Do you spend a lot of time on Pinterest? I know I do. Every day I see so many DIY ideas. I always think “Oh! I could make that, it looks easy!” Yet my attempts never seems to come out as good as the pictures. Most of the time my project goes straight in the trash.
But It Looks So Easy!
More and more, I’m seeing pins boasting “How to make a T-shirt quilt in 1 hour.” Or, “How to make a T-shirt quilt with no sewing”. Most of these tutorials make a traditional style T-shirt blanket. Many with iron-on backing. Read why iron-on backing is not necessary.
Here are those basic steps:
- Cut your T-shirts open and iron on interfacing.
- Cut all the blocks with a 12” or 14” template.
- Line the blocks up into columns and rows and sew them together.
- Place the quilt top face down on fleece which is facing up. Sew around the edge leaving open a 6” gap.
- Turn inside out and sew closed gap.
- Congratulations, you have made a traditional style T-shirt blanket!
- Those are typical Pinterest directions. Easy peasy! What could go wrong?
What Could Go Wrong?
Oh, so much! For example, the directions above are for a blanket and not a quilt. There is a big difference between a T-shirt quilt and a T-shirt blanket. They are not the same thing! Read more about the difference between a blanket and a T-shirt quilt here.
Also, the person providing directions may have only made one T-shirt quilt. It's so easy these days to photograph and video each step of a project you are making. If you end up with something you think is good, then you publish your direction as if you are the expert. Most of the time, the person writing these directions is not an expert. They are a one and done.
You could also be cutting your prized T-shirts without knowing what you are doing. What happens when you have an issue not covered in the directions? Who do you turn to?
Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt quilt.
Your Expectations
What are your expectations for your T-shirt quilt? What are the value of your T-shirts? Is your answer "high quality quilt and valuable T-shirts." If so, don't follow someone’s T-shirt quilt tutorial on Pinterest if they don't have a track record of making awesome T-shirts quilts. Especially if their directions written from their first attempt at making a T-shirt quilt.
If most of your DIY projects end up in the trash, why would you endanger your prized T-shirts to a project that probably won’t turn out the way you want it to?
Our Experience
Too Cool T-shirt Quilts has been making T-shirt quilts since 1992. As online tutorials have become popular, we have found that we are salvaging more and more T-shirt quilts. Our customers thought they could make it themselves because they had watched a quick tutorial. Our video tutorials is over 3 hours long!
My customers tell me they thought it looked easy! So, they started cutting their T-shirts. Then they found out there is more to making a great looking T-shirt quilt than they had figured.
I have made T-shirt quilts for so many highly experienced quilt makers. They know I have the experience and expertise to do the job right (the first time). Many experienced quilt makers know they could make the quilt themselves, but they choose to go the professional route because they want the best quilt.
Saving Failures
We are able to salvage most T-shirts quilt attempts. Whether they are in the early stages or are complete. We can remake them into a great looking quilt.
But you need to realize it’s going to end up costing you. It will cost more than if we had just made your quilt from the start. Here is article about how we salvaged a T-shirt quilt disasters.
Making It Yourself? Begin With Great Directions
Can you sew? Would you like to attempt a Too Cool style T-shirt Quilt? If so, consider getting the book, “How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt”. Also, we have a series of videos about how to make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt.
Or We Can Make It for You
If you know you aren’t cut out to make a quilt yourself, we can work with you to make your dream T-shirt quilt a reality. We pride ourselves on high quality beautiful works of art made from your T-shirts. Here's how to have Too Cool T-shirt Quilts make your quilt.
Conclusion
Before you begin to make a T-shirt quilt, have complete and comprehensive directions. These should be from a quilt maker who has made 1000's of T-shirt quilts. I would also suggest you make a test quilt with junk T-shirts from garage sales or a resale store. This way if you screw it up, it won't be the end of the world. Here's our directions on making a T-shirt quilt.
Have you begun a T-shirt quilt and find you can't finish it? If so, don't feel bad or beat yourself up. T-shirt quilts are not as easy to make as they might seem. And, we can help. Here's more about what we do when we salvage an attempt.
Want to learn more about T-shirt quilts? Visit our Learning Center.
We have over 200 articles about all aspects of T-shirt quilts.
Before and After
Here are examples of T-shirt quilts that we have remade. There is a huge difference between the before and afters. If you don't study the after photos carefully, you might never know that it had been remade.
