Tips to Find the Perfect T-shirt Quilt Maker

Once your T-shirts are in a quilt, you can’t change your mind. You can’t go back and have a different style quilt made. So, how do you ensure that you have the best T-shirt quilt made for your wants and needs? Here are three rules of thumb about having a T-shirt quilt made. 

1. Don’t Choose the Cheapest T-shirt Quilt Maker

There are many reasons not to choose the lowest price quilt maker. Here are a number of reason to avoid the lowest cost makers.

The Amount of Time They Spend Making Your Quilt

The lower the cost of a quilt, the less time the quilter will put into your quilt. Low cost quilt makers have a slight profit margin.  Such operations lose money if they take time to make your quilt perfect.  For example, say a seam should be taken out and fixed.  A low-cost quilter may not fix it. It would take too much time. 

Low cost quilt makers will only put the minimum time into your quilt. Nothing extra.

Read more about how much a T-shirt quilt costs here.

Materials Used in Your Quilt

Inexpensive quilts use lower quality of materials. A quilter won't use materials that cost more than they charge for the quilt.  There are quilters who charge less for a T-shirt quilt than Too Cool T-shirt Quilts have in the cost of materials.   

What do low quality materials mean to you? First, they wear poorly. This will shorten the longevity of your quilt. Second, low quality materials also feel bad. A T-shirt quilt is meant to be used and touched. If a quilt feels bad to touch, you won’t want to use it.  Finally, inexpensive material will not make your quilt an heirloom.

Read more about materials used in T-shirt quilts here.

Choice of Quilt Style

Low price T-shirt quilt companies can charge less because they make traditional style quilts. A traditional style T-shirt quilt uses one block size. These blocks are laid out in rows and columns. This is an exceedingly quick way to make a quilt. And when time = money, speed counts!

What does this mean for you? First, some of the graphics on your T-shirts aren't going to fit in their set block size. Some will be too large and get cropped off. Others will be too small and have too much margin around the design. How will you feel if a graphic on your favorite T-shirts gets cropped off? It might be heart breaking!

Read more about the 6 main styles of T-shirt quilts here.

Planning a T-shirt quilt?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt Quilt.

Your Quilt Maker's Experience

Experienced quilters charge more because they know the value of their work. They are confident about their skills and work. They know what to do when something goes wrong.

When you look for the cheapest quilt maker, you may run into an inexperienced quilt maker. They don’t know how to handle tricky situations that develop.  Their solutions to problems may look bad and be inadequate. 

The less someone is willing to charge for their work, the less value they put into their work. So, if someone only charges $200 for a quilt, they don’t think that their work is worth more. If they don’t think their work is that good, then neither should you!

Read more about a quilt maker’s experience here.

2. Know What You Want Your Quilt to Look and Feel Like 

The first step in having a T-shirt quilt made is determining what you want from your quilt. Only after you have determined this can you then look for a quilt maker.

6 Questions to Answer Before Choosing a T-shirt Quilt Maker

1. Do you want a quilt or a blanket?

   There is a difference – a big difference. This is so important to know. Read more about the difference between a quilt and a blanket here.
   
   
2. Do you want a quilt with a single block size or multiple block sizes?

   This will influence the look of your quilt more than anything else. Read about the styles of T-shirt quilts here.
   
   
3. Do you want a quilt made with only T-shirts? 

   Or would you like a quilt that can incorporate any type of fabric? You have options beyond just using T-shirts.
   
   
4. What quality quilt do you want? 

   There is a lot that can go into the quality of a quilt. From the materials used to the quilter’s skills. Know what you want first.
   
   
5. What type of quilting do you want?
   This can range from tying to fancy long-arm machine quilting. Read more about quilting used on T-shirt quilts here.
   
   
6. Do you want a solid color or printed fabric backing material? 

   This will determine how the back of your quilt looks. Read about the difference between the two here.

3. Finding the Right T-shirt Quilt Maker

Finding the right quilter for your needs is important.  Some important considerations include:

• Are they making the style quilt you want? 
Read more about the different styles of T-shirt quilts here.
  
  
• Are they using the quality materials you want?
 Read more about materials here.
  
  
• Do they have the experience you want? Read more about a quilter's experience here. 
  
  
• Is their completion time-frame reasonable? Industry standard is 4 to 6 weeks.

• Is the company a good fit with you?
  
  
• Is the quilter a professional or hobbyist? 
A professional has a lot to lose if they mess-up your quilt. A hobbyist does not rely on the outcome of your quilt for their living and thus has less to lose if they mess up your T-shirts.

An Overview on How to Find a Quilt Maker

• Ask questions of potential quilters. Read about how to interview a quilt maker here.
  
  
• Ask your friends and family about whom they have used. Ask if they are happy with their quilt. If they say it is OK, that’s not good enough. They need to be raving about their quilt.
  
  
• Look at many examples of T-shirts on the Internet and in person.
  Read about how to judge the quality of a T-shirt quilt based on a photograph.

Here's a list of questions to ask your quilt makers.

Don’t settle for just anyone who says they can make a T-shirt quilt. Only choose the best! After all, these are your T-shirts!

You only have one chance to have a T-shirt quilt made from your T-shirts. Take your time and choose your maker well!

Want to learn more about T-shirt quilts? Visit our Learning Center.
We have over 200 articles about all aspects of T-shirt quilts.