I need 20 X 12 inches of fabric, I need 240 inches. Divide that by 44″, and it comes out to 5.45.
Quilt Math: 20 pieces needed X 12″ length needed=240 total inches of fabric needed /44″ width of fabric =5.45 total number of strips to cut.
I used a ruler and my rotary cutter to do this:
Trim off the selvage on both ends of each strip.
Sew the strips together with a 1/4 inch seam to make one long strip. Press seams open.
Cut twenty 12″ pieces from the sashing strip:
Sew a piece of the sashing fabric to the right hand side of each of 20 t-shirt squares, using a 1/4 inch seam. This will leave 5 squares with not sashing strip attached. Remember: Pins are your friends. Pin, pin, pin.
After all the sashing strips are sewn onto the squares, press all the seams towards the sashing strip.
Now you are ready to lay out your squares to arrange them in a pleasing design. You can use the floor, a design wall if you have one, or your bed, if it is big enough. At this point, you can still move the pieces around until you are satisfied with the look of the quilt. Once you have the pieces arranged and you are happy with it, you can label your rows. I started at the bottom of the quilt and numbered the first row #1, and went up to the top row #5. This will help you to put the pieces back in order if you have to put it away before you are finished sewing. (You can also number each piece if you want, using row 1, 1, row 1,2, row 1,3 etc.)
Here is what my layout looks like for Judy’s quilt:
Next time, we’ll sew the pieces together to make rows, and sew the rows together.
geogypsy says
That is looking Really Cool!
Sandra Merrikin says
That looks awesome! You are so talented! Even getting the backing on the fabric without wrinkles, I’m in awe!
Cheryl says
You make it look so easy. Why didn’t you teach me all this quilting stuff when we were in PA? Oh yeah, we were always working opposite each other, DANG IT!!
Virginia from That Bald Chick says
I love it! Stumbled this post.
Rock Bottom T-Shirts says
Wow, I like how you’ve broken this quilt topic up into itty bitty bite sized pieces. As someone who is not well versed in quilting I can say that you make this project much less intimidating. Thank you!
cindy says
This quilt is really coming along. It is looking great. Some how I missed Tutorial #2, but you would be happy to know I have been testing out recipes. Not many as I have had too many interruptions these days but ya, made some gluten free muffins and if you buy that old bank building perhaps I’ll send them to you for door stoppers.