Creating a T-Shirt Quilt: Part 2

As promised in part 1, here is part 2 of making a t-shirt quilt.

So by now you have all of your prep work done and your tees are ready to be sewn together. As so often happens with stretchy material, it doesn't matter how accurate you THOUGHT your cuts were, there are going to be a few that just don't line up or want to stay at the same size you cut them. The starch helps a bunch but it can and will happen. So now what?

The first thing to do is decide if you want to sew your blocks together in rows or in columns. It doesn't really matter what you choose, because the process of lining them up is the same. For this quilt, I decided to sew in columns.

sewn in columns 

Now when sewing, I tend to always use a 1/4" piecing foot, even for the tees. This gives me better control over the seam allowances. Many will insist that a walking foot is the way to go, but when the tees are starched well, the walking foot does not make a difference in how well the pieces sew together. It's actually more beneficial to have a smooth foot because the starch causes them to be a little slicker than regular knit fabrics that are not starched.

1/4" piecing foot

walking foot

When sewing them together, I try to make sure that at least one side and the edge to be sewn are lined up and the same size. If there is a bit of a difference on the other side, that's ok, because you will trim your columns (rows) before putting them together. Just make sure that you don't end up with a difference of more than 1/8", on one side, because this can really make is so the blocks are not centered. Your smallest block will generally rule the rest. You can usually take fabric off, but it's much harder to add strips and put it back on, so be careful in your prep work and pre-cutting!

sections sewn in columns

Once you have the blocks sewn together in strips, it's time for all the fun to begin. Press the seams on the first strip up or right, the second strip down or left, the third strip up or right, and so on. This will help you to "nest" your seams. Trim your strips so they are nice and even down both sides.

Iron in opposite directions for the nest seams

Now you're going to line up those seams. The seams should look like puzzle pieces and fit together so that they lay flat, without a big bulky are where you have two seams on top of each other. T-shirt material can be kind of thick once it is all seamed together. Quilting over it later can actually break a needle!

Nested Seams

Use a pin to secure the seams. Here is where even with all of your careful cutting you'll understand just how stubborn this type of material can be! Some of those seams won't just fall in place and line up. Now we're going to make "stretch" our friend. We're going with the 1/8" rule again, too. As long as your seams are only off by about 1/8", you can stretch them to meet up. Usually the offset is caused by one tee being a little thicker and starched stiffer than another. Once you've pulled them together, pin them. Your seams should all "nest" nicely without any bulges along the side of the seam.

Small gap. No more than 1/8". Make the stretch work for you!

As you sew and come to those seams, you can remove the pins and pull very gently on either the top or bottom section to nest the four corners. It will have little to no effect on the rest of the section and you can continue sewing. If your material starts to bunch up, form a roll or a tuck, or throws the other joins off, you have stretched too much! Keep it at or under an 1/8" and this won't happen.

Seams nested after a tiny pull 

Once all your sections are joined, iron down the new seams. You can iron these in any direction. I usually go with how the fabric is falling. When you sew across them or along them it won't cause problems because your nested seams have decreased unnecessary bulk.

Nicely nested corners, all lined up neatly! 

Ok. You've finished your quilt top! You're on your way to finishing the whole thing!

No wonky seams and everything lined up without bunches! 

Using Liquid Starch for T-Shirt Quilts

{I originally wrote this post on March 19, the day before my dad passed away. I have not been on here much, as his loss has been a lot for me to bear. Please stay with me as I try to get back into the swing of things.}

In my last post I mentioned that I was now using liquid starch to stabilize my tees prior to cutting and sewing them. It is essential in t-shirt quilting to stabilize the shirts. If they are not stabilized, they WILL stretch and pucker during sewing and quilting. However, the desire for a soft, tee shirt-like quilt is the entire reason for making one! Iron on interfacing leaves the shirts a little stiff. It's not unpleasant or hard to the touch, just a little stiffer. Liquid starch will wash right out of the quilt once it's done. So if you want uber-softness AND stability, liquid starch is the way to go! Another bummer when it comes to iron-on is that it can get quite expensive when considering it sometimes takes 10 or more yards at $2.49/yd to complete one quilt. If the expense isn't enough, there is the time it takes to iron the tees, then iron the stabilizer onto the tees. And you can't just iron it on, you have to use a press cloth and spend about 10 seconds in small section - sometimes over a minute just moving it around, pressing, moving it, pressing - you get the picture. It takes a lot of time!

Here comes the solution with liquid starch. I was a bit skeptical at first as to whether starch would make the tees stiff enough to work with. But it does. So where to get the starch? Of course, you can always go out and buy Sta-Flo or some other bottled liquid starch from the store. But what fun would that be? We're cutting costs here. And time. With a bit of Googling I came across some really great recipes for homemade starch. Pinky Has a Brain is by far my favorite. With a little tweaking I found what I was happy with.

Her recipe calls for 1 T corn starch and 4 cups of water. However, I needed it just a little bit stiffer, so I double the starch. I also needed much more than 4 cups. One full size quilt with 30 tees takes about 48 cups of solution. To quadruple a batch I use 8 T corn starch and 16 cups of water. 15 of them boiling, the rest to mix with the starch.

I cut the tees, place them in the cooled starch solution one by one, squeeze out the starch and lay them flat to dry. I improvised a drying rack to accommodate a large amount of tees. It takes about 1 day for them to dry like this, but I can be finishing up one quilt while the new tees are drying, so it works out! I then take the tees, iron them flat, using a little extra steam if necessary, cut them to size, and voila! I have beautiful even squares that are easy to work with! It's best if you can get your tees to lay really flat so there isn't much ironing to do later on. I've also tried them in the dryer, but I didn't really like the results. They were still a little too stretchy for me.

 Here are two quilts I've completed using this method. I wish you could feel how soft they are. It's really just like snuggling up with your favorite tee shirt. I've been using cotton batting and usually use flannel for the backing to compliment the tees, unless cotton is requested.

This is actually a double-sided full size quilt made using the same process. The starch stabilizer allows for freedom in free motion quilting, makes the tees more stable and taut so there is no bunching, and in the end they wash up so beautifully.

DIY Fashion Redesign

Shirt to Skirt 

I have to admit that I spend quite a bit of time going through each and every link when I get my newsletter from All Free Sewing. I especially love their sections on DIY Fashion Redesigns. This is where crafty bloggers from all over the web are collected in one place to share their tutorials and patterns with the world. The best part? It's all free. Yep, just like the name of the website! (go figure)

There are some ads and links that you'd probably be better NOT clicking on when you go to the site, but I have found that all of the links in the newsletter and on the main site that lead to the patterns are all safe. I have found some pretty terrific ideas on there, many of which I have posted to my Pinterest "Sewing Ideas" board.

Yes, I'm also a Pinterest addict. There. 'Nuff said.

So what to do with all of these ideas? Here is what I do.

You can always raid your closets (yours, your kids', your husband's, your mother's - it's all good). Or you can go thrift store shopping. I really don't have much to raid from anymore, so it's off to the thrift stores for me.

I have a SmartPhone. Well, kinda. It's not that smart, but it is in that classification, so there it is. Anyway, I also have a Pinterest app on my Smart Phone. (I already mentioned my addiction, leave me alone.) When I decide to do some thrift store shopping, I go to my Pinterest app and look at my "sewing ideas" board. This contains some really great links to DIY refashion ideas. I follow the links, see what materials they are using for what inspires me that day, and make my purchases accordingly. It's not too hard. This also usually ends up in a trip to the hobby/sewing store for buttons, elastics, cording, ribbons, etc.

DIY refashion is so awesome because you can make virtually ANYTHING with a little ingenuity. Those high dollar runway items you so covet can be yours with a few tweaks and a sewing machine. Actually, I have completely filled my closet with DIY refashions before and had a whole new wardrobe for the next season. The only thing I haven't done? Cute boots. I love cute boots. I wear boots in the summer. I don't care. I love them. I hate heels, flats, sandals, flip flops -- all of those. But I love my boots and tennis shoes. Hmm...Guess I'll have to figure that one out!

Knooking Up

If you've been in the webiverse lately and follow anything to do with knitting, you've probably heard of knooking. It's not a craft that I would say has taken the world by storm, but it has sparked some interest among knit and crochet enthusiasts. I'm not sure who invented knooking, but it was originally published by
 Leisure Arts. Basically, knooking is a technique by which you use a crochet hook with a point end that has a hole in it. That hole holds a piece of string and helps to carry the stitches that are picked up along the starting chain of the piece. The technique produces a piece that has actual knit and purl stitches, just like in knitting, but with only one hook.

I sat down to try this out last night. I encountered a few problems - mostly due to already knowing how to crochet and having to get over the mindset that I was crocheting because I had a hook. The second problem was that I was making a hat in the round. This means that my holding cord was sometimes sitting on two rows at a time and making the piece bunch. I would need to stop, pull some of it out, and lengthen the knitting back out. Other than that the going is kind of slow because I'm still training my hands. Once I get the hang of it I'm sure it will be faster.

Overall, I think it would be a process that could come in handy; especially for beginners that would like to make knit objects but have problems manipulating both needles. I enjoy picking up new techniques and getting started cost me about $20. Ten for the needles and ten for a hat pattern book I wanted. You can also buy a large set of the hooks for thinner and thicker yarns for $20 from Leisure Arts. I am hoping fervently that more patterns appear for knooking, but I also think that ANY knit pattern can be adapted to the knook technique. Bigger projects require a longer holding yarn. I may even write some myself. :)

Ins and Outs of Art Quilts: How to Start?

A few weeks back, I attended a recognition assembly for my daughter AB, who had won an art scholarship to our local Center for the Arts. (No, the apple does not fall far from the tree.) While there and waiting on the procedures to begin, I took note of the display they had featured for the month. Wouldn't you know it, they were art quilts by a local artisan. Enthralled does not begin to signify my immense desire to study, recall, and create something of such immense beauty. The use of mixed media ignite within me a curiosity I had not felt from seeing images of it on the computer or in books. So I started researching a little, the gnawing desire to make one growing more and more intense. However, the immensity of a large art project that may or may not succeed thwarted my initiative to start.

So tonight I stumbled upon the term "mini art quilt." Once again, I was captivated. I have ideas swirling around in my head, books on Amazon that I MUST buy or download, thinking of subscribing to Quilting Arts magazine, and viewing images of these wonderful little quilts. I know I want to start with something small. But one question plagues me: "How do I start?" I'm not what you'd call a traditional artist. I didn't pursue art in grade school, found myself floundering terribly when it came to drawing in interior design classes (that's another story), and have never really been taught the methods of art.

I know how to create, though, and I've always been one to pursue learning. But once again, where do I start? Do I have to have an extensive knowledge of traditional art studies? Or can the creativity come from the heart like any other pursuit I've had? If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! The words of a wise and dearly departed lady come to mind, "Just start." That was how she answered my request to learn how to quilt. Of course, I'll be posting this on my beloved Quilts!Quilts!Quilts! forum on Etsy, so I'm sure I'll get a lot of good information there. But in the meantime, if you have suggestions or information, please pass it along.