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All About T-shirt Quilts
It's the best place to learn anything and everything about T-shirt quilts.
Comparing T-shirt Quilts | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
If you are looking to have a T-shirt quilt made from your T-shirts, you have one chance to have your quilt made right. But if you are not a quilt expert, you might not know what to look for when you see a T-shirt quilt. So don’t take someone’s word that they make high quality T-shirt quilts; look at their work with a critical eye. Here are 10 items to check out when you look at a T-shirt quilt. 1. Seam Construction Look for seams that are coming apart. This is a sign that the quilt is either not starting or stopping correctly or that their sewing machine stitch is not correct. Either reason, this is a flag to which you should pay attention.
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T-shirt Quilt Details | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
There are a ton of different T-shirt quilt makers out there. How do you find one that will make you an awesome quilt from your T-shirts? Start by looking at a lot of photographs of T-shirt quilts. Compare the different quilts by looking at a few key details in the design of the quilt, the construction of the quilt top, the quilting and how the quilt is bound.
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If you are in the process of finding someone to make your T-shirt quilt, you may not have all the information you need to make an informed decision. Our T-shirt Quilt Buying Guide has the information you need to fill in any knowledge gaps.
Planning a T-shirt Quilt | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
Before you can choose the colors for the backing and binding material of your T-shirt quilt, you need to know what backing and binding materials are. Backing Material The backing material is the fabric that you see on the back of a quilt. Too Cool T-shirt Quilts uses solid color 100% cotton fabric. So you will need to choose a color for this fabric. You have over 250 choices. Note: We do not use white on the back of T-shirt quilts because it is difficult to keep clean while we work and it is see through. Quilt Binding The binding is the fabric that is sewn around the outside of a T-shirt quilt. You see about ½" of the binding from the top, side and back of a quilt. Bindings are used to cover the raw edges of the quilt top, batting and backing materials. We have over 400 solid-color and print bindings from which to choose. Note: We do not use white for binding because it is difficult to keep clean while we are working with it and it will show all the dirt. White will quickly become grungy. Here are 10 terms you might want to learn about T-shirt quilts.
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Making Your Own T-shirt Quilt | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
Question: What’s the best interfacing to use in a T-shirt quilt? Answer: No interfacing! In 1992, I made my first T-shirt quilt. At that time, I didn’t know that using iron-on interfacing was the “industry standard” rule. So I didn’t use it. And I never missed it. In the intervening years, I never once felt it necessary to use it.
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Materials Used In T-shirt Quilts | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
Many T-shirt quilt companies offer their T-shirt quilts with polar fleece on the back of the quilt. They describe the merits of fleece as: •Warm •Light Weight •Soft •Won’t shrink •Won’t unravel •The dye won’t run •Cozy •Stretchy •Easy to care for •Won’t pill •Won’t ball up •Durable •Breathable These attributes of fleece might seem wonderful, but here is why you might not want to go that direction. First, we will present some esthetical and practical reason you would want to avoid fleece, second, why a quilt maker would choose to use fleece and third, I will address each of the attributes from the list above.
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Making Your Own T-shirt Quilt | The Construction of a T-shirt Quilt
A quilt is made up of three layers – the quilt top, the batting and the backing material. These three layers must be connected together to make the quilt. If the layers are not connected or connected sparsely, the middle layer of batting will bunch up and be very lumpy. In the quilting world, the lingo used to describe the connecting of these three layers is called quilting. There are numerous different quilting methods used on T-shirt quilts. Some techniques, such as tying and stitching in the ditch, are a poor choice and will not withstand the test of time. So when searching for a T-shirt quilt maker, know which method the T-shirt company you are looking at uses and which method you prefer. Tying Tying is a technique that uses thread or embroidery floss to make a single large stitch through the three layers of the quilt. The thread is knotted on the top of the quilt. Although this method will hold a quilt top, batting, and backing together, it is not an enduring method. Over a relatively short period of time the batting will sag and bunch over successive washings. The T-shirts may also droop.
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