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JD’s High School Graduation T-Shirt Quilt: A Milestone Memory

A high school graduation T-shirt quilt is a wonderful way to celebrate milestones and preserve memories. It’s hard to believe that my youngest son is graduating high school. This milestone brings a lot of changes to our family dynamics, and I haven’t even started to wrap my head around being an empty nester. Since my son is planning to attend the local community college, he will still live at home, at least for the first couple of years before transferring to a university. We already have him signed up for classes for the fall semester of 2024. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the high school graduation T-shirt quilt I made to commemorate his high school journey.

Main Image - High School Graduation T-Shirt Quilt

Selecting the Shirts

Over his entire school career, JD has always been a pirate. Our tiny suburb town shares the same mascot from kindergarten through high school, providing us with plenty of opportunities to collect shirts from various sports he played and a random assortment of class T-shirts. The mascot is a pirate, and the colors are orange, black, and gray.

Prepping the Shirts

I use Pellon Shape-Flex or SF 101 on the backs of all my T-shirts. This helps the fabric behave more like cotton, which is easier for piecing. It’s crucial to protect the T-shirt inks, as they can melt with high heat. A lot of heat is needed to get the interfacing attached to the back of the T-shirts, so extra care is essential.

Designing the Quilt

When designing the high school graduation T-shirt quilt, I wasn’t sure what layout I was going to create. Considering the number of T-shirts I collected, I knew I needed to make a mosaic T-shirt quilt. This layout is a mashup of shirts in various sizes, all assembled into columns or rows. I laid out the T-shirts to get an idea of how I wanted the finished quilt to look.

Assembling the Quilt

I have a comprehensive online course on how I make my T-shirt quilts. This course outlines not only the mosaic version but also a more traditional grid version of a T-shirt quilt.

You can learn more about this online course right HERE

Assembling the Quilt - High School Graduation T-Shirt Quilt

Finishing the Quilt-Top

Once I pieced the top together, I loaded it on my long arm to finish. I love my Juki J-350 long arm quilting machine. You can learn more about this machine [here]. I chose a computer edge-to-edge quilting design that was perfect for this year. It features the year JD graduated high school, along with a diploma and a graduation cap. I adjusted the pattern placement and overall sizing based on the quilt size.

Binding the Quilt

I had a surprise visitor on my birthday who loves to bind quilts—my mom! Because she was only here for a short time, we decided to machine bind the high school graduation T-shirt quilt quickly with my Juki DX-4000 QVP sewing machine.

Mom binds the quilt - High School Graduation T-Shirt Quilt

The Finished Quilt

Here is a picture of the finished high school graduation T-shirt quilt. I love how it turned out, and I will be showcasing this quilt at the graduation party. I have a quilt rack to hang it on so that everyone can take an up-close look at the finished quilt.

Explore More: Create Your Own T-Shirt Quilt

If you’re inspired by this high school graduation T-shirt quilt, why not create your own? Check out my comprehensive online course, filled with videos and step-by-step instructions to guide you through every part of the process.

You’ll also gain access to a supportive community group where you can share your progress, ask questions, and receive encouragement from fellow quilters. Start preserving your memories with a unique T-shirt quilt today!

One Comment

  1. Gorgeous quilt and what an awesome memory for you all! And a side note….I LOVE your carpet!!

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