Shirt Blanket

This blanket was made because I had a lot of shirts from events that I don’t wear anymore but also want to keep. This is a great project for decluttering your closet and making something useful out of it!

Fabric cutting set (Rotary Cutter, Acrylic Ruler, Cutting Mat)

24 T-Shirts

Sewing Machine

Thread Bobbin

Craft Scissors

2-3 yards of thin blanket fabric

Cardboard

Sharpie/white chalk

Iron and Ironing Board

First, you will need to gather all the T-shirts that you don’t mind not wearing anymore. I personally found 28 but used 24 so that I could make a 6ftx4ft blanket. Feel free to use more or less than that. For the purposes of this instructable, I will be explaining how to make a 6ftx4ft blanket.

Tip: Washing and laying the shirts flat on top of each other will make a relatively wrinkle-free shirt. This will make it much easier for later steps. You may also iron them if desired.

After gathering your materials, you can start cutting up your shirts. To make a 12inx12in square you must add an extra ¼ inch on each side for seam allowance. I made a 12.5inx12.5in cardboard square to trace where I will be cutting on each square.

I traced the square with a sharpie on the back of the shirt. I then used my rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, and mat to cut out the square. Do this to every shirt and organize them as you like, I did 4 columns of 6.

Once all squares are made, bring out the sewing machine. Pin the tops and bottoms of each square to each other, be sure the right edges are touching

Tip: If the corners don’t line up perfectly, pin the center then from the inside out and stretch a little to line them up.

Straight stitch these two squares’ edges together with a ¼ inch seam allowance. On most sewing machines, the needle should be centered so the edge of the presser foot is at the ¼ inch mark.

Tip: To anchor the stitch, start by sewing down 1 cm, next reverse stitch on top of that, then begin sewing all the way down. To finish off the stitch, reverse 1 cm at the end, and then go back to the edge.

After doing this to 6 squares you will end up with 1 of the 4 columns. Repeat this until all 4 columns are finished.

Now, we will be sewing the columns together. I first ironed the seams open, then placed the front side of the first column on the front side of the second, then pin the right edges together. Make sure the seams line up and that the top square of both columns are at top facing each other.

Repeat the last step with the third and fourth columns, these will become the right and left halves of the banket.

Sew the two halves of the blanket the same way you sewed the two columns. You now have all your squares in one big rectangle. Iron open all the seams on the back. This is where our thin blanket material comes in.

With your newly ironed T-shirt rectangle, you can lay it perfectly flat (right sides touching, wrong sides out) on the blanket fabric, pin, and cut it.

Now with the 2 right sides of your blanket facing each other and pinned, sew the edges with a ¼ inch seam allowance of presser foot lining up with T-shirt fabric, and leave a big enough hole to flip the blanket inside out. Tip: I recommend cutting the seam allowance, especially in the corners, for a cleaner edge once it’s flipped inside out.

Flip blanket inside out. Sew the opening closed with a ladder/invisible stitch or with your sewing machine if you don’t mind the stitch showing

To connect the two fabrics completely, you can sew along the T-Shirt square lines and be sure to use thread that is the same color as the blanket material. I sewed three lines down the inner column edges.

And you're done! Now you have an awesome new T-shirt blanket! Feel free to add more to for extra flare!

About the Creator:

Hi! My name is Coralie and I am a student assistant at EXLAB Atlanta. I love to do projects where I make something and include a more artistic element whether it be embroidering a shirt I modified or recreating a board game with my own artistic twist.