We always imagined t-shirt quilts were something sweat-stained and tie-dyed, but this project by Michelle Kempner is actually quite stylish and could be totally at home in a modern living room.
We’re huge fans of Threadless’ super-affordable limited edition tees, but not being much for t-shirt wearing, we haven’t been tempted to start a collection until we saw them repurposed into this lovely quilt. And we’re already imagining the awesomeness of an ironic thrift store t-shirt quilt.
Visit the Craftzine.com blog for Michelle's quilt how-to.
(Images: Michelle Kempner)
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I want to like it for the concept...repurposing materials is great, but...I just find it gross.
I like the use of different size rectangles. I did an appliqué style quilt using tee-shirts.
http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/mattys-tee-shirt-quilt.html
Inspirational to see a finished T-shirt quilt. We have a tub of unworn t-shirts from clubs/events we were a part of in college (unworn, or worn once, because they never fit right). It's labeled "T-shirts for quilt." Someday I hope I actually get the quilt made.
Excellent how-to here - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=316881.0
For those that just cannot depart with their tee shirts, you know who you are.. here is a good way to keep them without the stacks and stacks in your drawers.
I've been meaning to make one of these for ages (and have the bags of old t-shirts to prove it). Thanks for the inspiration to get started!
second modernnests' notion of grossness outweighing concept. jersey knit just isn't an incredibly interesting fabric, both aesthetically and functionally, so the design should have been executed pretty jazzy to have made it work.
I like the idea, but the execution is off. This just looks sloppy. Making the pieces equal sizes or trying to do something interesting in terms of shape, etc. would look a lot better than just sewing random pieces of fabric together.
I've made probably 15 or so quilts and have never tried a tshirt quilt...jersey is a lot harder to work with than muslins and other quilt fabrics. I've cut up old clothes for use in quilts, but not tshirts.
my aunts just finished a quilt for a young lady whose mother passed away recently. they made it out of her mom's t-shits and other pieces of clothing. not only is it of sentimental value, but it looks great too. it will be going to college this fall!!
yuck
check out stitch'T if you're not up for DIY.
File under Don't DIY.
A friend of mine received one of these as a college graduation gift, as she had a lot of t-shirts from marching band with sentimental value that she didn't wear. Her mom framed the rectangles of jersey with cotton, which made the quilt much more aesthetically and texturally pleasing, and possibly more structurally sound.
You iron on a stabilizer to the back, to make the jersey knit easier to work with.
I appreciate that they built the quilt out of varied sized rectangles. Neatly framed 12"x12" t-shirt backs or fronts is so....yawn. I'm not crazy about this quilters choice of color palette and juxtaposition, but that's one of the beauties of DIY quilts--they are personal.
working on one now with all of my 7 y/o's outgrown tees. it's looking pretty cute so far!
I think its a rather interesting idea since I have a slew of old t-shirts that I have yet to part with but don't exactly wear. Saw an idea for an apron and have considered some ideas for throw pillows, but nothing has grabbed me enough. This is a cute idea but seems hard to execute stylishly without having a lot of stuff in complimentary colors.
I have a ton of tee-shirts from middle and even elementary school that I've cut up to make something similar. It's just getting around to the actual project that's a chore.
And to those who say it's ugly and shouldn't be done, wouldn't you rather take a blanket made of t-shirts outside or to a drive-in rather than your nice blankets? It can be utilitarian to the extreme.
I can't sew worth crap, but definitely something I'd like to try. I think I'll try with my son's baseball tees...he's got them all from 5 yrs on up - regular season, fall ball, all stars, etc. Some tees are repeated annually so I have more than one. I filed this under my Favorites and will def try this one day!!! If I can't figure it out, I know a quilting expert in our family (I'd ask but she's too busy quilting everything else :( )
Yuck.
One of my co-workers got his old college t-shirts made into a quilt as a gift for his mother. Not only gross, but jersey knit really isn't really warm or stable enough for a quilt.
I'm sure she would have rather had a GC to a day spa.
I recently cut up a bunch of T-shirts - into 1/2 inch strips - and I'm crocheting them to make a bathroom rug. I've had to rip it out 3 times because it wasn't flat, but this time I'm much closer. Its a pretty good use for old T-shirts, and you don't have to deal with the difficulty in sewing stretchy fabric.
I like the way the blue whale on the black rectangle is next to (and kind of the inverse of) the blue rectangle with the rice bowl and chopsticks. The argyle is playful!
As EconGrrl stated, you really need to iron on a knit-stabilizer to the back of your shirts before making a quilt to give them a neater look. Otherwise they'll keep stretching and pulling out of shape as you sew.
Not for everyone, but I've seen people who really loved them - old concert, band, etc shirts that they love but would feel silly wearing. I love the shirts she choose here.