Process

In t‑shirt quilting, a block is a square or rectangle that usually contains at least one t‑shirt. Many blocks joined together form a large square or rectangle, which becomes your quilt. One quilt can have many blocks or very few.

Each block can have many pieces or just one. In the blue quilt shown, there are 16 blocks, which are the white squares. If each white square represents one t‑shirt, then each block would consist of a single piece, the t‑shirt itself.

A block can also contain several pieces, like the ones on the left made from half‑square triangles. See if you can spot them in this brightly colored quilt. The middle picture shows one of the 12 blocks in the quilt. Each of the 12 blocks is made up of 29 pieces, and the entire quilt contains 428 pieces.

The image below shows the layout of the top (front) portion of a Blocky quilt. The three items listed may make up the front of your quilt.

Quilting is the stitching that holds all three layers together. It is stitched from the top through all layers on a special long‑arm quilting machine. The quilting design you choose will show on the back as well. Quilting is what makes it a quilt. You’ll select the stitch pattern you want for your quilting. Learn more about quilting designs here.

Batting is the stuffing that goes in the middle of the quilt “sandwich.” It is made from wool, cotton, polyester, or a blend of the two, and is typically no more than ¼” thick. Batting adds warmth and helps define the quilting.

The back of the quilt is not always visible unless it’s turned over. Fabrics called “wide backs” are ideal for most quilts because they cover the entire back without needing a seam. We can also custom‑create a back to your liking. The back should look as good as the front!