T-Shirt Quilt

My sister-in-law used to play competitive tennis when she was in high school and college and she had amassed quite the collection of tennis tournament shirts.  I volunteered to make them into a t-shirt quilt, my only request was that I be given a year to finish it to work it in between all my other projects.  Luckily, I finished it in 8 months, well within my self-imposed deadline.

I have made 2 t-shirt quilts in the past, one for me and one for my husband, using our old college and high school t-shirts.  It is such a great way to get those shirts out of your drawers and made into something useful that you can enjoy using.  Plus, I love the way that t-shirt quilts are heavier than the usual quilts that I make, it makes them especially comfy in the colder months!

Here is the finished quilt:

 

I bound it and backed it with a gray crosshatch fabric.  I ended up using only t-shirts with a white background, and it is neat the way that they all blend into one another that way.  

I don't like t-shirt quilts that only use the one size t-shirt with the sashing between each shirt (though I realize that it is a lot easier to do them this way).  Instead, I use a basis of 3" for my shirts and cut all shirts either 3.5" square, 6.5" square, 9.5" square, 12.5" square, 15.5" square, or any rectangle made up of those numbers (ex 12.5" x 15.5", 6.5" x 9.5").  Then I lay them all out and fit them together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.  This method takes a little bit longer but it makes a one-of-a-kind quilt!