It went from a pile like this to this!
To This!
This is a big quilt! Measures 87 by 107!!
First I cut out each shirt larger than the block size. I used Pellon Feather Weight Fusible Interfacing 911FF to the back of each shirt. I cut the pellon larger that the shirt size too. This way all of the t-shirt is stabilized. If you skip this step you will have lots of puckers if you do an overall quilt pattern on top or freehand work.
I photograph each piece and "lay" them out in my EQ8 program. Great program because not only can you preview your quilt, but you can change the size, color & layout of your quilt. When you are done you can print out the quilt and templates if you like. Sure beats moving 30 pieces around the bed!
A pair of shorts was in the bag shirts, so deconstructed it and made this block.
I longarm quilt all my quilts. I use the black bars on the end to help keep the quilt from shifting. Harbor Fright Magnetic Tool Holder. I use 5 across the quilt top.
To make sure there wasn't any puckers on the sweater, I used water soluble topping I basted to the quilt top. Quilting over a sweater can be very challenging without topping.
Close Ups
The overall star swirl pattern is easy to see on this block. This is also a combined block.
Combined block.
Combined block.
Space Ships: The top border design is different than the center overall star design.
Back of the quilt
Personalized Quilt Label.