You are going to need four 3 inch wide strips. Use a queen size sheet if your memory quilt is 5 blocks wide by 6 blocks long. For this particular memory t-shirt quilt, I used a full-size flat sheet. I love this particular sheet because it washes well and it fits all the size quilts I make even after shrinking. My go to sheet is the UltraSoft flat sheet from Target. Every now and then I’ll have a customer ask for fleece fabric or cotton fabric but for this quilt I used a flat sheet. I use a flat sheet for most of my quilts for the back and border. Now that you have all the blocks sewn together, it’s time to create your border. Now it’s starting to look like a quilt! Create your quilt border I find it easier to press the seams after sewing each row instead of waiting until all the rows are sewn together. When sewing over the seams, go back and forth once for extra durability. Be sure to line up the seams! Sew along the top (where arrows are pointing) using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. The blocks on top should be upside down so that after you sew them together, they are facing the same direction. Start with the bottom row and place the second to the bottom row on top.

Now you are going to sew your rows together. Do this step until you have 5 rows of 4 blocks each (or depending on the size of your t-shirt quilt). Be sure to reverse stitch at the top and bottom to keep from pulling apart. Sew down the right side lengthwise using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Take your first block – the first block on top of your pile should be the one you had in the top left corner – and place the second block on top of the first block right sides together. It is a workhorse and I have been extremely happy. After reading reviews and doing some research, I decided on the Singer Heavy Duty 4411. I decided it was about time I bought a new machine. But eventually the straight stitch was no longer straight and I didn’t want to spend $100 to get it serviced because it was an older machine. I only spent $8 on my very first sewing machine that I bought at a garage sale! I used it for many years and it was awesome. With all the t-shirt quilts and sewing projects I’ve been making, I wanted a really good sewing machine without breaking the bank. You can use any sewing machine for this project as long as it has the straight stitch and the zigzag stitch. The best way to keep them in order is to start from the top left and pick up the first square and every square after that one goes underneath the one before it. You’ll be able to refer back to the picture in case the blocks get out of order. (For privacy reasons, I have blocked out the name on the shirts.) When you are satisfied with the layout, take a picture. You might have to move some blocks around before you are satisfied with how it looks. The easiest way for me is to lay all the squares on the floor. Now that you have all of your blocks cut, it’s time to decide how you want your t-shirt quilt layout to look. I use my cutting mat, rotary cutter and clear ruler and line it up and cut along the clear ruler.Īll of your shirt blocks should be the same size as shown in above picture. Now it’s time to cut out your blocks using the template you created. Press the fusible interfacing on the back of each shirt as shown above, following the interfacing package instructions. Your iron should be on the cotton setting.

Place the t-shirt face down on your ironing board. The interfacing keeps the shirts from curling and makes them so much easier to work with. I use Pellon P44F Fusible Interfacing for all my t-shirt quilts.

Since my quilt template is 14 inches by 15 inches, I cut my interfacing approximately 15 inches by 16 inches. Cut the interfacing larger than your block template.

Free memory tshirt quilt patterns