Memory Quilts: Everything You Need to Know

Are you looking for a unique way to turn old clothes into something beautiful and functional? Then memory quilts are perfect for you!

Through a memory quilt, you can use old pieces of blankets, baby clothes, curtains, ties, and pants to create something new. You can incorporate any item made of fabric into a memory quilt if you find the right pattern!

Memory quilts are great because of their versatility. Along with being able to choose the fabric it is made of, you can choose any quilting pattern making it a great project for beginner or advanced quilters!

I will be going over the basic instructions for creating a memorial quilt and laying out everything you need to know.

To find free patterns or see all of the ways a memory quilt can be made check out memory quilt patterns you can sew.

What is a Memory Quilt?

You may have seen or even made a memory quilt before, without really knowing what it is. Memory quilts are a collection of fabrics from different pieces that hold meaning sewn together to create one beautiful piece.

One of the more common forms of memory quilts is one made out of old t-shirts. After you or someone else outgrows them, it can be hard to throw away such sentimental pieces. But you can also make a memory quilt out of any meaningful fabric.

Materials

The first step in making a memory quilt is to gather all of your materials. Not sure what I’m talking about? Go here when you need help understanding some of the quilting terms.

1. Sewing supplies
   a. You can make a memory quilt either with a sewing machine or if you don’t have one you can hand sew. Either way, you will need:
   i. Thread
   ii. Needle or sewing machine
   iii. Pins
2. Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
3. Memory material
   a. While you are able to use anything you want for your quilt, picking items that are made of the same fabric and can be washed makes it much easier!
   b. If you are a beginner quilter, cotton fabrics are the easiest to work with and are recommended!
4. Fabric
   a. It is possible to make a memory quilt using only the memory fabric, but if you would like a different backing or if you choose a more complex pattern you may need some additional fabric to work with.
5. Batting(optional)
   a. Click here for a tutorial on how to choose batting.
6. Seam ripper(optional)
   a. This is especially useful if you are making your quilt out of pants/dress shirts or want to use the most amount of fabric possible, but it is not completely necessary.

How much fabric do I need?

One of the great things about memory quilts is how versatile they can be. Along with choosing what items you want to use, and the quilt pattern, the size is dependent on you, how much fabric you have, and what you want the end product to look like.

If you are working with one or two shirts or just a few ties it might be better to make something like a pillow or a quilt that can be hung on the wall for decoration as this will allow the memory to be front and center and not get drowned out by surrounding fabric.

If you are looking to make a blanket, when working with t-shirts you will need about 20 to make a twin-size blanket.

Step 1: Prepare the Fabric

Now that you have all of your materials gathered, it is time to prepare the fabric! To get your fabric ready to sew you will first need to take out any seams and cut the fabric down to the size needed for your pattern.

When cutting your fabric make sure you are cutting out the parts that you want to end up in the quilt with even and straight lines. If you are using a T-shirt, make sure you get the full design.

While working with a pattern is recommended, especially for beginners, you can also cut out the areas of fabric you want to use(it’s recommended to use squares or rectangles) and then collage them together until they fit, using extra fabric when needed. Here’s a quick look at how you can cut and use t-shirts for your memory quilts.

PRO-TIP: If there is a specific portion of fabric you want to snow make sure to leave room on either side of it so it doesn’t get cut off when sewing! To be safe leave ½ inch on all sides of the design.

Step 2: Lay Out the Fabric

We are almost to the actual quilting process of your memory quilt! But to prevent any headaches in the future and make the sewing process go by earlier, you should lay it out to make sure all the pieces fit together and look how you want them to.

If you are making a t-shirt quilt and are doing a pattern with just squares of fabric you can use this time to find an arrangement of them that looks good. Maybe you want to organize them in chronological order, or in color order so they create a gradient.

No matter what you want it to look like setting it all up before you start sewing gives you time to mess around with the layout and find what you like best.

Check out 10+ designs for memory quilts here for inspiration on layouts, patterns and designs that could work for the quilt you are sewing.

Step 3: Start Quilting!

All of your hard prep work is about to come in handy as we are finally onto sewing your memory blanket. If you are an absolute beginner and this is your first quilting project, don’t worry! Even if this is the first time you have picked up needle and thread, you can check out this tutorial that goes in-depth on everything you need to know when making a quilt!

For the basics of quilting, you will lay out two sections of fabric, using safety pins to hold them in place, and then sew along the edge. You repeat this process with all other pieces of your quilt until each one is sewn together.

Make sure when pinning and sewing your fabric you use the same measurements throughout to create a consistent look and size. Using a ¼ seam allowance(distance from the edge of your fabric to the seam) is standard.

Pro tip: When making memory quilts you are often working with a lot of different colors in your fabric. So when picking what color thread to use, it is good practice to pick the lighter color of the two sections you are combining.

Step Four: Batting and Backing

If you are making a double-sided quilt, you will want to make sure that both sides of it are done before moving on to this step! What is batting? Batting is the material that sits between the top and bottom of your quilt.

If you want to make a thinner, lightweight blanket, or if you aren’t making a blanket, it isn’t needed. But if you would like to add batting to your quilt, all you need to do is cut out the section(make sure it is at least 4 inches bigger than your actual quilt on all sides to provide extra room)

You then want to lay out your top layer, batting, and backing all together before sewing. Work from the center of your quilt before moving on to finish with the edges to ensure everything is held together as you are working.

Go over the lines you have already stitched in your quilt, to create the cleanest and simplest look.

Finishing your Quilt

1. Cut or piece together your batting and a piece of quilt backing fabric.
2. Make a quilt sandwich with the backing, batting, and top.
3. Baste together with fusible batting, pins or basting spray.
4. Quilt as desired. A few of my favorite ways to quilt are Straight line quilting or cross hatch quilting. Use a walking foot on your sewing machine. Trim away the extra batting and backing.
5. Cut strips of fabric for the binding. Cut 2 1/2” tall (sometimes I use 2 1/4″) binding strips. Sew the binding strips together and bind using your favorite technique.

Step Five: Binding

The final step in making your quilt is to add binding to help create nice clean edges and really finish off the project. For an in-depth binding tutorial click here. There are many different ways to bind a quilt, but for all of them, the recommended
measurement is 1 inch of fabric on each side.

This means you will need long stripes of fabric that are 2 inches wide. One way to finish off the binding is to fold your fabric over the edge of your quilt and tuck it inside of itself, pinning it in place so it gets a super nice clean outer look.

You can also add binding by sewing it onto your quilt inside out. However, to do this, you want to make sure that the back of your quilt is not on yet. For this, you need to sew the binding to the front of your quilt with it facing downwards(so what will become the inside of the quilt is facing upwards).

You will then sew the back of the quilt to the binding, but leave a gap so you can flip the whole blanket around to be right side out. Once it is flipped you can sew up the tiny gap to have a completed quilt!

Enjoy Your Quilt!

Just like that, you have made your very own stunning memory quilt! Take a step back and admire your hard work. Whether it is a gift for someone else or yourself, memory quilts are a great way to preserve a time, memory, or person in a beautiful and functional craft.

Before you give your quilt away – make sure to add a label to the back so you can remember the reason you made it, the fabrics you used and any story you’d like to add.

Make sure to check out my shop for a variety of patterns that you can use when making your memory quilt or your next quilting project!

With patterns made for all levels of quilters, you are bound to find something that sparks inspiration.

Plus there is an amazing community of quilters waiting for you to join!

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