How to Plan Multiple Custom Memory Quilts from One Person's Clothing

Planning one memorial quilt can feel daunting. Planning multiple memory quilts can feel downright overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Here’s a plan that can help.

First, decide who needs a quilt or a pillow. We have examples that can give you some ideas how to figure out your situation.

Next is organizing the clothing. I know this can be daunting. When I lost my husband Larry, I faced the same challenge. I had to figure it out because there were many quilts I needed to make. Below I have set out a step-by-step plan for organizing your clothing for your quilts. I hope this takes some of the struggle out of this process.

Who Should Receive a Custom Memory Quilt?

Most of the time, we make more than one memorial quilt from a deceased loved one’s clothing. For example, when a parent has died and left behind school age children, we typically make one for each child and for the surviving parent.

1. Decide Who May Like/Want a Quilt or Pillow

Begin by deciding who might want a quilt or a pillow. This will be contingent on your budget and how many clothing items you have. We have found that a typical adult wardrobe can make about 5 to 8 queen-size quilts or many smaller quilts and pillows. Sometimes you will need to narrow down your list of people wanting a quilt.

2. Decide Who Receives a Quilt and Who Receives a Pillow

Next, figure out if you need quilts, pillows or a mix of quilts and pillows. This will depend on how many people you have on your list and your budget. Pillows take fewer items and cost less making them great if your budget and amount of clothing is limited.

3. Don’t Forget Yourself!

When I lost my husband Larry, I ended up making 10 quilts for his friends and family. It was only after I shipped out all the quilts that I realized that I had not made one for myself. To this day I kick myself for not having made one for myself.

If you have lost your spouse, I think it is very important to have one made for yourself. Even if you are not ready now, put some of the clothing items aside for later.

Here are a few examples showing different ways of dividing things up:

• A young parent has died and left two children and a spouse. This would be a great time to have a quilt made for each. If the parents of the deceased are involved, they might like to have a pillow.
  Possible Solution: three quilts and two pillows.
  
  

• A grandparent has died and has 8 grandchildren and a spouse. The spouse may like a quilt. A pillow for the grandchildren would be a wonderful way for them to remember their grandparent.
  Possible Solution: one quilt and 8 pillows.
  
  
  

• A baby has died. The baby clothing, blankets and bibs could be made into a quilt for the parents. Although these are the saddest quilts for us to make, we know the impact of the quilt is enormous. Read more about baby clothes quilts here.
  Possible Solution: a quilt for the parents of the child.
  
  

• A child has died and has left behind parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. Depending on the age and wardrobe of the child, there might not be enough clothing to make something for everyone. We would suggest first making something for the siblings and then the parents. If there is enough to make additional pillows or small quilts, then the grandparents might be next in line.
  Possible Solution: a small quilt for each sibling, and a larger quilt for the parents. Or a large quilt for the parents and a pillow for each sibling.

How to Sort Your Clothing for Multiple Quilts and/or Pillows

Planning a quilt or pillow for more than one person from your loved one's clothing will take some planning and sorting. Break the process into steps and do one at a time.

1. Figure Out How Many Items You Have to Work With

This will help you determine how many quilts you can have made based on how many clothing items you have.

How Many Items Do You Need for a Quilt?

I knew you were going to ask that question. I don't have a set answer such as 17 or 35. How many items you need depends on how many items you have and how you want to use those items.

• Larger quilts need more and can accommodate more items.

• Smaller quilts need fewer items and can be made with fewer items.

Clothing offers more options than T-shirts because we can cut multiple pieces from each clothing item. For example, small quilts can be made from made from 6 to 9 clothing items.

• The fewer items you send, the more blocks we will cut from each item, and those blocks will be larger.

• The more items you have, the less we will cut from each piece. And if you have a lot of items, we will cut smaller pieces from each item.

Example - For large lap size quilts, I would suggest no fewer than 6 item and no more 25 items. But the system is flexible.

To Complicate Planning...

You can use a piece out of one item for many quilts. Depending on the size of the clothing item and the size piece we use, you can use the same clothing item in 5 to 8 quilts. The smaller we cut the blocks, the more quilts you can include that item in. We can take one shirt and cut it so there is nothing left but the old seams. Or we can just take one block out of an item.

Memorial Pillows

We would suggest between 4 and 8 items per pillow. So much easier!

2. Sorting the Clothing - Set-up a Box or Bag for Each Quilt or Pillow

Starts with your list of everyone who needs a quilt or pillow. Write each name on a slip of paper or tape. Then attach the name onto a box or bag. You will put each clothing item that goes in that quilt in their box or bag.

You will have a pile/box/bag labeled for each quilt or pillow. Then make a pile for donation. As you remove each item from its hanger or drawer, consider what quilt or pillow it should go into. Remember that if an item is dry-clean only, the quilt you put it into will also be dry-clean only.

3. Choosing Who Gets Which Clothing Items

Don't let this become a family freak show. Most items can be shared between more than one quilt. Most people have an outfit that they remember that person wearing most. Start there. Put each person's favorite item in their bag.

Are you making a quilt for a young person or child? If so, don't put a dry-clean only item in their quilt. If you put a dry-clean only item in a quilt, the entire quilt becomes dry-clean only. If they can't wash their quilt, they won't use it. And these quilts should be used and enjoyed.

Something Else - Adding Photo Think about photos you have of your person who died. What were they wearing and who were they with in some of those photos? This is another way to divide up the clothing. This works great with two person photos. You can include a photo of the person with the deceased in the quilt and put it next to that clothing item. Read more about using photographs in a quilt here.

In the quilt here, you see a photo of a man in a blue shirt and a red, white and blue dude rag holding a baby. This quilt is for that now grown up baby. The photo and dude rage are sewn onto the blue shirt he was wearing. 

4. Analyze Each Grouping

After you get everything sorted out, open one bag or box at a time. You want to look at all the colors in the stack of clothing. Do they all go well together? Step back and squint at the pile or stack of items. Is there one or two items that just look awful? Pull those out for now.

As you check your other groupings, look to see if the ones you pulled out from another grouping work with that grouping.

Keep shuffling your groupings to find the right mix of colors and textures.

5. How to Use One Item in More Than One Quilt

The simple way is to just divide up the clothing items into one stack for each quilt you would like made. But we all know that life is not simple. There are some items may need to go into each quilt. Other items may need to go into two quilts, but not, say, all four.

Start by setting out another bag for the clothing items that need to go into more than one quilt. Stick a piece of blue painters’ tape on each clothing item listing the name or quilt number that should have a block from that item.

If there is a T-shirt in this pile with a front and a back, tape the name or quilt number of the quilt that each side goes in.

How Too Cool T-shirt Quilts Works with Your Items

We will set up a plastic storage box for each grouping or bag of items. Then, working one grouping at a time, we will cut the items from that bag. Once all the individual groupings are cut, we line up the labeled plastic storage boxes and then work from the bag containing items that needs a piece to go into more than one quilt. As we cut that clothing item, we put a piece in each specified quilt box.

Conclusion

We want to make the process of making your memorial quilts as easy as possible. For additional information, including pricing, here's a link to our main memorial page.

If you have questions while preparing your items for a quilt, please email us. We’ll be happy to help.