Sheila_Newhouse

I am wondering if anyone has made a quilt out of sweat shirts, my Mother passed away in Jan. and she had so many shirts that are in like new condition, and I was wanting to make something out of them, I know people have made quilts out of shirts and dresses (in rememberance) that belonged to someone who passed away.. thought this might be a good way to have her with me for a long time.. if so what would be the best way to do this, do I need to use some kind of backing or not... I thought maybe making something on the pattern of a rag quilt, just cutting and sewing the pieces into squares and clipping them.. I would appreciate any opinions.

TIA
Sheila

momto5

Sheila, Sorry to hear about your Mother.

I think your idea to make a quilt out of her shirts is a good one. However, this sounds easier than it is. I would think a "rag-type" quilt would be out, because the sweatshirt material won't "rag"...at least, I don't think it will. So your choices will become more limited.
I would suggest cutting your shirts to the size you will need, then applying a light-weight fusible backing on each square. I don't think I would add batting, unless you just wanted to add a flannel sheet or something really light. Sew your squares together, add the backing, and quilt as you would any other. Bind it and you're done and you have a beautiful reminder of your Mother!
Good luck.

RainydayQuilter

I attended a t-shirt quilt class about a year ago and the instructor had several examples she had made using sweatshirts. They were made the same way as a t-shirt quilt. She used fusible backing then cut them to size and used some sashing between the blocks.

ckcowl

the sweatshirts are not good candidates for raggy---they will not rag the way a rag quilt does.
a t-shirt style quilt would work though-where you use the motif's designs of the sweatshirts= i would use a backing and probably either a very lightweight batting, a layer of flannel or muslin, or no batting at all-depending on how warm you want it-
another good way to use the sweatshirts is to use them to make quilted jackets- then you can (wear) a piece of your mom---
my sweatshirt jackets always get compliments when ever i wear one- people just love them- and they are easy, fun to make....you could make a variety of designs/colors/styles to go with many peices of your wardrobe. also vests.
do a search for quilted sweatshirt jackets to see many

Christine-

I wonder about the stretch? Do you have a serger? You might consider using a serger for the seams, that way the seams will have a little give when the quilt is pulled. I'd hate to see the seams pop here and there in a few years. All quilts are pulled on, from pulling it up while you're in bed, to tucking it in.

I'd love to see a photo of your sweatshirt quilt when you're finished. This sounds like a wonderful idea.

Christine-
http://quiltdasher.blogspot.com/

Joset

oh that will be so neat. our mother enter the home here in dec. three of us girls quilt. so we divided up some
of her clother( way to many to take them all to the home) and we are going to make quilts with the clothes
in them. that is my winter project.

hildebrandtjane

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This was my first quilt. It was made for my cousin. She had sweatshirts from her grandmother that she loved so I told her I would try to do it for her. It was very simple to make. I made the top the same as any other quilt scattering the special embellishments from the shirts, used a nice matching backing then hand tied the corners of the squares with embroidery thread. This part was easier than I thought and my cousin loved it. Good luck.

Sheila_Newhouse

Wanted to thank everyone for all the suggestions on making a quilt out of the sweat shirts, I thought there would be someone here that would be helpful, and all of you are so kind. Thanks again.

Sheila