Yes!  Just about any type of material that lays flat will work. But there are a few exceptions!  Below is a list of what we can and cannot use.  If you don’t see the type of shirt on this list, please feel free to contact us.

Acceptable

• cotton T-shirt
• sports jerseys  (please be aware that if you send us a tank style it will incur extra piecing charges.
• tech type t-shirts
• sweatshirts
• nightgowns 
• most lightweight jackets can be used (nylon)
• jogging pants
• pajamas

Unacceptable

• cheerleading uniforms
• dance costumes
• heavily sequenced items
• hats
• knit items such as sweaters, afghans, scarves etc.

We do not send out emails, but all you need to do is check Orders Received page on our website.  Usually shirts received are posted within 24 hours.

Some customers have pre-cut their shirts thinking they could save some money on shipping them to us, only to find out that they cut them too small for us to make our normal block size. In these cases, we either have to rebuild the blocks that are too small by piecing them or cut all the blocks a smaller size which reduces the size of the quilt. We charge an additional $8.50 to piece a block, so the pre-cutting can actually end up costing you more money. If you have large to X-large shirts, adult male shirts or larger you could possibly pre-cut them but we require a minimum 16″ X 16″ block.

Yes, we print photos onto a soft premium cotton knit fabric. We need an electronic file such as jpg. You can read more about our photos on our options page. We charge an additional $15.00 a block per photo block.

When your quilt is almost ready to ship you will receive your final invoice by email. You can open your invoice in your email and pay it directly from your email. Once we have received your final balance your quilt will be shipped to you. We cannot accept any Money Orders.

Recently we’ve been asked this question quite a bit since some companies have recently started to claim they make T-shirt quilts. Here is my response to most of those emails.

“YES!!!!  We do use an interfacing on the backs of these shirts.  If you’ve been shopping around on the internet, there a few sites that discourage this procedure.  The reason they discourage this is because  they simply are not selling quilts.  They are selling blankets and mis-leading customers into thinking they are quilts..  With a blanket, there is no batting in-between the layers and no need to machine quilt the layers together.  We use a soft interfacing on the backs of the shirts to stabilize the shirt for the quilting process.  This interfacing breaks down (almost dissolving) after multiple washes, leaving the quilt that much softer.  Within the last few years, quite a few new sites have popped up indicating that they make t-shirt “quilts” when in fact they are making “blankets,”   discouraging the use of interfacing which has been the standard practice for t-shirt quilts from experienced quilters for years and years.

Because of this recent competition, I decided I would offer the same product as they were offering.  A simple quilt “blanket” made only of un-stabilized t-shirts  with a fleece backing.  I made up a sample quilt… I did not back the shirts with interfacing and put a fleece backing on it.  After I had completed it, I realized I just could not put out quality like that.  It was very, very stretchy, it felt awful.   I washed it and watched the two ply of layers shrink inconsistently leaving it very distorted.   Because of this experiment,  I decided I would not compete with this type of product.   I really feel for all the people who are getting mis-led by these companies. We are frequently getting asked if we can fix a quilt like this. Our answer is usually no.

Please make sure you are comparing apples to apples when shopping around for a t-shirt quilt company to fill your needs.

Their “quilt”….

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Our quality quilt!

You are more than welcome to send us your own fabric. The fabric must be quilters grade 100% cotton. Please refer to the chart below for yardages.  We cannot accept backing fabric but we welcome you to send your own sashing and corner block fabrics.  We will supply a backing fabric to coordinate with your fabric.  We will also deduct $20 from your total order if fabric is included.

We understand that shipping your memories may seem scary. However, the tracking systems used by carriers today know precisely where your package is at any time. In the 16 years we’ve been in business, we have never had a customer lose their package shipping it to us and we have never lost one shipping their quilt back.

We also do our best to take good care of your shirts while they are in our hands. Your order is logged into our system and placed in its own separate bin. Your bin contains all the information you sent us and your order is printed out exactly how you originally entered it.  It is attached to your bin along with your name, and stored in a rack system that keeps every order separate.

When your order is started, we review all your notes and instructions again to ensure complete accuracy.

Shipping costs depend on the size of the box, the weight, and the distance and area from which it is shipped from. You can’t change the area you live in, but you can use the smallest box possible.

Pack the shirts in the box as tight as possible without overstuffing the box. Rolling the shirts, or a tight folding job, makes a huge difference on how small a box you can use.

A box with that has extra space will most likely be crushed and subject to opening. The boxes that show up in good condition and unharmed are those that were packed nice and tight with a quality shipping tape. The boxes that show up crushed and partially opened are the oversize boxes with a sparse amount of tape.  Please do not use styrofoam peanuts! This is just a waste of money and creates a mess when it’s opened.

Please use one large bag to put all the shirts in before you box them up. A trash bag is fine. The bag’s purpose is to keep all the shirts together should your box become crushed or opened.  Individual bags do quite the opposite. They are slick and if a box is crushed or opened, they can slide out very easily. 

We ask that you do not ask for a confirmed signature.  We do not always work set hours and sometimes we are away during deliveries. We have video surveillance in the area where we receive packages and once the package is delivered (if we are not there) we get phone notifications.  If we need to sign for your package, that creates a delay in us receiving it because we then have to physically go to the post office and pick it up.  

If you need a signature, please use UPS. They always require a signature and they will redeliver the next day if we are not there.

Normally we use the side that has the largest graphic. If you want us to use both sides of the shirt, please mark the shirt with either a note pinned to it or write on painters tape and stick it on the cloth of the t-shirt – not the graphic.   Please do not use masking tape as this causes a residue hard to remove.  You also need to mark the shirt if you think we will be unsure of what side to use.  Please do NOT use Duct tape.

Normally we just arrange the shirts by alternating lights and darks. You may however use one of our layout grids provided here Layout Sheets or you also can simply snap a picture of the layout and include it with the shirts.  These pictures can be printed out with black and white ink or color.

Quilts look good when there is a balanced number of rows. For example, if you sent 20 t-shirts, the quilt would be in rows of 5 blocks x 4 blocks and this would look good. If someone sent us 23 t-shirts, we would need to add an extra graphic to bring it up to a 24 (long twin).  Quilts look best when the following number of shirts are sent:  16, 20, 24, 25, 30, 36, 42, 49.

Sometimes we need to build up a shirt to construct a block . A tank top is a good example or a deep V neck shirt, or if the shirts were precut too small to make a full block. We charge an additional $8.50 per block to piece the block together. We try to use the original fabric from the shirt to make it look seamless.

If you would like to combine 2 shirts together, or possibly small pocket or sleeve logos. We can do that ! The $8.50 piecing charge per block will also apply

Generally it is one shirt per block, we can use  both the front and back of a shirt. We can also combine smaller graphics into one block. 

(Additional $8.50 charge per block to piece together a block)

Cost depends on the size, the style you choose, and any other options you may choose such as Photo Blocks, Borders or Embroidery.

Click on the Styles and Pricing page to view.

We will not make an entire quilt out of baby or toddler items .  Baby items such as clothing, sleepers, and bids are too small to make a block from. Toddler shirts are also too small to make a decent block size from. These items are very tedious to take apart and deconstruct to lay flat and cost prohibitive.  Each block would include the additional $8.50 piecing charge . Even though we charge this, we still feel that we can not break even from the amount of extra time it takes to construct this type quilt. We do not mind one or two items we may be able to do a simple applique onto some fabric or a baby blanket that can be cut into square blocks. Please contact us first  if you are considering sending us something along these lines

No, It would be impossible for us to construct and quilt it the way we do and have it perfectly aligned. When you make a quilt the back fabric is oversized and then trimmed off after the entire sandwich of a top ,batting and a back are all quilted together. You may find another company who may do it using a hand tied method, or little to no quilting at all . 

Yes, we realize we get a lot of visitors to our wonderful coastal town of Southport and you are welcome to stop by the shop and drop off your shirts, or if you just want to chat or pet Sweet Pea our Golden Retriever that is okay also. We are normally open for customers Mon-Fri 10am-4pm. we also have a drop box next to the front door for after hours. If you would like an appointment, please contact us through the contact form on the website. 

As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but enable it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Plan ahead and communicate! We are always backlogged at least 7-8 weeks and during the busy seasons of graduation and Christmas it can get to 9-12 weeks. So plan accordingly! Secondly, communicate by email , and make sure it is on your electronic order form so that we know. We can make adjustments to the work schedule this way. It also helps us stay on schedule as opposed to being bombarded with last minute request from the customers who did not plan ahead. We try to make everyone happy..so plan ahead..and communicate!