Interfacing…sounds boring right? Well, I think interfacing is the secret to a good t-shirt quilt, and it makes the process of making the quilt much easier. I use Pellon 911 Featherweight interfacing. I cut out the t-shirt pieces bigger than I need with interfacing of the matching size. For instance I cut classic blocks to 14.5” to interface the blocks. Then I use a steam press to apply the interfacing to the t-shirt piece. Once the blocks are interfaced, I cut them to the appropriate size. For Classic T-shirt quilts that size is 13.5 inches. Custom piece sizes depend on the design, and I usually don’t cut those pieces until the design is finalized.
The image shows a red t-shirt piece with the corner turned up showing its interfacing on the back laying on top of the bolt of interfacing. A hand with rings is holding the corner of the shirt piece.
Yes, I do cut every piece individually twice…working to center the graphics or the piece that is important in the clothing. T-shirts are not the only pieces of clothing I interface, either. Any fabric that is stretchy or thin can benefit from interfacing. I always use a pressing cloth to help in the steam press process.
The image shows the red interfaced t-shirt piece on top of the bolt of interfacing.
I am still sometimes surprised by how much interfacing benefits a piece of clothing. I have had customers who are worried about worn, well-loved clothing, and I always assure them that the clothing will “wake up” with a little interfacing. Even the rattiest t-shirts I have been given to use in a quilt look beautiful in the quilt. Of course sometimes I have to repair a hole or two, but once the interfacing is applied that shirt is ready to live a new life in a quilt where it will receive less wear and tear, and the interfacing is giving it an extra layer.
Interfacing does not add a lot of weight to a t-shirt quilt; the t-shirt fabric is really what makes t-shirt quilts a bit heavier, but I use a lighter batting, too…which I will talk about in another post!
T-shirt quilts are so beautiful and cuddly, and I sew them to last and look their best. And each one is cut and sewn with care and respect to the memories going into each quilt. Interfacing is just one of the tools I use to make quilted memories.
Sending Quilty Love,
Ginger
Reading this week: I finished The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (So good!), and I made lots of progress in You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe. I will likely pick up the next Louise Penny book…I tend to read those in threes and then take a break…I do have a menagerie of books waiting in my future reading pile…maybe I will pick up one of those…the possibilities make me giddy! What are you reading?
NPR, WUNC are still great places to hear unbiased news. Kindness matters more than ever.