Machine-Quilted T-shirt Quilt

Shaner's Ma brought over all of his old t-shirts from high school and I had no idea what to do with them. I basically decided that they would forever stay in their little storage box up in the attic, albeit it was neat for me to go through and see all the different activities he had done! But then I realized that, because they were all basically in the same color scheme, I could make a really neat quilt out of them for him (and Vince, since it would eventually end up on his bed).

I think it turned out quite fabulous, if I may say so.

I used a tutorial/layout I found here for measurement purposes on my twin-sized quilt. 

The first step was to prep the t-shirts for cutting. Cut up the sides and remove the sleeves so that you are only working with the front of the shirt. 

Then, place some stabilizer material on the back of the shirt. T-shirt material is super stretchy, so in order to make it a workable piece of fabric for this quilt, it needs to have an iron-on (or sew-on) stabilizing material. I just grabbed some iron-on from JoAnn. 

Using a square cutout of the size you want (I made my cutouts out of foam board), cut out the main portion of the t-shirt that you want displayed on the quilt. The pattern I used utilizes 16 1/2" total squares  (including the bordering fabric for each square). So according to the tutorial for a twin size, I cut four 6 1/2" squares (using the t-shirts with a small logo on the front corner), eleven 12 1/2" squares, and two 14 1/2" squares. 

One completed square.

Once all of the squares have been cut to size, I laid them out to see what design looked the best, trying to keep whites and blues/golds separated by at least one block.

The next step is to sew bordering fabric onto each t-shirt block. Luckily, I had some nice blue and white fabric laying around in my craft closet so I didn't have to purchase the border material. I cut out wide enough strips to allow for a total of 16 1/2" squares after being added. 

(Note: for the 6 1/2" t-shirt blocks, I did what the tutorial chart showed (see here) and cut out four extra 6 1/2" squares to make one 4-piece block. (See photo below.)

Above is the quilt prior to the final border and the quilt batting being added.

I did end up quilting my quilt with a machine and I think it turned out phenomenal. It was my first time using a real quilting machine and it actually wasn't too difficult! The lady who taught me (and let me use her machine) taught me the "puzzle" pattern, as it is one of the easier ones. It was perfect for this quilt. 

I used a light blue thread to quilt it so that it would stand out, but also blend in, you know?

The last step was just to add the binding.

Again, the finished product turned out pretty great. And it really didn't take too long to make, mostly because I was so excited to have it finished! Unfortunately, we didn't end up getting V-man a twin bed yet, so this quilt is too small for his queen. But fortunately, that means I can get rid of tons of MY old t-shirts and make a queen-sized quilt. I'm working on that one now, so pictures and instructions to follow! 

DIY Closet Remodel

T and Miss Aly have been doing a lot of renovating in their charming new home. Their latest project was a closet renovation to create more storage space. T sent me the following photos and how-to instructions in hopes of helping out someone in need of instruction.

Step 1: Pre-job. Moving stuff out of the way. Miss Aly was happy to get started.

Step 2: Pull off all trim, doors, and closet interior.

Step 3: Tape off where you want the closet to go. 

Step 4: Drywall demo. Prior to this step, T had to re-route wiring. Be sure to use an accessible junction box at each splice. Boxes are inside the closet.

Step 5: Because the wall is non-load bearing, T opted for only two 2x4's as the header. Arguably should have used 2x6's. 

Step 6: T had to buy an entire sheet of drywall to patch his small mess. Good thing drywall is cheap. 

Step 7: Fortunately, the inside of the old door had this nice trim. T used one of the tall lengths to span the closet. 

Step 8: T bought a sheet of 3/4" medium density fiberboard for the built in shelf. Shelf pre-fabricated before fastening to wall. He used red oak from Home Depot to patch in the gap left from the previous wall.

 Step 9: T used some cheap trim to cover the base of the closet and around the interior of the door.

Step 10: Apply a coat of latex Kilz primer on all the wood.

Step 11: Used Behr premium ultra Polar Bear White (their favorite paint color by volume) to coat the interior.

Step 12: These doors are just from Lowes. Two 36" bi-fold doors mounted at each side of the opening.

Step 13: Closet doors installed with sample colors on walls.

 

Step 14: Used Kilz Complete oil-based primer to prime the trim with polar bear white to finish it off Used Behr Premium Elephant skin gray for the rest of the room. 

Step 15: Paint all trim and walls to match. 

And there you have it! A beautiful finished product. Not only does it look great, it also saved them money by DIY-ing it!

Total project cost (estimated)

Doors: $110
Lumber: $90
Paint and caulk: $80
Oak Flooring: $70
New Trim: $40
Total: $390
Hours: 50 (Aly and I combined)
DIY savings: (Around $1000)

So go ahead and do-it-yourself! You'll save money, have a personalized look, and feel very fulfilled in the end.