Simple T-Shirt Memory Quilt

Simple T-Shirt memory quilt with homespun fabric

This is a simple, basic t-shirt quilt and it can be as large or small as you wish. Combining the concept of a t-shirt quilt with rag style quilting is what makes this such a quick and easy project. This design goes together fairly easily and is a great way to memorialize t-shirts from any event or life activity.

The sample we created here for a local organization called "Dustin's Dream" uses 12 t-shirt fronts (3 panels across and 4 panels down). The size of your panels will be determined by the size of the shirt designs you want to use. Most of our t-shirts were Adult Mens XL so we did the shirt cuts about 13 inches square and the fabric panels about 17 inches square. To do something this size, you'll need about 6 yards of homespun fabric.

Be sure to pre-wash the fabric before you begin cutting to get all that shrinking out of the way so it will play nice with the t-shirts. Only homespun fabric will fray nicely as shown in the pictures.

Here are some quick tips we learned in the process:

Not all the shirts will work out for you so gather up about 3-4 more than what you think you'll need to give yourself some wiggle room.
When making the first cuts on the shirts, cut them much larger than you think you'll need. Better safe than sorry.
If the design on a shirt is placed high, consider keeping the neckline in the cut. Just stitch the front to the back along the edge of the neck and you'll be able to add about 2-4 inches to the top of your cut.
If you have a t-shirt that is too narrow, you can salvage the bottom hemmed edge of the shirt to create an extension. Simply stitch a few inches from the bottom to one or both sides to make it wider as needed. You can also use a different shirt with contrasting colors instead of matching. Lay the hemmed edge over the t-shirt front and top-stitch in place. There are some images below that might make this more clear.
Use a light color chalk pencil to draw the template square onto black or dark color t-shirts.

There is no batting in this quilt because the t-shirts make it very heavy. In this quilt we used fusible adhesive to stabilize them because the t-shirt knits are a moving target! Choose a very light weight adhesive because a heavy one will make the quilt too stiff and heavy. We used HeatnBond which we purchased from Amazon.

The basic steps for this homespun backed t-shirt quilt are below. Unfortunately we failed to get very many in-process pictures on this one. Maybe we will make another one soon and update then with more pics. Remember that each memory quilt is a unique creation and there is no right/wrong way to do it. Use your freedom to tweak the process to fit your individual style and your shirts and graphics.

Simple t-shirt memory quilt with homespun backing:

Cut out the fronts of the shirts you want to use. Cut generously.
Iron a light weight fusible adhesive such as HeatnBond to the back side.
Using a template, trim them to all the same size. 13 inches in this example.
Wash & iron your homespun fabric to preshrink. Press it out well. A little spray starch can help.
Cut your homespun fabric block squares. These squares should be about 4" wider and 4" longer than your t-shirt squares. Only homespun fabric will give you the nice fray shown in the images here. You'll need twice as many homespun fabric squares as you have t-shirt squares because the fabric squares are doubled for stability.
Peel off the fusible adhesive backing from one t-shirt square. Center it over two homespun squares. Pin in place. Press to activate the fusible bond of the stabilizer.
Stitch zigzag around the perimeter of the t-shirt quilt to secure it to the homespun squares.
Do this to all your t-shirt squares until you have your desired number of panels.
Lay out your panels in the floor and arrange/rearrange to your satisfaction.
Stitch the panels together in rows and columns with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Make sure your seam allowance is facing the t-shirt side.
Stitch around the entire perimeter of the quilt about 5/8 inches from the raw edge.
Clip the perimeter and all the seam allowances with a clip about 1/2 inch deep and 1/2 inch apart. If you are new at rag quilting, you can see more details about clipping the seams here.
Machine wash cold/gentle and tumble dry. This will transform the clipped seam allowances into the beautiful fray.