This guide has everything you need to make the best choice for your needs. From the different types of quilt makers to the key skills to look for and whether a local option is right for you, with the right info, you’ll be able to find someone who can transform your T-shirts into the quilt of your dreams.
5 Typical Types of T-shirt Quilt Makers
Skills to Look for in a T-shirt Quilt Maker
T-shirt Quilt Makers Near Me - Are They My Best Option?
Where Can I Find A T-shirt Quilt Maker?
Questions to Ask Your T-shirt Quilt Maker
Not every T-shirt quilt maker starts their journey the same way, but they all share a common goal: turning T-shirts into quilts and blankets. So, how do you choose the right quilt maker for your project?
Let’s break down the different types of T-shirt quilt makers, explore how they got started, and help you understand what to expect when you trust them with your T-shirts.
Agreeing to make a T-shirt quilt for a family member or friend will result in a learning curve for the quilt maker. They may not know how to make a T-shirt quilt and will have to figure out this project.
Agreeing to make your quilt will cost them time and money.
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I have seen so many T-shirt quilts that were started and never completed. I have finished a lot of projects that were a mess. Know what you are getting into before you begin!
Choose a pattern or directions that are complete. Your directions should take you through all the steps of the project. There are a lot of bad directions on the Internet that will get you into trouble. Choose a method that has a skilled professional T-shirt quilt maker behind it.
Watch out for someone who wrote down their directions as they made their first quilt. These are not directions you want to follow. And for the love of all things holy, do not make a T-shirt Quilt by gluing the T-shirts together.
Here’s a link to the Too Cool T-shirt Quilt directions. This book was initially published in 2005. It has stood the test of time!
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A hobbyist typically doesn’t have a website. They get occasional business from Facebook or word of mouth. Making one to two quilts a month is a great month for them.
Making T-shirt quilts is not their full time job. It’s a hobby they can make a little extra money from. This means that they doesn’t have anything to lose if something goes wrong with your quilt. They do not a professional reputation to protect.
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There are only a few industrial T-shirt quilt or blanket companies. There are a number of things that set an industrial T-shirt quilt or blanket company apart from professional quilt makers.
First is the number of quilts they make in a year. Once a professional quilt or blanket maker makes more than 2000 quilts a year, they are starting to move into the industrial sector of the industry. If a company makes 5,000 to 50,000 quilts or blankets a year, then they are industrial.
Second, is your ability to call and talk to your quilt maker about a special request or ask a question. Typically an industrial quilt or blanket company is just making too many quilts or blankets to be able to help in this fashion.
And third, is how the company was founded. Many of the back-stories of industrial quilt or blanket companies are not that of being founded by a quilt maker. Rather they were founded as a MBA project or for some other reason. A quilt maker did not start them.
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Which of these 5 types of T-shirt quilters you choose will depend on your circumstance, your budget and your expectations.
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Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt quilt.
When choosing a T-shirt quilt maker, there are six critical skills to look for: Sewing, Artistry, Quilting, Time Management, Organization and Cleanliness.
In this section, we'll delve into each skill, explaining what it entails and how to identify if your quilt maker possesses it. These skills are key indicators of quality and craftsmanship. While having these skills doesn't guarantee a perfect quilt, lacking them significantly reduces the chances of achieving a high-quality T-shirt quilt.
Don’t take someone’s word that they can sew well. Rather, look at their work with a critical eye.
Look at the following features in a quilt maker's quilts to see if they have a good eye. You will need to look at a number of their quilts to see if these features are consistent from quilt to quilt.
There are 4 typical quilting methods used for T-shirt quilts. Read more about these methods here. Remember, if there is no quilting, you are looking at a blanket. And a blanket and a quilt are not the same thing! The best quilting is long-arm quilting.
One type of long-arm quilting is done by a computer. The quilt maker just presses a button and walks away. Quilting with this computerized method does not take any skill or artistry. And it will show in your quilt.
In the photograph here, the black quilt on the left is quilted with a skilled long-arm quilter. This is a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt quilt. Compare it to the pink quilt on the right. This was quilted by a Campus Quilts. You can see that they do an overall pattern of loops. There is a huge difference between the two.
Here at Too Cool T-shirt Quilts, all our quilts are quilted by artists. The long-arm quilting machines are operated by hand. We draw on the quilts with the stitching. A quilt that is quilted by an artist is interesting and the quilting is unique to your quilt.
Some quilters have a lot of quilts in their queue... more work than they can complete in 6 months! Other quilters work full time and quilt in their spare time. These and other situations will influence how long you will have to wait for your quilt.
Ask how long it will take to make your quilt. 6 to 8 weeks is industry standard. If it will take your quilt maker longer than 8 weeks, ask why. In the spring for graduation time and for Christmas, wait times might be longer.
Since I began making T-shirt quilts in the early 1990's, I have implemented a number of procedures that keep me from being able to mix up T-shirts between quilts. These processes also make sure that your directions are attached to your quilt from start to finish.
Does your quilter have a system to keep your quilt separated from other quilts? How is your quilt stored when it is not being worked on? Ask. You don’t want someone else’s T-shirt to end up in your quilt! Ask!
If you drop off your T-shirts, take a whiff before you let go of your T-shirts. Are you OK with the smell?
If you are mailing your T-shirts to the quilter, you can ask if the quilt is made in a smoke free location. You don't want your quilt to stink when you get it back.
Are you looking for someone local to make your T-shirt quilt? Perhaps you are scared of mailing you T-shirts to someone you don’t know?
In this section, I will address your fear of sending your T-shirts to someone far away and who you don't know. I will also address why choosing a quilt maker just because they are local might be worse that sending T-shirts to a quilter you don't know.
I have been making T-shirt quilts since 1992. I have not had a shipment of T-shirts coming to me that has been lost. These days with package tracking and delivery signatures required, losing a package is rare. Here is a article with best practices for shipping your T-shirts.
Unless you really are great friends with someone who makes T-shirt quilts for a living, you really don’t know whom you are handing over your T-shirts to. Just because you can see someone face to face, doesn’t mean that you know who they are.
Then consider a company like Too Cool T-shirt Quilts. We have a worldwide reputation for making awesome T-shirt quilts. There are 25 families depending on the company for their livelihoods. We have so much to lose if we don’t meet your expectations. Sure, you might not see us face to face, but our long history of making "too cool" T-shirt quilts is our introduction to you.
Professional T-shirt quilt makers make the best T-shirt quilts. They have the right equipment, time to devote to the quilt-making process and most importantly, years of practice. Make sure that your quilter is a professional. This might mean seeking a quilter that is out of your local community.
Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt quilt.
If you are in the process of looking for a T-shirt quilt maker, you may be overwhelmed all the options and choices available. Here are 3 steps to finding a T-shirt quilt maker who can make you the quilt you want. But, don’t begin at step 2 – asking around about quilt makers.
Read more about the different styles of T-shirt quilts here.
Read more about the differences between a quilt and a blanket here.
The industry standard time frame for the completion of a T-shirt quilt is 4 to 6 weeks. Near Christmas and during spring graduation, this time frame may be longer.
T-shirt quilts range from free if someone who loves you is making the quilt to over $1000. How much do you want to spend on your quilt? The answer to this question will partially depend upon your budget and partially depend upon the style and type of T-shirt quilt you want made from your T-shirts. There are a number of cost factors that go into the cost of a quilt. Read more about those here.
Ask your quilter what type of materials she uses. Read more about the quality of quilting materials here so you can understand what you are being told.
Ask around about T-shirt quilt makers. Although it might not be intuitive, asking around about quilters is actually your 2nd step in the process of finding a quilt maker, not the first.
Here is a list of people and places to ask about T-shirt quilt makers:
Interview the quilters that have been recommended to you. In the next section, you will find a list of questions to ask your quilt maker.
When you are planning a T-shirt quilt, first learn as much as you can about T-shirt quilts – there is a lot to know. Next find a quilt maker. When you think that you have found someone, take time to either interview them and/or get the answers to these questions from their website.
If you know ahead of time what you can expect, you won't end up with a T-shirt quilt that will break your heart.
Here are the questions to ask your quilt maker. Click on the question if you want to jump to a specific one:
There are 6 major styles of T-shirt quilts. Here’s a brief explanation of each:
Some quilters offer a number of different styles of T-shirt quilts. As non-traditional styles are growing in popularity, a quilt maker may add different styles to their repertoire. How experienced is this quilt maker in making the type of quilt you want? Anything less than 100 probably represents less than a year or two of making quilts in the style. You can easily find quilters with more experience.
These are your favorite T-shirts – find an experienced professional to make your quilt. There’s no going back.
Quilts are made from three layers; the quilt top which is made from T-shirts, the batting which is in the middle and the backing material. Quilting holds these three layers together.
Someone making blankets generally is not a seasoned professional quilter. Very few quilters will choose to make blankets. They are not what quilters are about.
Typically, someone making blankets does not have the equipment and perhaps the skills to be making quilts. A blanket can be well made, but it is not a quilt. If you want a T-shirt quilt, don’t settle for a T-shirt blanket.
Computerized Long Arm Quilting: When the quilting is computerized, the T-shirt quilt is stitched with an overall quilting pattern. The same design is repeated over and over on the quilt.
Non-Computerized Long Arm Quilting: This method uses the same long-arm quilting machine but a human operates it from either the front or back of the machine.
Operated from the Back of the Machine –The operator works from the back of the machine following a printed paper pattern on the bed of the sewing machine with a laser pointer.
Operated from the Front of the Machine – The machine is operated from the front the machine and the artist “draws” with the machine. The designs being quilted can be exclusively tailored to the particular block that is being worked on rather than in an overall pattern.
The best T-shirt quilts are those in which each block is quilted with a unique pattern.
There are three major materials used in a T-shirt quilt: fabric, batting & thread.
There are so many different fabrics available for quilters to choose from. Fabric ranges from very inexpensive, thin polyester fabrics that feel awful to high quality 100% cotton fabrics that feel great. The higher the quality material a quilter uses, the higher the quilt will cost because higher quality fabrics cost more. At the minimum, you want your quilters to be using a high quality 100% cotton fabric.
As with fabric, there are many different options for a quilter to choose from. The best batting for T-shirt quilts is a 20% polyester/80% cotton –needle punched batting. Read more about batting here.
4 to 6 weeks is industry standard. It may take a little longer around spring graduation and Christmas. A quilter that says 3 months or more might have more quilts than they can get to or have other obligations. Try to find a professional quilter that can balance their time and workload.
The more quilts that someone has made in the style you want, the better. You probably want to shy away from a novice and perhaps an intermediate quilter. I still run into hurdles and I have made over 10,000 quilts!
Below - just a few T-shirt quilts we made in the past few months.
Some quilters will only make the quilt top and send the completed top out for someone else to finish. This means that you will have no idea who is working on your quilt or where it will be sent. If someone is only making part of your quilt, this is a sign that the quilter is not a professional because they do not have all the equipment needed to make your quilt or the skill to use rented equipment.
If you are not a smoker, you won’t want to send your T-shirts to a smoker. Smelly!
The hobbyist on the other hand, makes quilts because they like to make quilts. But it’s not their livelihood. And if your quilt doesn’t go well, it doesn’t impact their income. A hobbyist also is not making as many quilts as a professional.
These are your T-shirts and it’s your quilt. You need to decide whether a professional or hobbyist is the way you want to go.
The answer should be yes. If you can’t see the quilts in person, study the photographs of a number of different quilts. If you are not sure what to look for in a photograph of a quilt, click here to read about how to judge a quilt from a photograph.
Here is a link to this list of interview questions that you can download and print out.
Choosing a T-shirt quilt maker doesn’t have to be stressful. It’s about finding someone who gets how much your T-shirts mean to you and can turn them into something you’ll love for years. Take your time, do your research, and trust your gut. When you end up with a quilt that feels like a warm hug from your memories, you’ll know it was worth it.
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