Old t-shirts...patchwork?

funkymonkey849

I have a load of tshirts and tops that I don't wear anymore, some haven't sold on ebay and some are in too poor condition to even bother! I have about 15, mostly plain but a few patterned. All made out of the same tshirt type material.

Now I have enough dusters and cloths, and I could take them to the charity shop but you know charity begins at home and I'm pretty skint at the moment :rolleyes:

So I was wondering about making them into a patchwork quilt, I've done a bit of patchwork before but only with polycotton. Would tshirt material be too stretchy? Would I have to use a zigzag stitch to stop it stretching? Or is it a bad idea!

Also if there's any other ideas for the use of tshirts please share! Thanks xx

luckys_mum

Hi Funkymonkey, I would try a few test squares first and see how it works. I only ever use cotton and think the stretchyness of the t shirt material might make it difficult to work with when it comes to the quilting.
Give it a go as nothing beats a try.

Blairweech

You should use some iron on interfacing to stop the material stretching when you sew it.

Here is one set of instructions for making the quilt

Here are some more

An alternative is T Shirt undies, T Shirt Tote Bag, or you could make a rag rug with them.

Good luck, and post pics if you decide to do it. My mum made me a quilt for my 21st birthday and it is one of my favourite posessions now - plus it is super cozy on my bed!

funkymonkey849

Interfacing! Why didn't I think of that!

Thank you

I won't be starting it until after Christmas as I am halfway through a scrap yarn crochet blanket!

ktpie

I made one of these bags a couple of years ago. I'm sure there are loads of other things on that site made out of old t-shirts as I'm always wishing I had some but of course now I'm looking for them I can't see any! You could also crochet / knit with them, this kind of thing, maybe make a blanket or something.

ktpie

Blairweech wrote: »

You should use some iron on interfacing to stop the material stretching when you sew it.

Here is one set of instructions for making the quilt

Here are some more

An alternative is T Shirt undies, T Shirt Tote Bag, or you could make a rag rug with them.

Good luck, and post pics if you decide to do it. My mum made me a quilt for my 21st birthday and it is one of my favourite posessions now - plus it is super cozy on my bed!

Just realised one of your links was to Craftster too, I knew there were more t shirt related things on there! Looking at those t shirt quilts I wish I had a stash of old t shirts.