My First Quilt

...was a pain in the ass. But it is done and I've successfully (though definitely not perfectly) made a t-shirt quilt. And you can too, in these easy steps:

1. Cut the shirts into pieces, presumably saving the parts you want. Lay them out on the floor and determine the placing before you get a dog because after you get a dog she will want to play with them.

2. Make sure you have all the supplies you need.

3. Iron the cut shirts onto fusible interfacing or fusible batting. The most efficient method is doing this while your dog is being cute and wants to play with you and the pile of fused shirts. 

4. Wrangle the pieces free and sew them together. Then measure the backing. This should be done on a raised surface - like an ironing board or your bed - unless you want your dog to lie on it. That makes it difficult to work with.

5. Begin the actual quilting. These will be the worst moments of your life.

6. Don't forget to sew through your finger. A full impalement is preferable (see the drop of blood at the tip of my finger), as is passing out afterward. Don't worry, your dog will be there when you wake up.

7. Yay! You're done with the quilting! Lay the quilt out on your bed and get excited because you're almost done. Now it's time to bind.

8. Binding is the way to cover up your mistakes and make the edges pretty. That way you can cut the shirts with your eyes closed and no one will ever know :)

9. Finish binding. You're done! Wash it and give that damn thing away! (Oh, you thought you got to keep it? Oh no no no. You did all that with someone else's t-shirts.)