Your second step is to find a quilt maker. Here's information about finding a quilt maker. When you think that you have found the right person, take time to either interview them and/or get the answers to these questions from their website.
If you know ahead of time what to expect, you won't end up with a T-shirt quilt that will break your heart.
Here are the questions 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:
Don't assume that a quilt maker can or will make your quilt in the style you want. Ask for the style by name. If you don’t know what style of quilt you want, you can read more about the 6 styles of T-shirt quilts here.
Some quilters offer several different styles of T-shirt quilts. As non-traditional styles are growing in popularity, a quilt maker may add new styles to their repertoire. How experienced is this quilt maker in making the type of quilt you want? Anything less than 100 is not enough experience. You can easily find quilters with more experience.
There is a big difference between a quilt and a blanket. Knowing the difference is important to getting what you want.
Someone making blankets generally is not a seasoned professional quilter. Very few experienced quilters will choose to make blankets. They are not what quilters are about.
Typically, someone making blankets does not have the equipment and nor 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.
Quilts are made from three layers. The quilt top is made from T-shirts. The batting is in the middle. And fabric is on the back. Quilting holds these three layers together. There are a few different quilting methods:
Some quilters feel that tying a quilt with a series of ties is good enough. And it is good enough to hold the three layers of a quilt together. But a tied quilt is only a step up from a blanket. If a quilt is not long-arm quilted, you probably should continue your search for a quilter elsewhere.
Stitch in the Ditch: This method is usually done on a home sewing machine. The three layers of the quilt are pinned and then stitched together on a home sewing machine. The stitches are placed in the ditch, which is where the seams of the pieces come together. This is not an optimal method for finishing a T-shirt quilt.
Hand Quilted: This is the traditional method for making a quilt. But hand quilting a T-shirt quilt? That's insane.
Long-arm Quilted: This is the industry standard for quality T-shirt quilts. Read more about the quilting we do here. In the photo below is an example of the back of a Too Cool T-shirt quilt. See where our name comes from?
Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt quilt.
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.
This method uses the same long-arm quilting machine but a human operates it from either the front or 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.
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 block 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 more the quilt will cost. This is because higher quality fabrics cost more. At the minimum, you want your quilters to be using a high quality 100% cotton fabric. Read more about backing materials choices here.
As with fabric, there are many different batting options for a quilter to choose from. Here are some typical types that are being used:
50% Polyester/50% Cotton This is a little better than 100% polyester.
100% Cotton This is OK for a T-shirt quilt. But the batting is more likely to rip and tear and thus more difficult to work with.
100% Wool A wool batting is OK for a T-shirt quilt. It has a higher loft and is much lighter weight than a cotton batting. It doesn’t wash up as well as cotton.
20% polyester/80% cotton –needle punched This is the preferred batting for a T-shirt quilt.
Ask your quilter if she uses a high-quality thread. Some high quality thread is Gutermann and Coats & Clark.
4 to 6 weeks is industry standard. It may take a little longer around spring graduation and Christmas. A quilter who 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 her 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 even an intermediate quilter. I still run into hurdles and I have made over 10,000 quilts!
Below are photos of the quilts we made in the first 6 month of this year.
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. They do not have all the equipment needed to make your quilt or the skill to use rented equipment.
You may want to avoid a quilter who sends their quilts out to be long-arm quilted by someone else. You should know where your T-shirts are and who has them when they are out of your hands.
Also, a quilter who sends their quilts out to be quilted by someone else is typically a hobbyist and not a professional. A professional has the right equipment and makes quilts full time. They also relies on their business for their livelihood and as a result, it really matters if you are happy with your quilt or not.
Ask this question! 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 just like to make quilts. There is nothing wrong with liking to make quilts. I love making 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 so their experience will be less.
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.
You can have your T-shirts transformed into a quilt or blanket that will break your heart. Before you let go of your T-shirts, do your homework, and find the right quilt maker for your needs.
If you have any questions, we are happy to help! Email or call us at 517-541-8225
Want to learn more about T-shirt quilts? Visit our Learning Center.
We have over 200 articles about all aspects of T-shirt quilts.
Here is a list of interview questions that you can download and print out.