How to Make Extraordinary T-Shirt Quilts
Posted by Karla Menaugh on Jul 7th 2020
Do you have a stack of T-shirts waiting to be made into a memory quilt, but you just can’t get excited about starting the traditional collage of squares and rectangles?
Mother-daughter duo Mary and Jen Cannizzaro are experts on making memory quilts that don’t look like T-shirt quilts. In Beyond the Tee—Innovative T-Shirt Quilts, they share 9 fabulous T-shirt quilt designs (one without logos) that will make you rethink your approach to T-shirt quilts.
Twinkle Star, 61" x 83". Small motifs placed in the center of star blocks make a big impact.
Circle Gets the Square, 70" x 81 1/2". Get double use of memory fabrics by cutting the background squares from clothing too.
Stars 1-2-3, 62 1/" x 72 1/2". Motifs in a wide range of sizes work well in this setting.
That's My Life!, 71' x 90 1/2". The diamond shape can accommodate large motifs.
Pile of Hexies, 56 1/2" x 60 1/2". Mary and Jen say that many large motifs fit nicely in the hexagon shape, and you can adjust the size of the hexagon to fit your motifs.
Mary and Jen encourage you to look beyond the T-shirt for motifs for your memory quilt. Use your child’s outgrown onesies instead, or a retiree’s ties. For when you make a T-shirt quilt for a child or teenager, they show you some ideas for a bonus project for the mom who’s been saving all of the shirts.
Using Mary and Jen’s tips for success, learn how to cut garments to get the best use of the fabric and how to use motifs you might have rejected before, such as motifs that are too small or too large or are separated by zippers.
Always in Our Hearts, 50 1/2'' x 70 1/2'', a modern approach with no logos.
Inspired? Get Beyond the Tee, a stack of used clothing, and a pack of Stabili-Tee fusible interfacing, and get going!
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