What is a T-shirt quilt?
T-shirt Quilts are quilts that are made out of your t-shirts. We take the logos/designs on the front, back or both (of your choosing) and place them into block form; sew them together with sashing of your color choice and add the same colored border. 3T quilts are professionally quilted with machine stitched binding or hand stitched depending on the size. See our T-Shirt Gallery for a few examples
What is a square?
A standard square is 14 inches on all sides. A square can be made from the back, front, or both sides of a t-shirt, sweatshirt, jersey, etc. It can also contain anything you want us to sew onto a 14 inch blank square.
What is fusible interfacing?
Fusible interfacing is a polyester/nylon blend material applied to the back of each design in order to stabilize the very flexible, stretchy material of t-shirts and sweatshirts. Interfacing is used to ensure a consistent and accurate square and thus make an attractive quilt.
What is sashing?
Sashing is a 2 inch border around every shirt in the t-shirt quilt. Sashing especially enhances a t-shirt quilt when many of the t-shirts are the same color. You can choose the sashing color from our choices of 100% cotton fabric. Our fabric colors are black, red, or royal blue. We do not recommend creating a t-shirt quilt without the sashing fabric because the sashing provides more stability to your quilt and is more aesthetically pleasing.
What is backing & binding?
Backing is the fabric on the side opposite your t-shirts. It is a 100% cotton fabric. Binding shows as a one-half inch border around the edge of the entire quilt. We use a double folded fabric binding since the edges of quilts are subject to wear and this type of binding is very neat and more durable than a single layer binding.
What is batting?
Batting is the soft filling between the quilt top and the backing. We use a white polyester microfiber that is a low loft.
What is a pillow form?
A pillow form is the stuffing of the pillow already encased in material to create the form of a pillow. We then stuff this form in the t-shirt pillow case that we create for you, instead of using a fiberfill stuffing. We use PolyDown pillow forms because they keep their shape better and also feel more like down pillows.
What is Machine Quilting?
Machine quilting is the use of a sewing machine to stitch together the three layers of the quilt (top, batting and backing). 3T quilts are professional quilted with a longarm quilting machine using a beautiful freehand looping pattern which results in a very attractive and stable quilt. Many t-shirt quilt companies do not quilt their quilts, but rather they may sandwich the layers together by hand tying, spot tacking, or simply by stitching in the seams that join the shirts, therefore resulting in a less stable quilt. Our quilts are beautifully machine quilted throughout each t-shirt block for durability and strength. However, we will have tie quilts and stitched quilts available for purchase in our shopping cart, but they will be much smaller in size and will not be t-shirt quilts.
What about special requests?
We are happy to accommodate your special requests - just ask!
Can I wash my quilt?
Yes. 3T Studios Quilts are as washable as the materials selected to go in them. T-shirt quilts made of pre-washed cotton t-shirts can be simply machine washed with cold water on a gentle cycle and machine dried. BUT - Realize that you may be washing colored shirts with white shirts. So it is a good idea to use something to prevent the dye from migrating from the colored shirts to the white shirts - like a Shout Color Catcher Cloth. The Color Catcher Cloth will absorb and trap loose dyes. If there are shirts in your quilt that can not be washed you will want to have your quilt dry cleaned.
What if my t-shirts have holes or stains in them?
Stains and small tears can add character to the t-shirt quilt, especially if there is a fun story to go along with it! We accept any t-shirt you provide.
Can I use both the front and back of a shirt?
Yes. You can use the front, the back or both as panels in a quilt.
Can I arrange the shirts?
You can arrange all the shirts by making a chart and pinning numbers to your shirts. You can also pick a few shirts for special positioning, such as: "place 2001 senior play shirt in the middle." Most people leave the layout to us, but you can participate as much as you like.
How big are the squares?
Our regular squares are finished to 14" x 14". They are cut bigger than that to allow for the sewing. However, some collections of shirts have very big logos. When that is the case we use oversized squares that are finished to 16" x ? and then make up the difference on other squares.
What happens to the scraps from my t-shirts after the squares have been cut?
We disposes of the t-shirt scraps for you. If you would like us to save your scraps, we can ship them back for a postage & handling fee.
How do I cancel an order that I have placed?
You MUST call us at 214/736-2921 to cancel an order. If it is during off hours please leave a voice mail including your name and identifying information. (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CANCELLATIONS THROUGH THE E-MAIL)
Can I place an order by phone?
Of course! Call us @ 214/736-2921, any time between
9am-6pm CST Monday - Friday.
Can I use my quilt as a wall hanging?
Yes! You can have a hanging sleeve attached to the back of your quilt to accommodate a hanging rod for an added charge of $15.00. The hanging rod is not included.
Customer Service
We pride ourselves on our high level of customer service. We appreciate that you are concerned about sending your treasured memories in the mail, and we want you to be comfortable knowing that we at 3T Studios will handle your t-shirts with extreme care. We will let you know when your shirts arrive, as well as an expected completion date via an email. We will also take a picture of the t-shirts and place them in the "In Progress" section of our website. As time permits, we will even try to place pictures of the progression in this same section. You will then be notified when your quilt is completed and ready to ship. We will contact you with any questions we may have along the way to make sure your quilt is made according to your wishes. Please note that 3T Studios reserves the right to use photos of your quilts on our site and/or in advertising without compensation.
We want to make sure that you have every question answered. You can always call us at 214/736-2921 (It is best to call between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (CST) or send an e-mail through our CONTACT FORM.
