planning a memory quilt

[jrabbit]

I'm planning to make 3 *functional* quilts for my daughters, using clothes from their infancy/childhood. A lot of the clothing is tshirt material - stretchy knits. I've googled tshirt quilts, and THAT isn't what I have in mind ... I also don't want to use fusible web nor buy any fabric. I know - that's a lot of stipulations! I'm thinking little 2x2 squares pieced together *or* a circle pattern *or* something along those lines. I don't care if it's stretchy, I just want it to hold up to a lifetime of use. I will buy fabric for the backing & binding, but I want to recycle the rest. Another thought was thrift store fabric or denim for the backing. It will be hand-quilted, most likely.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Would machine raw edge applique work without fusible?


--janis

[junewedding02]

I have made sevearl quilts with t-shirts and other recycled clothing - and I can't imagine sewing on stretchy material without doing a fusible backing behind it. Even with the fusible backing I found it still shifted more than a 100% cotton.

1 t-shirt quilt I made about 7 yrs ago for my dad is holding up great with almost daily use (with the fusible backing).

I guess if you really didn't want to use the backing just use smaller pieces - it's really going to stretch though!

good luck!

[sunnysandiegan]

I started taking quilting classes JUST so I could learn make a baby clothes quilt for my DD. I learned A LOT about sewing and quilting in those free classes. I would definitely use at least the knit interfacing. There are a variety of interfacings out there. Which one you use is highly subjective, but using one or not is fairly universal. Recycling other fabrics is a great idea for the back. I would use the appropriate interfacing again, if the fabric was really thin and/or stretchy. If you want the quilt to last a long time, then you don't want it pulling and stretching as much as it will with no interfacing. You will end up repairing it frequently, which will reduce it's lifespan.

If you are trying to avoid the content of commercial interfacing, I hear you. You could "line" the front of the quilt with a very stable fabric with a lot of stitching to hold it's shape and then do the sandwich layers of the quilt.

[mollipop]

I second the recommendation to use fusible interfacing. You can get a featherweight interfacing that you won't be able to even tell is there. I've done several t-shirt quilts (knit baseball jerseys) and the fabric is pretty stretchy to sew without some backing- especially if you want to do shapes other than squares.
I vote for thrift store fabric for your backing. Denim would be difficult to handquilt through. An old flannel sheet would be perfect for the backing if you need a quilt on the warmer side. Low thread count sheets are also OK for backing but be careful that the weave isn't too tight- also hard to handquilt.
HTH
Sarah