Click here to return to Common Quilting Questions
What should I know when working on a T-shirt quilt?
- T-shirt quilts are much easier to quilt if they have been stabilized with a lightweight iron-on stabilizer. This prevents the knit fabric from sagging or stretching as you quilt or load it to your frame. If you’re making the quilt, press the seams open during construction to reduce bulk. Depending on the t-shirts’ weight, you may want to stabilize any additional fabric you add (such as sashing fabric), but this is not a requirement.
- The quilt will be quite heavy when complete. Choose batting that won’t add to the weight if you prefer a lighter feel to the project. Consider how you intend to quilt the shirts when choosing batting. If you wish to quilt "around” all the emblems on the shirts, the unquilted areas on the shirts should not exceed the battings "recommended quilting distance”.
- You can quilt right through most of the emblems on shirts without problems. However, emblems that resemble plastic may cause some tension issues or skipped stitches. The needle holes will also appear quite large and may not recover easily in these areas. Slow down when crossing these spots to reduce friction and heat build-up from the needle. That can cause the plastic to melt and cling to the needle. If that happens, wipe the needle with rubbing alcohol to remove sticky residue build-up.
- Take extra time when loading a t-shirt quilt, smoothing the quilt carefully on the quilt roller. You may consider fully "floating” a t-shirt quilt when you load it, rather than attaching it to the quilt top roller. (See our APQS tip on floating a quilt top). With this method you bypass the quilt top roller and allow the t-shirt quilt to rest on the batting and backing. Secure it with pins or basting stitches to help keep it square as you quilt.
