Planning a T-shirt Quilts: 8 Key Decision You Need to Make

Are you are planning a T-shirt quilt?  You have 8 initial decisions to make about your T-shirt quilt. You need to know what you want!  

You should make these decisions before you find a quilt maker.  Knowing what you want from your quilt will help you find a quilt maker that’s right for you. 

1. Do You Want a Blanket or a Quilt?

Not all T-shirts quilts advertised as quilts, are actually quilts. Some are blankets. There is a huge difference! You need to decide if you want a quilt or a blanket. And you need to know what to ask a quilt maker to determine what they are making.

How is a Blanket Constructed?

A blanket has two layers. The top is made up of the T-shirts. On the back is fabric. The top and the backing are sewn together long the edges. Nothing holds the back of the quilt to the top within the body of the blanket. The result is a floppy blanket. (See the photo here).

A blanket is quick and very inexpensive to make. The maker doesn’t need much experience

How is a Quilt Constructed?

A quilt has three layers. The quilt top is made from your T-shirts. The backing is some type of fabric such as 100% cotton or 100% polyester.  A batting (stuffing) is layered between the quilt top and the backing fabric. A quilt must have some type of batting to be a quilt.

The other major difference is that a quilt has quilting holding the three layers together. A quilt is much more time consuming and expensive to make. The maker needs a lot of experience and specialized tools to make a great quilt.

It’s important to know which one is right for you. Read more about the differences between quilts and blankets here.

2. Do You Want a Quilt With One Block Size or Many Block Sizes?

There are two schools of T-shirt quilt making. The traditional method is to make the quilt with a single block size. Whereas, the modern style uses many block sizes puzzled together to make a quilt top. 

Most T-shirt graphics are different sizes. Look at your T-shirts. Are the logos and graphics all the same size?  If so, a traditional one block size style might be a good fit for your T-shirts.

Do your graphics vary in sizes? If so, consider a T-shirt quilt made with many different size blocks.

Learn what to look for in photos of T-shirt quilts. Then eliminate from your search any quilt style you don’t want.  Read more about styles of T-shirt quilts here.

3. Do You Want a Quilt Made Only With T-shirts? Or Would You Like to Include Any Type of Fabric?

Some quilters can only use T-shirt material. This is because they may not be experienced in mixing other types of fabrics with the T-shirt material. Or they may use a method that does not allow fabrics that are not T-shirt material. 

If you want to include other fabrics and items in your quilt, find a quilter using a method that allows for this.

What can you use in a quilt beyond a T-shirt? Read here about some basic and unique items you can use in a quilt here.

Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt quilt.

4. What Quality Quilt Do You Want? 

You can find quilts ranging from heirloom to ultra-cheap quality. What do you want from your quilt? Do you want something that will last for generations? Or are you looking just to have a quilt made because that is what everyone else is doing?

If you want an heirloom quality quilt, evaluate your options carefully. Ask lots of questions. Know what you will get back before you send your T-shirts to a quilt maker. 

Are you having a T-shirt quilt made because that’s what people are doing? If you don’t care about your T-shirts and if you don’t want to spend a lot, you have options. There are many inexpensive quilt makers to consider.

If you go with inexpensive option, you need to know the tradeoffs. For example, you will most likely receive a T-shirt blanket. If you have low expectation, you will be fine. Read more about inexpensive T-shirt quilts here. 

5. Do you want your quilt tied or quilted?

A quilt that is tied, is still considered a quilt. This is because the three layers of the quilt are connected. The simplest style of quilting is a tied quilt. To tie a quilt, a quilter uses yarn or embroidery floss to make a series of knots throughout the quilt. A quilt that is tied is not heirloom quality. But it is generally a step-up from a blanket. A tied quilt will cost less a quilt quilted with a long-arm quilting machine. 

6. Would You Like Simple or Fancy Quilting?

Simple quilting is typified by a simple design repeated throughout the quilt. This is quick quilting solution for a quilt maker. Some quilters even can program their long-arm quilting machine to do it for them. (Look Mom, no hands!) Simple quilting equates to a less expensive quilt.

A quilt fancy quilting is typified by each block having unique design. This includes tracing some of the graphics on T-shirts. These tracings show up on the back of a quilt - very cool.  Fancy quilting is done by an artist. It takes time. It takes 8 to 20 times longer than simple quilting. A quilt with fancy quilting will cost a lot more than a quilt with simple quilting. Read more about quilting here. 

7. Do You Want a Solid Color or Printed Fabric Backing Material?

As explained above, the backing material is what is on the back of a quilt. A quilt maker can use almost any type of fabric. And they can use a solid or print for this material.

A print fabric camouflages any quilting or ties. A quilter uses print fabrics to conceal quilting or ties they do not want to be seen. The photo here show a quilt that was backed with a print. You can not see the quilting at all. At the bottom of this page is a photo of a solid colored backing where you see the quilting. 

If a quilter wants you to see the quilting, they will use a solid color fabric with a contrasting thread color. This emphasizes the quilting. If you want fancy quilting, choose a solid color fabric.

The other thing to remember about a print material is that it will be dated after a few years. Fabric designs and styles are continuously changing. It’s just like a wardrobe that changes and old clothes become out dated. 

Think about what you want to see on the back of your quilt. Read more about backing material here.

8. Do You Want to Make Your Own T-shirt Quilt?

Are you looking to make your own T-shirt quilt? Are you qualified to make a T-shirt quilt? They aren’t as easy as they look.  Here is a list of questions to answer to help determine if you are qualified to make your own quilt. 

Here's a link to our directions for making your own quilt. 

If you know you have no business making your own quilt, then consider having your quilt professionally made.  Read more about finding a professional quilter here.

Conclusion

Everyone has different ideas about what a T-shirt quilt is and should look like. Begin your search for a quilt maker by defining what you want your quilt to look like. 

Want to learn more about T-shirt quilts? Visit our Learning Center.
We have over 200 articles about all aspects of T-shirt quilts.