The T-Shirt Quilt

Here is a little preview of the T-Shirt quilt I have been working on for Ashley. She gave me everything right before we moved to NC and then I lost my sewing machine pedal. After a six month hiatus, I finally picked it up and starting working on it again! To be honest, I was a little intimidated by not only the size, but the material. T-Shirts are very stretchy and curl a little. Once I started on it I gained my confidence back and its been smooth sewing!!

The kitchen is my work space. I would do it all in my sewing room but......



My sewing machine is actually in my closet. :) Hey, whatever works!



It is going to be quite big. This is laid out on a queen sized bed.



I thought it needed a bit of a border so I got some jersey to frame in the squares.



The top and the bottom are done, but I ran out of material to put the middle together. Then I just have to put the batting and backing on and its finished!



I tried everything to get the little squares from the fronts of the shirts to work in the quilt. All my ideas either made it look tacky, or weren't possible to get all the squares to line up. I thought about something cute to do with them that she might like and came up with a few ideas. I first thought about a pillow to match the blanket, but since the material is so stretchy, that wouldn't work. I guess I should mention that Ashley is very organized. Now what would somebody who is organized enjoy??????


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A BAG!!!! I know I should have asked what she wanted, but I really wanted to surprise her. :)









I even threw in a zippered pocket! I hope she likes it.

A Kentucky Tractor

I was asked to make a tractor for a little boy whose dad is a farmer in Kentucky. I wanted to personalize it a little so I decided to put his first and middle initial on the tractor. It was then that I realized the proud parents strategically named the little guy so his initials will be UK. Only in Kentucky!!! Well, I hope they like it and at least this way it can be handed down. :)



Oh yeah, I wanted to find a better way to present the shirts than just flat on the counter. I had seen people that hang them on a line with clothespins and I always thought it was cute. I had neither clothespins or a line so I used a magnet on the refrigerator. Maybe its time to look into some pins. (heh)

Easter Ideas

Marie had mentioned that a friend may want something for her boy and girl for Easter. I made a few different ones since whatever she didn't want, I could use for David and Sophia (and maybe their cousins). I learned that bunnies turn out either cute or creepy. They were a little tricky, but I think I got it. Notice how when put next to each other some of the appliques are looking at each other. :) None of these have actually been sewn onto a shirt, I was just trying to give you an idea of how big/small they were. I can put them on any size/any color shirt for you. Let me know what you think and thanks again for taking the time to look at this stuff! It really means a lot to me!

Our newest creations

I have only been working with felt for less than four months so my mind has been spinning with new ideas. Everything I see makes me think "I wonder what that would look like on a shirt?" Sophia helped me make these. She is my assistant pin-giver and color coordinator. I love standing in the kitchen with felt everywhere and Sophia by my side standing on her chair. I know that now only are we making fun things with felt, we are making memories. Let me know what you think.

How The Shirts are Made

The first thing you will need to do is pick a simple design. Coloring books make excellent sources for fun and simple ideas. That is where I found this moose. I thought it was pretty cute.



Next you will want to get everything together that you will need. It doesn't take much. You will need felt, sharp scissors, pins, a needle, a framing circle, several colors of thread and a shirt or Onesie to put it on.



Then simply pin your drawing to the felt and cut out the pieces. Start with the biggest pieces and work your way down. Don't worry about cutting perfectly at first. You can trim any choppy edges when you are done. Felt is very forgiving.



Cut out your other pieces.



Here are all the pieces of the moose. Do any trimming you need before you sew it together.



Then put all the pieces together and make sure they look right. You can always add something to it later, or take something off if you decide you don't like it.



To start the thread, I go through the felt one time. Then I tie three knots in it. I am not sure if that is really the right way to start a thread, but it works for me. I double my thread as well to make it a little stronger and more visible.



Next you just sew it all together. Take your time and sew along the edge. Don't worry if they aren't completely straight. I like putting mine on a background for many reasons. First, it really makes them look nice. Second, when you sew a design directly to a shirt, the fabric of the shirt makes the thread get weaker every time you pass it through so you have to change the thread a lot for it not to come apart later. Last, I can make many patches and sew them on a shirt another time.





To finish your thread, just made a pass through another stitch on the back. I am not sure how to word it better than that, but if you have troubles, there are many video tutorials on You-Tube. I have learned many many tricks that way.




Now your applique is done! Yay!



It's time to use the framing circle to put the applique on a shirt. Make sure that it is centered and straight, then pin it down. I decided not to put this one on a Onesie after all since I thought it would make a really cute shirt for Sophia.



Decide what color you want to use to sew it on the shirt. I had some pink embroidery floss that I thought would look nice. Floss is good to use since its only about 40 cents a color.



They come five strands thick so you will want to separate them. I use two at a time.




It's done! And it turned out great!



Last, put it on your little one and be proud of what you made! This one took about four hours start to finish. It was totally worth it!

Here it is

I love how when working with felt, with each step you take your appliques just look better and better. Here is the finished onesie. I decided last minute it still needed something else and added the red border. I am really happy with how it turned out and hope the proud parents will love it too.

Suggestions?

My first Blog comment was from my friend Ashley. She said that she really liked one of my gnomes and that she also really liked the coloring of another gnome which was really sweet of her to say. After I thought about it for a minute (beaming with pride of course at my first comment), I was like "THAT'S IT!" The gnomes needed red hats! I know she wasn't saying that there was anything wrong with what I had made, she just made me realize that they could be better. What I am trying to say is that I would LOVE your input on my felt stuff. If you think I could change something to make them better, please let me know. That is the whole point of Blogs right? I thought the gnomes were pretty cute, but after changing just the color of their hats, it made them perfect! Thanks Ashley. :)

My first order!

So for my first order, I was asked to make a gnome. Not just any gnome but a gnome that is "maybe cute, maybe not." Here was what I came up with. Jeff was off today so I got to obsess about it. Thanks Jeff. :)

Things that can be made with felt.

The felt I use is 100% recycled post consumer plastic. It is machine washable and can be put in the dryer making it appropriate for kids clothes. They just need to be turned inside out before you wash them and never-EVER wash them in hot water. The color will bleed. Handmade clothes have a certain charm to them that you just can't help but to smile when you see them. If you have something in mind that you would like me to make for you please feel free to email me! I LOVE the challenge of taking an idea from somebody's head and making it into a shirt. Thank you for taking a look at my creations!



































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