Welcome back! If you are following along, you have cut out all of the t-shirts that you want to use for your quilt. Honestly, that can be the hardest step....as I know the fear of cutting that shirt for the first time!
This post will be talking about stabilizer! I use stabilizer on all of my t-shirt quilts - for all types of shirts (t-shirts from 100% cotton to drifit to sweatshirts to jerseys)...the stabilizer makes it all an even playing field and will help when sewing them together. In general, t-shirt material is stretchy and can be quite difficult, but stabilizer will help to get the perfect seams and cuts.
Here is the stabilizer that I use, I exclusively use this brand, many will work, but this is my favorite
I will add a link below for this....one of the reasons that I love this product is that it is lightweight and comes in white and black and two different sizes. I prefer this size, but the 14" x 25ft is convenient if you are doing block t-shirt quilts and know the size....less waste that way! (No worries if you don't know how to make those, that type of quilt might be the next blog series!)
To start with this stabilizer, I usually cut it into 3 strips 20" wide and then sub cut those every 17" or so. Next is to take each shirt and make sure your stabilizer will cover the graphic.
I only trim off extra if it will allow a large enough piece for a different shirt - minimum would be a 5x5 to allow for seam allowance of a 4x4 square (remember, we are doing all the measurements in 4 inch increments - you can choose any number that you want, I like using multiples of 4).
Flip your shirt over and place the stabilizer on the back with the rough/bumpy side down.
Once satisfied with placement, place a Teflon ironing sheet over the stabilizer and use your iron with NO STEAM. Hold over each part of the stabilizer for 8-10 seconds.
Bonus tip, I have an extra wide ironing board - it may not seem like a big difference but when you are putting stabilizer on 40-50 shirts and you can fit the entire shirt on the board and not have to readjust it after just stabilizing half, it save so much time!
Once finished, put the all in a flat stack, no creases! Next post will show how to cut them into blocks that are multiples of 4"!
Here are some links of the products I use, some of them are affiliates with Amazon which just means if you use the link to purchase, I get a little from that at no cost to you.
Stabilizer - https://amzn.to/3t9qBSF
Extra Wide Ironing Board - https://amzn.to/3RBj1dI
Sunbeam Iron - https://amzn.to/3PvfWcq
Teflon Heat Resistant Mat - https://amzn.to/3tdciMC
Large Cutting Mat - https://amzn.to/3RAY0Qf
Thanks for reading! See you next time for Cutting Out Blocks!
Jennifer
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