Yesterday, while waiting to have new tires installed on my SUV, I finalized the design of a t-shirt quilt and conducted an initial phone consult with another customer. Pleased to say that after 4 years in business, I finally received a local referral from someone completely unrelated to family, friends or school/work. The person’s name she gave as the one who gave her my contact information didn’t even ring a bell. That made my day!
Basically, the process goes something like this:
- Decide which t-shirts you want to use in the quilt.
- Launder your t-shirts as usual, but do not use fabric softener.
- Indicate which side of the t-shirt you want used in the quilt.
- Think about colors you might want to use for borders & sashing. Most customers let me choose, but blue and gray are very popular.
- Make arrangements to get the t-shirts to me (local pickup or ship).
- Pay a $100 deposit.That’s all you have to do. I do the rest.
Lead times vary, depending on my day job and how busy I am with other quilts in the queue. I have completed a twin-size in as little as 3 weeks (around a full-time job). Lead times during busy season (like right now with graduation) might be 8-12 weeks.
Final price depends on number of t-shirts, size of quilt, extended borders, photo blocks, pieced blocks, etc. I can give you an estimate when you first contact me; however, the final price will be determined once I see your items.
I will send you updates periodically during the process. If you have a firm deadline, please communicate this at the very beginning. Once completed, I will send you a photo of the quilt and we will make delivery arrangements at that time. Any balance due must be paid before I ship the quilt. Local customers can pay at pick-up.
Then, enjoy your fabulous new quilt and wrap yourself up in memories!
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 
Congratulations on the referral! I don’t have a business but I’ve been commissioned by a ‘friend of a friend’ to make a t-shirt quilt. This will be my first! I noticed you mentioned to launder the shirts but not to use fabric softener, why is that? and what type of stabilizer do you use for the shirts? Thanks in advance for your help.
Thanks for the kudos. Fabric softener can interfere with the fusing process when applying interfacing. If the fusible interfacing won’t stick, I stop and put all t-shirts for that quilt in the washing machine.
I use Pellon SF101 (Shapeflex) which is a 100% cotton woven interfacing. Bosal Fashion Fuse is my favorite, but it’s expensive. The Pellon product is very similar and you can get it at the big box craft store. I buy it by the bolt when it’s 50% off (or with a coupon). Have fun and good luck with your t-shirt quilt.