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The Mammoth T-Shirt Quilt
Original blanket - 84" x 70"
Seam ripped, reassembled and made as a quilt - 91" x 102"
Started - December 20, 2022
Finished - February 26, 2023
A quilt for Lisa Zea
Where to start with this quilt story??? There were times I questioned, "What was I thinking when I agreed to work on this project?"
I'm affectionately calling this quilt The Mammoth.
After seeing my quilts, Lisa told me about a t-shirt blanket that a friend had made for Harry. It had fleece on the back with fleece fringe (about 5 inches long) around the perimeter but Harry wasn't using it. I told her that I would be happy to "fix" it and make it useable.
We thought the blanket might be used once the fringe was removed. Then, we noticed that the fleece backing was a "lint collector" and should be removed as well.
With meticulous seam ripping, I was able to get the t-shirts off without removing any of the seams between the shirts. (The shirts had been sewed together as one unit and then stitched to the fleece in columns.)
Another glaring issue was discovered which had been camouflaged because the blanket was so big and bulky.
Once the top was removed from the fleece back, I found the "true problem". The Mammoth was wider than it was tall - approx. 84" by 70". (No photo taken of the before blanket). Harry later told his mom that he didn't use it because it just didn't fit right on his bed.
I removed one of the vertical columns and made it into a bottom row.
Once that was done, it was closer to a rectangle shape and the shape of a bed.
I also found that the shirts had not been stabilized (with interfacing) on the back of the shirts to keep them from stretching/bunching when sewing.
I added the interfacing to every shirt that I removed so it would be easier to put together. In hindsight, I should have taken all the shirts apart, add stabilizer, and then reassemble. However, neither Lisa or I wanted The Mammoth to be a bigger project than it already was.
The Mammoth was now 68" x 81".
Lisa said she wanted it to fit on a queen size bed. She gave me the dimensions she wanted to get close to - 87" x 94" which was the size of a bed covering she had for another bed.
I had some blue denim looking fabric that she liked. (The same blue fabric that was used for his sisters' quilts - Two Memory Quilts for Two Sisters). Unfortunately, I didn't have enough for this project so I placed an order to get more. As I waited for the fabric to arrive, I worked on other quilt projects.
Meanwhile, my mind mulled over how I was going to tackle The Mammoth (not just a queen size quilt but a QUEEN SIZE T-SHIRT QUILT!) on my home machine/aka small machine throat space.
What I decided to do was to put a 2 1/2" (finished) border around the shirts like I would do for a normal quilt, add the batting and backing fabric, and quilt what I had so far. I would add a larger border once that was completed.
Beginning in the center of the quilt, I stitched straight lines (SID) down the columns because they were in a straight line. So far so good. I used monofilament (clear) thread on the quilt top, because of the many t-shirt colors, and navy thread in the bobbin.
Once the stitching of the columns was completed, I began the horizontal stitching starting from the center and working to the edges.
It was reinforced to me the reason you stabilize the shirts before sewing! I did the best I could with what I had to work with but a few of the shirts did bunch and shift as I was sewing. But, progress on The Mammoth must continue!
Finally, I stitched within the shirts around some of the images so the shirts were tacked down but not fully quilted. I've done this for all of my t-shirt quilts where the recipients would not want quilting over the t-shirt designs.
And then, the true ingenuity began!
I squared up the quilt of what I had so far resulting in a 2 1/2" border for the top, batting, and bottom layer. (This 2 1/2" unquilted border was used it for the next step.)
I'm sure that this process has been done before but it was the only way I could figure out in my mind to enlarge the quilt after the fact ~ adding a border to a semi-finished quilt.
I cut borders that were 10" inches wide and attached the first border to the front of the quilt. Next, I "frankenbatted" 10" batting to the 2 1/2" batting showing. And then I sewed a 10" border on the back of the quilt. With each step, I would move the border layers out of the way to sew the next border layer.
Once all of the layers were added and the quilt was enlarged, I ironed everything as smooth as possible both front and back side and pin basted the outer border for quilting.
I decided to quilt this outer border with a water meander design which I thought would be more "masculine" and solve any "wavy border" issues.
Added to The Mammoth's story - Northern California was in the midst of record snow and extreme weather conditions. I had an unexpected "snow day" from work. That was okay by me. It gave me extra time to work on the quilt.
The Mammoth quilt story would not have been complete without a bit of adventure. You hear about sewists playing "bobbin chicken" where they try to finish sewing before the bobbin thread runs out. Well, I was playing "spool chicken".
Unbeknownst to me, I didn't have enough thread to complete the quilting. I'm was merrily quilting along when my spool of thread ran out. I managed to find another spool of the same navy thread to continue sewing but knew that I wouldn't have enough. As I watched my thread spool diminishing once again, I contemplated what I was going to do once it ran out. Thread spool #2 emptied and I proceeded to use every bobbin I had with navy thread. Finally, all of my thread sources were emptied. I was only halfway through with the quilting and the snow was still coming down!
Playing "Spool Chicken"
The weather report said there would be a break in the storm around 3:00 pm on that day (Saturday).
As I waited for the weather to clear, I moved on to making two Euro pillows to match the quilt. I made two pillow forms and began stuffing them. I took the original fleece quilt back, cut it into small pieces, and it became stuffing. Next, I added my batting scraps that I've been saving as pillow filler. Finally, I added some polyester fiberfill to top off the pillows.
For the outer pillow cover, I took the same blue denim quilt fabric and ironed on stabilizer to make it more sturdy and closer to upholstery fabric. I had some blue duck cloth from another pillow project that was perfect for the back side. I made it in an envelope style and added a flange border around the pillows. I love how they turned out and think Lisa will enjoy them too.
During a reprieve from the storm, I trudged through the snow to get my car at the bottom of the driveway and made a trip to Ben Franklins for more thread. Hurray! Thread was purchased, and I made it back home before more snow fell. Neither snow or rain or frigid temperatures was going to keep me from completing The Mammoth!
The quilting of The Mammoth continued after dinner and into the next day.
I did a check in with Lisa about the size and she signed off on it before I added the binding.
I was able to finish the quilt by 10:00 pm on Sunday night.
Every quilt tells a story. This is the story of using some ingenuity to take a finished quilt and make it new and improved. This is one Mammoth (quilt) that made it through a snowstorm, spool chicken, and being quilted on my domestic machine. It was a delight to be part of perserving Harry's memories through this quilt.
Every Quilt Tells A Story
Whether it is the fabrics chosen, the design, the colors, the occasion, the recipient, or the people I quilt with, every quilt tells a story. This blog captures in images and words what has been created for others and for my own home through the hum and stitching of my sewing machine.
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