Saturday, July 11, 2009

Quilt Top Finished




If you have been following my most recent posts you know that this quilt is being made for my sister. I have never attempted to make a quilt using shirts before and it is a challenge to combine soft flannel of varying weights with T shirts made of interlock, jersey and in one case a fair bit of spandex. So in addition to using some nice crisp cotton to help stabilize seams I also used a product called Quilt Fuse. Have you ever used this stuff? It has been around for some time and is basically a light weight fusible interfacing with grid lines. I got mine at Fabricland. Quilt Fuse is sold by the meter and is about 48 inches in width. The idea is that you cut your fabric squares, lay them onto the quilt fuse, press with a hot dry iron and then you fold on the line and stitch a quarter inch away, you do this to all the vertical lines then clip all the intersections and repeat with the horizontal lines. This came in quite handy when making the 9 patch blocks using knits and flannels. I also used it to stabilize fabric anywhere that the seam would be flannel to knit, knit to knit or flannel to flannel. It is lightweight enough that you still get a nice drape to the quilt.


The other dilemma in making a quilt with shirts is that you don't really know how much fabric you have to work with so I used a pattern designed by Molly Fryer as a starting point to create that beautiful center and then just continued designing borders as fabric would allow.

I am pleased with how the quilt top looks, Okay so I know it would not pass the scrutiny of judges but more importantly I know that my sister will love it.

The quilt top measures 72" square and once I have it batted and backed I will machine quilt it.

10 comments:

Helen said...

What a beautifully wonderful thing to do for your sister.

One of the things I love most about quilting is the love that I put into my projects. Sounds like that's what you like to do, also.

Your quilt is beautiful. I KNOW that your sister will treasure it forever.

God bless you.

Hugs

Pat said...

This is a true gift from the heart...the BEST kind of gift.....and it turned out beautiful, too! Please show it again when it is all quilted.

Allie said...

What a glorious quilt to come from such a sad time. Your sister will treasure it. You did a fabulous job. I'll have to try the Quilter's Fuse - I have a t-shirt quilt to make at some point this year.

Diane J. Evans said...

It's wonderful, Jill -- and, yes, I've used the Quilt Fuse and it's a great product. Your sister will cherish this forever.

Diane

Debbie said...

Your finished quilt top is lovely. You have created a scrapbook from her husband's life and she will treasure it.

Sharon said...

It looks wonderful! A good size for your sister to cuddle up in, and beautiful and full of memories. You did a wonderful job! Yes, please, show it all quilted??

That Quilt Fuse looks like handy stuff for something like this. Good to know.

Stephanie D said...

I've never heard of Quilt Fuse, but it sounds like a good thing to have around and certainly easier to use than stitching the T-shirts to musline.

It's looking beautiful!

Mary-Kay said...

Wow! That is beautiful. I hope your sister likes it. Well she better like it after all the work that went in to it. Have a great day.

Unknown said...

It turned out beautifully, she’ll love having it. What a thoughtful gift!

Tammy from quilt-pictures.com said...

That is a beautiful quilt. Most quilts I see made out of shirts are not designed like this. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't read your post about it. I'm sure your sister will love it.

Copyright Jill Buckley